“One of the best”: The singer Ann Wilson felt privileged to perform with
Duets have been around since the dawn of the music industry, and have spanned the spectrum of quality during that long and illustrious history. There is no shortage, for instance, of bizarre, misguided, and downright awful duets which beg the question of ‘why was this allowed?’. However, there are also multiple examples of legendary duets which see two artists come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. One artist who has amassed a wealth of experience in the tricky world of duets is Ann Wilson, whose work tends to fall on the latter side of the debate.
A true original in every sense of the word, Wilson first established herself in the industry back in the 1970s as the lead singer of hard rock outfit Heart. At that time, the landscape of hard rock and metal was being dominated by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, or, a little later on, AC/DC – in other words, it was an overwhelmingly male scene. Heart, in contrast, opened up an entirely new world of rock expression, led by the distinctive and dramatic vocal style of Ann Wilson.
Given the inherent diversity in Wilson’s vocal range, it didn’t take long for the vocalist to open up her horizons to a broad range of styles and influences. During the 1980s, these horizons led Wilson to take part in a wealth of different projects, including recording various duets and collaborative works. Perhaps most notably, she recorded the track ‘Almost Paradise’ alongside Loverboy frontman Mike Reno for the classic coming-of-age flick Footloose.
Even though Reno was not her first choice for the duet, the track and the rest of the film’s soundtrack became a hit, spurring Wilson on to embrace other duets over the years. Although Heart continued to churn out colossal rock productions throughout this era, Wilson’s duets allowed her to exercise parts of her repertoire which might not have fit in with the discography of the hard rock pioneers.
What’s more, these collaborations allowed the vocalist to work with some of her most beloved influences, including revered individuals like Robin Zander, of Illinois rockers Cheap Trick. Together, the pair recorded ‘Surrender To Me’ in 1988 for the soundtrack of the Mel Gibson film Tequila Sunrise. A largely (and rightly) forgotten film about a drug dealer trying to go straight, the Tequila Sunrise soundtrack ended up becoming much more memorable than the film itself, despite typically one-dimensional performances from Mel Gibson and Michelle Pfeiffer.
‘Surrender To Me’ is the indisputable highlight of the soundtrack, and it even reached number six in the US singles charts the following year, in 1989. The soft rock ballad, penned by Ross Vannelli and Richard Marx, suited Wilson’s vocal style naturally and gave her the chance to work alongside Zander, who was at that point one of the prevailing voices in mainstream American rock.
Perhaps as a result of that fact, the song has always stood out in the mind of the Heart vocalist. “‘Surrender To Me’ was a great song,” she later shared with Songfacts in 2022. “And of course, I love singing with Robin because he’s one of the best singers that I’ve ever met. He can sing anything. He can sing an operetta.” Thankfully, though, nobody ever tried to test that theory, and Zander was largely resigned to singing his usual style of mainstream rock vocals.
Given the incredible career experienced by Ann Wilson, it is telling that her experience recording with Robin Zander still stands out as a highlight. ‘Surrender To Me’ is a prime example of how duets can elevate both vocalists to another level of diverse appeal, rather than dragging each other down. David Bowie and Mick Jagger, I’m looking at you.
