Nancy Wilson, guitarist for Heart, remarked that being an American today is “more embarrassing” than it was during the Vietnam War. The 71-year-old made the comment in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reflecting on the band’s iconic 1975 hit “Crazy on You,” which featured her sister, Heart vocalist Ann Wilson’s, critique of the Vietnam War.
“We were kind of embarrassed at that time to call ourselves American because of the dirty politics of the Vietnam War,” Wilson shared. “To be as subtle as possible, it’s more embarrassing now,” she said. She argued that the songs, crafted for a time of intense political upheaval, still resonate with listeners today, Fox News noted.
One of the band’s most popular hits, “Barracuda,” for instance, “took aim at “a real sleazeball with a satin jacket” who, at the time the song was written in the 1970s, “wanted to make more money out of” the women in the band, the article reads. Wilson suggested that the track’s commentary on sexism and oppression remains relevant, as these issues continue nearly 50 years later.
“[It’s] even more relevant in the salacious billionaire culture with the grab-them-by-the-(expletive) mentality,” she said, referencing a controversial 2005 remark by President Donald Trump that The Washington Post published before the 2016 election. The Wilson sisters have been no fans of Trump for some time, however.
In a 2018 interview with The Hill, 74-year-old Ann explained that she believed only someone other than Trump could use “Barracuda” on the campaign trail. She stated that she “definitely wouldn’t” vote for him in the 2020 race and would need to “do some research” and “think about” who her alternative choice might be. The outlet reported that she had supported Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the 2016 race.
Late Republican Senator John McCain, who ran against former President Barack Obama in 2008, drew criticism from Nancy Wilson for persisting in using “Barracuda” as a theme for his running mate, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, on the campaign trail despite requests to cease. According to The Hill, she told EW.com at the time, “I think it’s completely unfair to be so misrepresented. I feel completely f—ed over.”
Although Nancy sees echoes of the 1970s’ societal issues in today’s world, she told the Journal Sentinel that she expects change will come with time. “I think for women in the culture the pendulum will come back again, and there’ll be another renaissance in the arts to push back against the oppression of the cranky old rich White guys,” she said. “I hope I am alive to see that next revolution.”
