Ann Wilson: The Californian rock icon who believes the best musicians actually come from Seattle
What do Jimi Hendrix, Heart, and the entire grunge movement have in common? That’s right – Seattle.
Art isn’t something that needs to be local to be enjoyed, but it would be hard to overlook the fact that a lot of music has a succinct connection to its home town. Whether you’re in the UK, the US, or anywhere in the world, the majority of the time, artists take pride in where they come from, and that pride resonates throughout their sound.
Recently, Arctic Monkeys celebrated 20 years since the release of their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, and this is a great example of how while great music can travel, it still keeps its home at its centre. The album is revered across the world, and despite being welcomed into the hearts of fans from a range of different cultures, the Sheffield influence and the sound of the city are still represented in every single second of that album.
It’s great being from an area which is represented in music, as there is a sense of pride that comes with the success of such a sound. That being said, this locality can often be a double-edged sword, as while it can help inspire a lot of other bands from a specific area, that inspiration can also have such a hold on an area that every artist which follows assumes the form of a half-arsed copycat.
There are a lot of cities around the world that are incapable of escaping a sound that came before because it remains such a towering monolith. Sheffield is a good example of that, as while in the modern age it flexes solid post-punk, metal and jazz scenes, there was a time when it was pretty impossible to escape the sound of bands trying to recreate Arctic Monkeys’ debut.
The US also has cities and States which are responsible for great music and make it a part of their identity. California, for example, was the birthplace of the hippy movement and the original home to a whole plethora of different kinds of rock. When we look at great bands from the 1960s and ‘70s, a great deal of them are from California (or at least managed to discover their sound in California). The state is often considered a hub for creativity, and yet, one of its biggest musical icons believes the best musicians all hail from a much more understated place – Seattle.
Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson are responsible for forming the rock band often celebrated as the US Led Zeppelin, Heart. Talk about a mixed discography that doesn’t lack in quality, as the band have always been hellbent on putting together eclectic music that keeps an iconic rock sound at the centre of everything. Despite both being from California, they don’t believe they owe their success to it; instead, that’s an accolade they reserve for Seattle.
Both sisters were born in California, but their family eventually settled in Seattle. Had it not been for this move, the two may never have progressed to become such iconic rock stars, as they believe Washington is so devoid of an overarching inspiration that it gave rise to some of the only genuinely unique music in the US. Seattle didn’t have its Arctic Monkeys or hippy movement until a lot later, and therefore, the music that influenced its creatives was sporadic. Ann Wilson said that she believes a lot of the world’s best artists come from here because of this unwillingness to fall into one specific scene.
“I think that Seattle is full of outliers and misfits, especially in those days,” she said, “It’s a seaport, it’s a place that rains maybe nine or ten months out of the year. It’s grey and dreary. That does have an effect, especially on sensitive people. So, I think if you’re an outlier and you’re a singer…you’re from Seattle!”
Wilson certainly has a point, as Heart aren’t the only great band from Seattle. The city is famously the home of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, and was the foundation for grunge music, an entire movement that relied on the quirkiness of outsiders and the talent of great artists. Maybe all the best musicians are living on the outskirts somewhere, and we’re just yet to find them.
