Ann Wilson Recalls Heart’s ‘Painful’ Tour With John Mellencamp

Ann Wilson has looked back on her experience touring with John Mellencamp, recalling that it was a “particularly painful nine months.”

The trek took place in 1982, a period when Wilson’s band, Heart, was going through a commercial downturn. Mellencamp, on the other hand, was enjoying a rise in stardom thanks to “Jack & Diane.”

“It was a particularly painful nine months because John Cougar had a number one record,” Wilson recalled during her appearance on The Kenny Aronoff Sessions podcast. “[Heart was] going into the era where we couldn’t get arrested. And we were headlining the show. So, it was uncomfortable.”

READ MORE: Heart Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Aronoff, who was drumming for Mellencamp at the time, remembered that Heart was “really nice” to him and the band. Still, like Wilson, he noticed how the crowd began to change.

“Every night there were more and more John Cougar fans and he was all over MTV,” the drummer noted. “We were the new thing.”

Aronoff acknowledged that the tour was a great experience for him, but apologized for bringing it up considering it wasn’t a happy time in Heart’s history. Wilson seemed to take it all in stride.

READ MORE: How Heart Survived the ’80s

“Just a time among many,” the singer explained. “If you stay around long enough, you see they’re just eras and you just kind of roll through them.”

Is Heart Touring in 2024?

Wilson’s most recent release, Another Door, came out in September. It marked the singer’s first album as sole lyricist, and her debut with her new backing band, Tripsitter. In her conversation with Aronoff, Wilson admitted she plans to tour and record more material with Tripsitter. She also noted that she’ll be facing a time crunch in 2024 when Heart goes back on tour.

“It’s the most weird, complicated thing to juggle,” the singer admitted. “Because we’re all really behind Another Door and behind Tripsitter, that whole thing. But the minute you say Heart, all eyes just go to the Heart world.”

Heart has announced three concerts to close out the year, two in Southern California followed by a New Years Eve concert in Seattle. Further dates have yet to be revealed.