Nancy Wilson has died

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

So young.

At her vocal peak in 1966, Nancy Wilson was the very picture of grace and artistic command. Her jazzy vocal style added a soulful flavor to pop songs of the day and her range and phrasing were masterful. Today, as enveloping as her albums are, they don't give you the full scope of what made Nancy special at the very top of her game. To fully appreciate her gifts, you have to watch Nancy in action. One can only imagine what she was like in '66 at supper clubs such as The Coconut Grove. You realize Nancy was a pure video star (much like Peggy Lee)—a charismatic singer who understood the camera and how to knock out viewers on the other end of the lens.

OP, I thought you meant the guitarist from Heart -- the photo in your post isn't visible.

I also thought this was going to be about Nancy Wilson of Heart. She's pretty young to die. I'm not familiar with this Nancy, but I'll give her a listen.

Yes,this stupid website blocks Wash. Post article lead photos. That's why I added a few others quickly.

RIP Miss Wilson

Her version of "How Glad I Am" is superlative. Rest in peace, Ms. Wilson.

And yet that evil hag Madonna still draws breath...the world can be so unfair sometimes.

On the phone we have her sister Ann

Wasn't she one of the Supremes?

RIP, Ms. Wilson. One of the best.

Lol at all the others who, like me, thought this was the Heart sister.

OP you stupid bitch the title of this thread should have been “Nancy Wilson (no, not the one from Heart) has died”.

Such a wonderful talent...I loved this cover...

Was she the Miss Wilson of the Wilson Franks fortune?

Was she in Wilson Phillips?

I loved her in CASTAWAY

She was no Lola Falana.

OP, you knew very well we were all going to think this was about Heart.

[quote]r20 She was no Lola Falana.

But, she was Rebel Wilson's mom.

[bold]#respect!

Elegant, beautiful and one of the best vocalists of our time, Miss Nancy would mesmerize you with the feeling she poured into every song. A true musical artist and every inch a lady.

Rest in peace lovely lady.

No, R21, some but not all.

Those in the know know "our" Nancy is traditionally referred to as MISS Nancy Wilson.

RIP, to one of my all time faves.

I'm pretty sure Michael Bourne the host of Singers Unlimited on jazz station WBGO.org will feature a tribute to Nancy this Sunday 10am-2pm. You can live stream or listen at 88.3 FM (Newark NJ) for those in the tri-star area. Great station.

VALE. Thank you Miss Wilson for sharing your gifts with those if us you actually know who are are. were....ummmm RIP.

Such a great stylist of songs.

This was my favorite.

I thought it was the singer from Heart as well since the picture wasn't visible. Never heard of this Nancy Wilson.

Love this duet she did with Andy WIlliams

:( very sad news

Never heard of her?

I bet Woodrow is all broken up

Thanks for that, R26.

I found a collection of her old radio show "Jazz Profiles" still in the archives at NPR

And here she is as a guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz

Aaaaaahhh, BARRACUDA!

She was a great singer, who had Heart & a lapband!

The Larry King thread has all the Heart jokes. Scuttle over there. It’s good.

Nancy Wilson deserves her non-joke accolades. She had perfect enunciation without seeming mannered, and knew her way around a lyric like few others. She somehow has the heft of Dinah Washington and the deft touch of Diana Ross, with the precision of both.

I love the comparison upthread to Peggy Lee in terms of presence and charisma on stage or on camera.

Guess Who I Saw Today (r29) is all hers, despite the avalanche of other versions, some very good, but none capturing the drifting blithe mood that turns to bitter and shattered at the end.

She did all kinds of recordings from jazz to pop with full orchestration. I think she is best appreciated when it’s her voice holding full court, however.

It makes me so sad to see this news of her passing. She is one of the last of another era.

Guess Who I Saw Today was her signature song....fabulous.

A lot of her later stuff was just a bit too over the top....not a fan of her version of I Can't Make You Love Me.

But this is classic Nancy. Her voice sounds fabulous.

She was no Connie Francis.

A great beauty, too.

Her Christmas album. Treacly strings at the beginning of the first cut but hang in there.

It was always going to be MY band, I was ALWAYS to be front & CENTER!!

[quote]VALE.

