Heart's Ann Wilson Revealed Inspiration Behind 'Barracuda' (2024 In Review)

12-01-2024

Heart's Ann Wilson had a top 24 story of January 2024 when she revealed the troubling inspiration behind the band's iconic song "Barracuda" to AXS TV's Dan Rather. Here are the details that the network sent over in our look back in the Year In Rock: "Barracuda" is one of Heart's most triumphant tracks, thanks to Ann Wilson's fierce lyrics and Nancy Wilson's gutting guitar riffs. But did you know of the unfortunate story that sparked this 1977 hit?

"It happened one night after a show, some really sleazy guy came up to me and implied to me that he was really turned on by the fact that me and Nancy were 'lesbian incestual lovers,'" Ann Wilson recounted during an interview with Dan Rather. "It made me really angry because I felt they had attacked Nancy's honor, both our honors, so I went and wrote the words to 'Barracuda.'"

Ann recounted how the duo's mother even warned them about the shady characters that they'd encounter in show business. "'Barracuda' was a flash of anger, of realization of what we had gotten ourselves into," the singer recalled.

You can listen to insightful music conversations like these on Dan Rather's Big Interview podcast, available on iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and on additional podcasting platforms.