Though more than 15 musicians have been members of Heart, the band is, at its center, all about two sisters from the Pacific Northwest. Ann and Nancy Wilson grew up in California but moved to suburban Seattle before high school. Ann Wilson joined a local group called Hocus Pocus in 1970, and once her sister joined four years later, the core was in place. The group's debut, 1976's Dreamboat Annie was a surprise success, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Album Chart. Heart's sound was an interesting amalgam of hard rock, pop rock, and folk, and the group hit again with 1977's Little Queen. The disc features their biggest hit, the hard-edged "Barracuda," which was Ann Wilson's response to their old label, Mushroom Records, alleging that the Wilsons were in a lesbian relationship in an attempt to boost sales.
The group continued with their hard rock sound, until 1983's Passionworks, which signaled a slicker, more radio-friendly version Heart. The group also changed its image to be more in line with the hair-metal of the era. Though it wasn't a huge success, it set the stage for their glammy release, 1985's Heart. The album hit No. 1 in the charts and was a commercial smash, boasting the hugely-popular power ballad "These Dreams." The follow-ups, Bad Animals (1987) and Brigade (1980) were both high-sellers.
Nancy took a break from the band in 1995 to focus on raising a family with husband Cameron Crowe, and while Ann continued to play consistently, Nancy didn't rejoin full-time until 2002. The group released their most recent album Jupiter's Darling in 2004; while it got some good reviews, it sold modestly. The group still occasionally tours, recently playing 15 dates with Journey in the summer of 2009.