Vail Colorado, go ahead about the death of black and blue singer, and wife of Steve Carrell, the great Rita Wilson.

she dead

I saw her and Mel Torme perform at Interlochen in 1991

Wonderful!

So beautiful

I adore her and collected all of her albums in high school. You can get a twofer CD of Hollywood My Way/Broadway My Way that's a great intro to her work. Luckily, she was a big star for Capitol, and would release 2-3 albums per year. One of the very very best.

She was quite attractive too. Owned her age and embraced her gray hair...stunning.

r47 she sends her love.

I recently discovered Miss Wilson, and just love her way of interpreting a song, which always gave it a heartfealt, narrative quality. She was definitely the superior Nancy Wilson. Just love "Don't ask my Neighbor", may she rest in peace, classy lady and "song stylist" extraordinaire..

Sad to read this. She had a beautiful voice. I saw her once in a "Hawaii Five-O" episode. I'll be enjoying the tributes my jazz & blues radio station will deliver today and tomorrow.

She was also on FBI, portraying a singer whose daughter is kidnapped.

Barbara McNair was the poor man's Nancy Wilson.

RIP Dear Lady.

She dedicated this performance to Ella Fitzgerald

R57 You know you are the presence of greatness when bitches stand up BEFORE you perform.

And she NAILED that.

McNair wasn’t worthy of wearing Miss Nancy’s used maxi pads r56. She was such a phony.

R41 Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley -Released in 1961. Cannonball Adderley on alto sax, and his brother Nat Adderley on cornet. Greatest Jazz Album of all time?

"In a recent Down Beat poll, 73 singers-such masters as Mark Murphy, Andy Bey, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves and Cassandra Wilson among them-were asked to name the greatest vocal jazz albums of all time. The most votes rightly, if unexpectedly, went to 1961’s Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley, placing Wilson seven notches above Ella Fitzgerald’s highest entry and nine above Sarah Vaughan’s." Christopher Loudon, JazzTimes 2004

"Given the play list and the outstanding artists performing it, why any serious jazz collection would be without this classic album is difficult to comprehend." David Nathan, AllMusic Review

My, R60. You certainly have a.....way with words.

R61 Great piece. I agree, it's a must. I have it on vinyl.

She epitomized grace, talent, taste, and class. Rest in peace, dear lady.

RIP. A fantastic singer and recording artist with so many wonderful recordings! An elegant, captivating performer in venues large (Hollywood Bowl) and intimate (Yoshi's). She will be missed.

[quote] OP, you knew very well we were all going to think this was about Heart.

I have NEVER thought of the Nancy Wilson from Heart when I heard the name. Here is Heart's Nancy Wilson's post about THE Nancy Wilson.

Nancy Wilson was still alive until yesterday?

One of my favorites....

Weird that she was living in Pioneertown. It's basically an Old West movie set out in the desert.

They probably let you live there for a song.

I see what you did there...

"Face it Girl, It's Over"

Should be a DL anthem.

Another flawless Nancy number.

I saw an old, old drag queen do this. We all laughed when she came out on the stage. By the end we were on our feet, tears running down our cheeks.

Nancy tears up the end of this song. LOVE it.

I just discovered that she recorded I’ve Never Been to Me. It’s hysterical! She growling and whispering all over the place. Less campy but almost more outrageous than the version by Charlene that became an inexplicable hit in the eighties.

Oh, R74 - that's terrible!

She did get a little OTT in her later records, sometimes. Most of her best work was between 1960-75.

75 Comments and no one mentions "Save Your Love for Me"?

And please no more about that annoying screaming banshee from the 70s.

I always loved this.

R.I.P.

Fancy Miss Nancy's homage to Little Jimmy Scott:

Yes, R13, we had a talk at the time and it was decided she’d move on as a single.

She could be refined and elegant but marvelously theatrical and over the top at the same time.

[quote]Wasn't she one of the Supremes?

That would be Mary Wilson, who was actually one of Nancy's good friends! Here they are at a baby shower together:

So, Nancy and Mary Wilson were sisters.

[quote] So, Nancy and Mary Wilson were sisters.

No.

^ I feel like Larry King has snuck back in.

"There are rumors that I must smother/Earl Wilson is not my brother"

From her great live album, "The Nancy Wilson Show."

