Archive for October 15th, 2009
When you think of the prototypical rock star, guitar virtuosos like Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen might be first to pop into mind. Others envision high-profile drummers such as John Bonham and Keith Moon. In any case, it’s unlikely a bassist springs to mind first. These unsung heroes of the traditional rock band setup serve to keep the other musicians on one page.
The bass guitar provides a modicum of reliability and discipline. Lead guitarists often go off on sonic tangents, and it takes a dependable bassist to reel them back in. Likewise, drummers occasionally get caught up in their creative fills. While the bass isn’t necessarily the instrument that draws listeners to a piece of music in the first place, its steady rhythm keeps them enthralled.
Initially called the Army which was later changed to White Heart only to be shortened to Heart in the 70′s. The band was formed by Steve Fossen who plays bass guitar along with two brothers Roger Fisher and Mike Fisher. Ann Wilson joined the band followed by sister Nancy in 1974 after which Mike went to being the sound man for the group.
Their debut album “Dreamboat Annie” which featured songs such as Crazy On You and Magic Man was recorded in 1975 and released in Canada, since the bands origin is in Vancouver, British Columbia, where it sold more than 30,000 albums before it was released in the US where it went platinum.
Through the years the rest of the band has gone through several changes of all its members, and in the early 90′s the girls hung up their electric guitars for acoustic guitars and formed the Lovemongers. Today they are still touring as Heart and are still the women to be reckoned with in rock.