Breakfast of Champions (The 2019 NAMM Show): Nancy Wilson

Heart co-founder and guitar legend Nancy Wilson received NAMM’s 2019 Music for Life Award during “Breakfast of Champions.” There, NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond interviewed her about her artistry, the importance of branching out as a musician and how she keeps the creative fire burning.

Here are a few highlights. (Watch the video for the full interview.)

On scoring for films:
That’s a lesson in knowing how to shut up, basically. When to stop. When to give it breath and space. Because in songwriting, you’re trying to tell your story with lyrics and music. And when you’re writing for picture, there’s already some dialogue there, and you don’t want to walk all over that. So you’re trying to support it by being almost as invisible as possible. So if you don’t notice the score, you’ve probably done a good job.

On staying inspired:
I think being a creative person, you spend a lot of time dreaming up things that you want to say or how you want something to sound or how you want to affect someone who’s listening. And having been a huge fan, I’ve always approached it like the fan’s perspective. When I went and saw Elton John one time and he did “Daniel” for the first time by himself on a piano alone, it was a religious experience. So you want to capture that muse and give it back to the fan that’s out there who kind of hangs on everything you have to give them.

On being a musician:
People are so driven, inspired. I think music people are a different animal than a lot of people are. And the reason we’re sort of driven to help create and put music on the planet is a really good reason.