Chappell Roan welcomed Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson onstage at her Forest Hills, New York, concert on Sunday to join her for a cover of Heart’s 1977 classic “Barracuda,” which she often plays live. In an interview with Vulture, Nancy says that Chappell is “one of the great pop songwriters,” and that she believes Chappell’s hit “Pink Pony Club” will outlast us all.
The Rock & Roll Hall Famer says of Chappell, “She’s a shining light and a beacon of positive energy in the really dark time that we’re in.” She notes, “The song structure of ‘Pink Pony Club’ is perfect.”
In fact, Nancy tells Vulture, “‘Pink Pony Club’ and a lot of Chappell’s songs are already beloved in the world. There are marching bands performing it and choirs singing it in cathedrals in Europe. That song will never die. We’ll all be gone, and ‘Pink Pony Club’ will still be there.”
Chappell feels the same way about “Barracuda.” She’s described it as “the coolest song ever,” and it was even her top song on her Spotify Wrapped last year. “Barracuda,” co-written by Nancy and her bandmate and sister Ann Wilson, was inspired by their anger at their record company, which had invented a salacious story about them in an attempt to get them more press.
“I think she relates to the song for the reason of what it’s all about — the song kicks the a**** of slimy guys in the culture,” Nancy says of Chappell’s love of the song. “They’re still everywhere. They haven’t gone away. If anything, it’s worse now than it was in the ’70s.”
“I think she’s really reactionary and intelligent about her own sexuality and her place in a culture regarding her individual personhood,” Nancy adds. “‘Barracuda’ speaks to her, and she’s a radical and intelligent thinker.”
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