Icon Set To Rock Market
Heart, led by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Ann and Nancy Wilson, will headline the fifth annual ICON HONORS celebration in an exclusive private performance before a sell-out audience of 2014 Finalists, Honorees and guests from across the home and gift industry on Thursday, July 10 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
Storming the charts in the 1970s with hits like “Crazy on You,” “Magic Man,” “Barracuda,” “Straight On,” and so many more, Heart showed the world that women can rock, with the Wilson sisters leading the band, writing the songs and playing the instruments, too, making them the first women in rock to do so. Heart continued topping the charts through the 1980s and 1990s with huge hits like “These Dreams,” “Alone,” “What About Love,” “If Looks Could Kill,” “Never,” and a string of other hits that showcased the sisters’ enormous talents as musicians and singers.
“Heart is a powerful force of creative energy and musical innovation,” says Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., vice-chairman and president of ICON HONORS co-sponsor AmericasMart Atlanta. “The Wilson sisters defined a genre of 1970s musical style with a breakthrough sound of unmatched intensity and energy. That’s exactly what we will see and hear on the 2014 ICON HONORS stage,” Portman adds.
As individuals, the sisters also have achieved significant success. Ann sang on songs that were both chart successes and motion picture themes, like “Almost Paradise” from “Footloose,” “Best Man in the World” from “Goldenchild,” and “Surrender to Me” from “Tequila Sunrise,” while Nancy composed and performed the scores to a half dozen motion pictures including the award winning “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous.”
Along the way, music by Ann and Nancy Wilson and their band Heart sold more than 35 million albums, sold out arenas worldwide, and found their way into the soundtrack of American life through radio, motion pictures, television, and associations with branded sponsors. Today, songs made famous by Heart are heard in every aspect of contemporary culture.
Nearly 35 years after their first big hit, Ann and Nancy Wilson were back in the Billboard Top 10 in 2010 with Heart’s “Red Velvet Car” album, and a Top 5 DVD (“Night at Sky Church”). The 2012 “Fanatic” continued Heart’s current chart success, spawning two hit singles (“Fanatic” and “Dear Old America”) and debuting in the Billboard Top 25. They also released a comprehensive compact disc box set entitled “Strange Euphoria,” filled with rarities and previously unreleased treasures that met with acclaim from critics and fans alike. In September 2012, Ann and Nancy released their first-ever memoire (“Kicking & Dreaming: A story of Heart, Soul and Rock and Roll”). The book spent several weeks on “The New York Times” bestseller chart and was released by Harper Collins in paperback on September 2013.
2012 also brought well-deserved lifetime honors to the Wilson sisters. In June, they were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in December, they learned that, 36 years after the release of “Dreamboat Annie,” Heart had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony was held at Nokia Live in Los Angeles on April 18, 2013, and aired on HBO on May 18, 2013. As a fitting finale for an extraordinary year, Ann and Nancy were asked to perform “Stairway to Heaven” as the finale to the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors tribute to Led Zeppelin.
The ICON HONORS 2014 celebration, the premier event of The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market®, is Thursday, July 10 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Please visit www.AmericasMartICONHONORS.com for more information and to purchase tickets and tables for the event.