Yes, r85, you reminded me of another of Miss Wilson's humdingers. "The Saga of Bill Bailey" from "The Nancy Wilson Show."

Love her. Have many of her albums on CD. Classy and pretty.

Who? A third-tier singing star in the firmament at best.

Her eightieth birthday last year.

Who? A third-tier singing star in the firmament at best.

—Most Every Nasty Angry Bitter Disrespectful Idiot Trolling Datalounge on Planet Earth

Sing it, r90!

Miss Warwick was there, bitches!

You can tell Nancy does not look entirely well in those photos. I'm glad her friends got to celebrate her and show her how loved she was.

Ann must be devastated. Her whole career was her and her sister.

[R13] Hardly! A very, very classy woman…..not mention tan enormous talent...hate to sound like my parents, but they don't make them like that anymore.....no need to show a breast or thigh...

............

She was one of the legends honored at Oprah's Legends Ball 2006.

Classy is right. Nancy and Shirley Horn.

Agree. Horn is even less well known today. Never had the exposure—or a hit record—that NW had.

Not to take any of Nancy's light from her, but this song from Shirley is the most FLAWLESS song. It slays me absolutely every time. I have yet to hear it and not be a sobbing mess at the end.

Here's to life....here's to love....here's to you.

SOB!

Damn, this is 30 years after the original.

She's slaying the fuck out of this.

*goosebumps*

Was that Nancy Wilson's real hair?

She was one of my moms favorite along with Diana Washington. The greats are going and the trash is left behind.

DL Shirley Horn thread.

She did understatement and and slow like no one else.

Nancy Wilson could soar over the top - behold the version of I’ve Never Been to Me at r74.

Nancy Wilson gives DL a final wave goodby with her yelling of the line - SUBTLE WHORING!!!

Thank you Miss R103!

So many people have done renditions of this song that the writers have to be billionaires from this very one song. But, only two artists can make me feel the true sadness of the song and literally make me tear up a bit. Those two are Bonnie Raitt and Miss Nancy Wilson. Wilson doesn't even perform the song here the way she recorded it--which is great in itself, but she made every word count in this performance!

"The Things We Did Last Summer" by Nancy Wilson is on the December 1994 Gap In-Store Playlist!

"You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" by Nancy Wilson is on the October 2003 GapBody In-Store Playlist!

That yodelling in the live "I Can't Make You Love Me" is offputting. And one would think a self described lyric interpreter would thank those who actually wrote the song.

@R89, she was SO sick but so grateful that night when she was honored.

"The Song Is You" by Nancy Wilson is on the October 2000 babyGap In-Store Playlist!

"Call Me Irresponsible" by Nancy Wilson is on the October 2003 babyGap In-Store Playlist!

GAP Playlist Guy, seek help.

Would loved to have heard a Judy Garland take on Guess Who I Saw....

[quote]Diana Washington.

Oh, dear.

I've heard "The Christmas Waltz" by a zillion artists, including Frank Sinatra, Karen Carpenter and Johnny Mathis, but NOBODY sings it like Nancy did. Just incredible.

While she started singing cabaret and standards, Wilson moved seamlessly into contemporary music in the 70s and beyond. Her music was always stately and soulful, and she was never out of place.

Get it Miss Nancy!

That's awesome R116.

Her later live performances of Guess Who I Saw Today? are great.

She cuts loose and changes the tone of the finale from heartbroken to accusatory.

Her BUT BEAUTIFUL album is a masterpiece. She returned to standards after a few years of singing more contemporary songs.

R119 Agreed! I love that album. Her 1960s albums for Capitol are my favorites.

Damn! I didn't know Nancy could throw down like that!

She could give Patti "Over The Top" LaBelle a run for her money!

This is one of my favorites. I got the CD in 1994 and listened to it for years and then put it away. I can't believe how masterful she is on this track, " More Love."

Damn it, I thought this was Nancy from heart. I was freaking out.

Did she have an iPod, and if so, what was on it?

Nancy Wilson from Heart was 81? Jesus she looked great. RIP Nancy.

In a list of recordings Obama enjoyed last year, it included The Great American Songbook by Nancy. I was very pleased.