Heart Singer Ann Wilson Creates a Tribute to Dead Rockers 

Ann Wilson, of Heart fame, says she felt increasingly heartsick over recent years as a steady stream of her musical heroes, peers and friends died. 

But when rock singer Chris Cornell committed suicide on May 18, 2017, the Heart singer began plotting a project that would honor those lost souls and channel her grief toward celebration.

The result is her new album Immortal, a compilation of 10 covers that showcase some of Wilson’s favorite songs by such bygone greats as George Michael (A Different Corner), Leonard Cohen (A Thousand Kisses Deep), Amy Winehouse (Back to Black) and David Bowie (I’m Afraid of Americans). She also covers I Am the Highway by Cornell’s post-Soundgarden band Audioslave.

“He spoke from the soul,” she says of her late friend and Seattle neighbor, adding wistfully, “I didn’t see it coming. He was pretty complicated.”

Immortal, out Sept. 14, is Wilson's second solo album, and despite its theme of departed icons, Immortal is sunnier fare.

“People might expect it to be morbid because they think the concept of death could overpower the songs,” says Wilson, 68. “I see it as uplifting, a way to honor these people and what they left behind. I thought: How cool would it be to celebrate these singers and interpret their songs?"

Still, she had certain criteria. “I had to totally love the song,” Wilson says. “I had to be able to put it across. And I wanted each song to have a message that was relevant in the world in 2018.”

That’s how Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me made the cut. Gore was 17 when she delivered the defiant feminist anthem in 1963. It still resonates.

Heart, which released its debut album Dreamboat Annie in 1975, faced years of sexism and exploitation before women united behind the #MeToo movement.

"Our first great challenge was establishing credibility in a field almost completely dominated by men,” Wilson says. “Once you had credibility, doors would open. ‘Yeah, I guess she’s not just a hunk of cheesecake,’ they’d say. Things have changed incrementally over time, but some hurdles are still there.

“The #MeToo movement is a big change. And it’s very uncomfortable and pretty reckless. That’s how it has to be. The first feminists were considered so bold and brash. They had to overplay their hands to get anyone to listen.”

Immortal did not entail input from Wilson's sister Nancy, although their Heart break may be on the mend. Two years ago, Ann’s husband, Dean Wetter, assaulted Nancy’s twin sons on a tour bus in Auburn, Wash. He was arrested, pleaded guilty and was placed on probation. The sisters became estranged and rarely communicated, pushing Heart into hiatus. Nancy formed a new band, Roadcase Royale.