1) Nancy Sue Wilson - … Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name:
1) Nancy Sue Wilson - jazz diva best known for her 60s standards recordings.
2) Nancy Lamoureaux Wilson - singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and member of the group Heart.
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1) Nancy Sue Wilson (born February 20, 1937, in Chillicothe, OH, United States – December 13, 2018, in Pioneertown, CA, United States) was a jazz diva famous for recording American standards in the 60s.
She was among contemporary music's most stylish and sultry vocalists; while often crossing over into the pop and R&B markets -- and even hosting her own television variety program -- she remained best known as a jazz performer, renowned for her work alongside figures including Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing. Wilson first attracted notice performing the club circuit in nearby Columbus; she quickly earned a growing reputation among jazz players and fans, and she was recording regularly by the late '50s, eventually signing to Capitol and issuing LPs including 1959's Like in Love and Nancy Wilson with Billy May's Orchestra. Her dates with Shearing, including 1960's The Swingin's Mutual, solidified her standing as a talent on the rise, and her subsequent work with Adderley -- arguably her finest recordings -- further cemented her growing fame and reputation.
In the years to follow, however, Wilson often moved away from jazz, much to the chagrin of purists; she made numerous albums, many of them properly categorized as pop and R&B outings, and toured extensively, appearing with everyone from Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan to Ruth Brown and LaVern Baker. She even hosted her own Emmy-winning variety series for NBC, The Nancy Wilson Show, and was a frequent guest performer on other programs; hits of the period included "Tell Me the Truth," "How Glad I Am," "Peace of Mind," and "Now, I'm a Woman." Regardless of how far afield she traveled, Wilson always maintained her connections to the jazz world, and in the 1980s, she returned to the music with a vengeance, working closely with performers including Hank Jones, Art Farmer, Ramsey Lewis, and Benny Golson. By the 1990s, she was a favorite among the "new adult contemporary" market, her style ideally suited to the format's penchant for lush, romantic ballads; she also hosted the Jazz Profiles series on National Public Radio.
In the early 2000s, Wilson recorded two albums with Ramsey Lewis for Narada (2002's Meant to Be and 2003's Simple Pleasures). Her 2004 album R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) was a blend of straight-ahead jazz and ballads, similar to her next record, 2006's Turned to Blue, which, like R.S.V.P., used a different instrumentalist for each track. In 2005, Capitol released a three-part series to pay tribute to Wilson's contributions to music in the '50s and '60s: Guess Who I Saw Today: Nancy Wilson Sings Songs of Lost Love, Save Your Love for Me: Nancy Wilson Sings the Great Blues Ballads, and The Great American Songbook.
Wilson died from a long-illness on December 13, 2018 at her home in Pioneertown, California at the age of 81.
2) Nancy Lamoureux Wilson (born March 16, 1954, San Francisco, CA, United States), more popularly known as Nancy Wilson, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter. Along with her older sister Ann Wilson, she is part of the Seattle/Vancouver rock band Heart. She is married to film director and screenwriter Cameron Crowe and has composed and performed music for most of Crowe's movies, including Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky, and Elizabethtown.
While Ann is the lead singer on most of the Heart recordings, Nancy is the lead vocalist on Treat Me Well, These Dreams, Stranded, There's the Girl and Will You Be There (In The Morning), and frequently performs background vocals. She is also the band's rhythm and lead guitarist. In 1999, she released a live solo album, Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop.
Solo albums
1999 - Live At McCabes Guitar Shop
2005 - Elizabethtown
2009 - Baby Guitars
2016 - Undercover Guitar (with Julie Bergman)
2021 - You and Me
How Many Broken Wings
Nancy Wilson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a soft blanket of leaves
Though autumn's gone
Like any child's forgotten song
And when the winter came
You broke into tears
To mend my little heart
And your heart with lonely fears
How many broken wings
And hearts to love alone?
I've learned to try again
I learned to die again
And I, you and I will too
I know we missed the summer
For I was worlds away
No bed to crawl on
No-one to share the warm summer days
And how many broken wings
And hearts to love alone?
I've learned to try again
I've learned to die again
And I, you and I will too
And how many broken wings
And hearts to love alone?
I've learned try again
I've learned to die again
And I, you and I will too
(I've learned to try again)
How many broken wings
(I've learned to die again)
And hearts to love again.
The lyrics to Nancy Wilson's song How Many Broken Wings explore themes of love, loss, and resilience. The first verse speaks of spreading love like a soft blanket of leaves, but also acknowledges the passage of time and the fleeting nature of love. The second verse references missed opportunities and loneliness, but also reveals a willingness to try again and to face hardship with resilience. The repeated refrain of "How many broken wings and hearts to love alone?" speaks to the universal human experience of heartbreak and emotional pain, yet also emphasizes the importance of moving forward and taking risks despite the possibility of getting hurt.
The lyrics also contain vivid imagery and metaphors that convey strong emotions. The reference to autumn and forgotten songs suggests nostalgia and longing for a simpler time, while the image of a broken heart being mended with tears emphasizes the healing power of love. The use of the metaphor of broken wings also creates a powerful image of vulnerability and fragility, while the repeated references to learning to try and die again convey a sense of perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity.
Overall, the lyrics of How Many Broken Wings are a poignant exploration of the human experience of love, loss, and resilience, with a message that emphasizes the importance of taking risks and moving forward despite the possibility of getting hurt.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll spread my love around you
I will love and care for you deeply.
Like a soft blanket of leaves
My love will embrace you tenderly and comfort you.
Though autumn's gone
Despite the end of happy times and beauty.
Like any child's forgotten song
Like a melody that fades away from memory.
And when the winter came
And when times of solitude and sadness arrived.
You broke into tears
You cried and revealed your vulnerability and pain.
To mend my little heart
To try to heal the hurt I felt.
And your heart with lonely fears
But your own heart was also filled with loneliness and anxiety.
How many broken wings
How many individuals whose aspirations and dreams have been shattered.
And hearts to love alone?
And how many people left with no one to love or be loved by?
I've learned to try again
I have learned how to pick myself up and start anew.
I've learned to die again
I have learned how to bear the weight of setbacks and tragedies.
And I, you and I will too
And both of us will learn how to be resilient and hopeful.
I know we missed the summer
I know that we missed out on joyful and carefree days.
For I was worlds away
Because of my physical or emotional distance from you.
No bed to crawl on
No comfort or support to rely on.
No-one to share the warm summer days
No one to enjoy precious moments with in the sun's warmth.
And how many broken wings
And how many individuals whose aspirations and dreams have been shattered.
And hearts to love alone?
And how many people left with no one to love or be loved by?
I've learned to try again
I have learned how to pick myself up and start anew.
I've learned to die again
I have learned how to bear the weight of setbacks and tragedies.
And I, you and I will too
And both of us will learn how to be resilient and hopeful.
(I've learned to try again)
(I have learned how to pick myself up and start anew.)
How many broken wings
How many individuals whose aspirations and dreams have been shattered.
(I've learned to die again)
(I have learned how to bear the weight of setbacks and tragedies.)
And hearts to love again.
And how many people face the challenge of loving again despite past struggles and pain.
Writer(s): Helen Lewis, Kay Lewis
Contributed by Levi O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.