Heart

1967–1972: Early bands and formation

In 1965, bassist Steve Fossen formed the Army, along with Roger Fisher on guitar, Don Wilhelm on guitar, keyboards and lead vocals, and Ray Schaefer on drums. They played for several years in and around the Bothell, Washington, area, northeast of Seattle. They frequently played Bothell High School, Inglemoor High School, and Shorecrest High School, as well as many taverns and club venues. In 1969, the band went through lineup changes (Gary Ziegelman—former lead singer of Buffalo Clancy—on lead vocals, Fisher on guitar, Fossen on bass, James Cirrello on guitar, Ron Rudge on drums, and Ken Hansen on percussion) and took on a new name, Hocus Pocus.

Legacy

Heart is generally considered a hard rock band, but its diversity has crossed multiple genres from folk to pop to hard rock, and even at times heavy metal. As a result, the band has had singles chart on Billboard's Hot 100, Mainstream Rock Tracks, Hard Rock Tracks, and Adult Contemporary charts. Their 2016 live recording at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra even charted in the top 10 of Billboard's Classical Albums chart and Classical Crossover Albums chart.

Straight On

"Straight On" is a song recorded by the rock band Heart. It was released as the first single from the band's 1978 album Dog & Butterfly.

In the U.S., "Straight On" became Heart's third single to crack the top twenty, peaking at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was co-written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, and Sue Ennis.

Background

The song is a mid-tempo rock number which incorporates a funky, almost dance-oriented bass line. Ann Wilson has called the song Heart's first "dance song", which is likely indicative of its recording and release happening during the disco era of the late 1970s. The lyrics use gambling metaphors to illustrate the protagonist heading straight on for her partner's love.

What About Love?

"What About Love" is a song originally recorded by Canadian rock band Toronto in 1982. It was later recorded by American rock band Heart in 1985 and was released as the first single from the band's self-titled album, Heart.

The band's "comeback" single, it was the first Heart track to reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in three years, and their first top 10 hit in five. The song was also their first hit single on their new record label, Capitol Records.

Background

The song was originally recorded in 1982 by Canadian rock group Toronto, of which songwriters Sheron Alton and Brian Allen were members. (The other songwriter, Jim Vallance, was not a member of Toronto, though he played drums on Toronto's recording of the song.) However, the rest of the band elected not to release the song on their album Get It on Credit, and the frustration Allen and Alton faced in being unable to convince their bandmates to feature this and other material on Toronto's albums led to their departure from the group.

Reception

The song's sound marked a considerable change in the musical direction for Heart, moving from the hard rock and folk rock of their earlier work to a more polished, power ballad sound. "What About Love" received extensive airplay on MTV and returned Heart to the top 10 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in five years, peaking at No. 10.