the Kennedy Center has Heart after all

My previous post, which I've since deleted, on this blog told of me relocating to another blog, which I've since decided to part ways with. Didn't feel quite right. Anyway, the posting I had linked to at that blog is now copied and posted here; I'll be doing the same with some of the other musings I'd written there. 

I wrote around two and a half years ago about how one of my all-time favorite bands Heart wasn't a part of the tribute to Paul Simon at the Kennedy Center Honors during his year of induction. Ahhh... Heart - is it wrong of me to find much of their appeal due to the Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy? I mean, it's not just my ears that find them pleasing. Anyway...

At the same time I ordered three Tim Ferriss 4-Hour books, I also got Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock & Roll, written by Ann & Nancy Wilson, with Charles R. Cross. As much as I was looking forward to the practical knowledge I was sure to get from Tim Ferriss, I had been anticipating a tome from the Wilson Sisters for even longer. Are there pictures included? Yes there are; here is my favorite:

Ann and Nancy are seated in front; parents and older sister in the back.
 Such a beautiful family! 

It took me awhile to be able to order this book, but I finally did. I had read the reviews on Amazon; I remember one in particular that criticized it for spending too much time recalling the early family years of the daughters as young children plus all of the moving because it was a military family, and not enough on Ann and Nancy's time as professional musicians. Hogwash! I found myself getting more caught up in imagining and living their lives as a young family. Through the hardships of being uprooted so very often, I loved the feeling of being with them and even knowing them, if that's possible. 

If you're familiar with the name S. Ennis, it's probably because Sue is often credited as a co-writer of many of Heart's songs. Well, it was fun to read about how she and Ann first met in school. They go way back, and on through to adulthood, all three of them. And there's even mention of John Mellencamp, whom ironically I mentioned in my aforementioned post on Gold Mountain Musings, Heart-less at the Kennedy Center. 

So, on to the title of this post: the Kennedy Center has Heart after all. If you saw this past December's broadcast of the Kennedy Center Awards, you'll know that the seminal rock band, Led Zeppelin, was inducted. In attendance were the three surviving members: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones. And yes, what I'm getting to is Ann & Nancy got be participate in the tribute this time around! Besides the influence of the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel on their musical aspirations, was the even more obvious influence of Led Zeppelin. Heart has performed Zeppelin covers since their early days. Read Kicking & Dreaming, and you'll learn how early on - I wonder if Plant recalls just how early!

The late John Bonham's son, Jason, played drums during Ann & Nancy's performance. Of course, Jason is no stranger to playing their songs anyway, having performed with Plant, Page, and Jones many times already. I loved the added touch of Jason wearing a bowler hat, and that being carried through to all of the singers in the vast chorus that joined the performance towards the end. Very nice!