Ann Wilson

Ann Dustin Wilson was born in San Diego, California. Her father was a major in the U.S. Marine Corps. Due to her father's military career, the Wilson family moved frequently. They lived near American military facilities in Panama and Taiwan before settling in Seattle, Washington, in the early 1960s. To maintain a sense of home no matter where in the world they were residing, the Wilsons turned to music. "On Sunday we'd have pancakes and opera," her sister Nancy Wilson recalled. "My dad would be conducting in the living room. We'd turn it way up and rock. There was everything from classical music to Ray Charles, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, bossa nova, and early experimental electronic music."

Wilson's family eventually settled in Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. In 1968, she graduated from Sammamish High School. Shy because of a stutter, Wilson sought fulfillment in music. In the early 1970s she joined a local band, White Heart, which changed its name to Hocus Pocus, and then in 1974 to Heart. Wilson also attended Cornish College of the Arts.Wilson's younger sister, Nancy, joined Heart, and the band moved to Canada. Heart recorded their first album Dreamboat Annie in Vancouver in 1975. It was released in the United States in 1976, with "Magic Man" becoming Heart's first Top 10 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Crazy on You" hitting number 35. Both songs were co-written by Ann and Nancy Wilson. In 1977, Little Queen was released, and in 1978, Dog & Butterfly. In 1986, "These Dreams" rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1992, Wilson appeared on Alice in Chains' EP Sap; she sang on "Brother" and "Am I Inside".

The Wilson sisters started a recording studio, Bad Animals, in Seattle in the mid-1990s. They formed a side band, the Lovemongers, which performed Led Zeppelin's song "The Battle of Evermore" on the 1992 soundtrack to the Cameron Crowe (Nancy's then husband) movie Singles, and later released a four-song EP. The Lovemongers' debut album Whirlygig was released in 1997.

Wilson joined producer Alan Parsons in A Walk Down Abbey Road, the 2001 live tribute tour to Beatles music.

Wilson's first solo album, Hope & Glory, was released on September 11, 2007. Hope & Glory features guest appearances from Elton John, k.d. lang, Alison Krauss, Gretchen Wilson, Shawn Colvin, Rufus Wainwright, Wynonna Judd, and Deana Carter. Nancy Wilson also contributed. Three singles were released from the project: "Little Problems, Little Lies", "Isolation", and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song."

On November 22, 2012, Wilson sang an original arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner", accompanied by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, at the beginning of the Thanksgiving Day football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.

The Wilson sisters performed at the Kennedy Center tribute to Led Zeppelin on December 2, 2012. Present at the event were the three living members of Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. The Wilsons performed "Stairway To Heaven", backed by an orchestra and a choir, and featuring drummer Jason Bonham (son of deceased Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham).

On July 13, 2015, Wilson announced a solo tour, The Ann Wilson Thing, which began on September 21. She released her first EP, The Ann Wilson Thing! – #1, digitally on September 18, 2015. On July 22, 2016, Wilson announced the release of focus, the second EP from The Ann Wilson Thing! Wilson played a Florida mini-tour in September 2016 as The Ann Wilson Thing! in support of this release.

On October 12, 2017, Wilson's first feature film, Ann Wilson: In Focus was released. It featured an intimate interview conducted in her home by Criss Cain along with 20 complete live song performances from the Ann Wilson of Heart tour stop in Wilmington, North Carolina, on March 21, 2017.

Wilson and Alice in Chains' guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell paid tribute to their late friend, Chris Cornell, with a rendition of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony on April 14, 2018.

On August 3, 2018, Wilson released "You Don't Own Me" as the second single from her solo album, Immortal. Released on September 14, 2018, the album features ten tracks that pay tribute to Wilson's influences and friends.

In May 2021, Wilson announced her first dates since the COVID-19 pandemic with the Rite of June mini-tour.

In 2022, Wilson was nominated for consideration into the 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In November 2022, Wilson was featured on the Disturbed song "Don't Tell Me" from their album Divisive. The song reached number 2 on Billboard's Hard Rock Song Sales chart.

On April 25, 2024 Heart kicked off their Royal Flush 2024 Tour at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. [1] The June and July 2024 dates of this tour, in the UK and Europe, were cancelled in late May as the organizers informed that "In late May, Ann Wilson will undergo a time-sensitive but routine medical procedure for which the minimum recovery time is six weeks."