On August 25, 1966, Ann and Nancy Wilson, founding members of Heart, experienced something that would change their lives forever. Like almost all other young pre-teens and teenagers of the time, the Wilsons loved the Beatles. So, when the opportunity arose to see the Fab Four in their native Seattle, Washington, the girls eagerly asked their parents to drive them to the Seattle Coliseum.
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Their parents’ willingness to do so was especially fortuitous, as it was the last time the Beatles ever performed in the Pacific Northwest city. And even more importantly for the Wilsons, it would set the musicians off on a course that would lead to some of the most iconic classic rock of all time.
Ann and Nancy Wilson Were Already In a Band When They Saw the Beatles
We most often associate Ann and Nancy Wilson with Heart, the band behind cuts like “Barracuda” and “Crazy On You.” But the sisters were playing in musical groups years before they would get their first big break. When the young girls saw the Beatles in late August of 1966, they were in an acoustic folk group called the Viewpoints. Nancy, the primary guitarist of the two sisters, hadn’t yet branched out into electric guitar. But after watching the Fab Four that fateful night in Seattle, she knew that something would have to change.
“It was like taking dictation for what we wanted to do with our lives,” Nancy recalled to Guitar Player. “Definitely there was destiny involved. We just had to get guitars and make bands and become the Beatles. As much as we could ever become them. We had our opera glasses and our little miniature binoculars. So, we could take notes and watch the Beatles and their camaraderie and their energy with each other, which was the biggest thrill of all. Their body language. The way they would hold their guitars.”
Nancy struggled to focus on the Liverpudlian quartet over the ear-splitting shrieks of the other attendees. Nevertheless, she called the entire experience “life-altering.” The Wilsons already knew how to play most of the Beatles’ discography, both instrumentally and vocally. Seeing them in person was all the validation they needed to pursue a bona fide rock band in earnest.
The Future Heart Founders Saw The Fab Four For The Last Time
Considering the Wilsons were already incredibly musical, it’s likely that they would have continued to find their creative footing with or without seeing the Beatles on August 25, 1966. However, the fact that Ann and Nancy Wilson got to go to the concert at the young ages of 16 and 12, respectively, would prove especially fortunate. The Fab Four never returned to Seattle. The Beatles famously stopped touring four days after their visit to Seattle, performing their final public performance (excluding their rooftop concert in 1969) at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California, on August 29, 1966.
Ann and Nancy Wilson were among the lucky thousands who got to witness the Beatles’ last stop in Seattle. That concert also included the band’s opening acts: the Ronettes, the Remains, Bobby Hebb, and the Cyrkle. The Fab Four entertained the screaming crowd with their standard 11-song tour set. It included “If I Needed Someone,” “Yesterday,” “I Wanna Be Your Man,” “Paperback Writer,” “I’m Down,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “She’s a Woman,” “Baby’s in Black,” “Day Tripper,” “Nowhere Man,” and “I Feel Fine.”
Photo by Veda Jo Jenkins/Shutterstock
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