Barracuda Magic Man Heart

Barracuda Album: Little Queen (1977)
Magic Man Album: Dreamboat Annie (1975)
by HeartShow more

Barracuda was written by Ann and Nancy Wilson together with guitarist Roger Fisher and drummer Michael DeRosier. According to the band, the song is a statement about the record industry in general. It was written at a time when there was friction between the band and their label. Little Queen was the first album Heart released for the CBS-Portrait label. Their old label, Mushroom Records, sued the band and in 1978 released Magazine, an album made up of previously recorded material that Heart did not want released. (Thanks to Sovereign Records for this information.)

The Wilson sisters revealed in various interviews that the song was about Heart's anger towards an ad Mushroom Records placed in trade publications implying that Ann and Nancy were lesbians having an affair. The song focuses on Ann's rage towards a promoter who came up to her after a concert in Detroit asking how her "lover" was. She initially thought he was talking about her then-boyfriend - band member Michael Fisher. After the promoter revealed he was talking about her sister Nancy Wilson, Ann became angry and went back to her hotel room to write the song. Nancy put suitably angry music to the words to complete the song comparing the sleazy side of music to a dangerous fish.

This song can be heard in the movies Wag the Dog (1997), Charlie's Angles (2000), Roll Bounce (2005), You Again (2010), The Campaign (2012) and Identity Thief (2013).

TV series to feature the song include The Sopranos, Chuck and My Name Is Earl. It was also used in a 2009 episode of Glee where it was performed by Lea Michele and Adam Lambert.

Fergie performed this with Heart at the 2008 Idol Gives Back charity special on American Idol.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, this song was used as the as the unofficial theme song for Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor originally earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" when she played basketball in high school, because of her fierce competitiveness. The name was revived after Palin became mayor of her hometown, Wasilla, in 1996 and it was played at the 2008 National Republican Convention, after she gave a speech. The next day, Ann and Nancy Wilson issued a statement that said: "The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission. We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored."

Their wishes were not honored, and the song was played at the convention that night after their presidential nominee John McCain spoke and Palin joined him on stage. As the Republican campaign pointed out, they had obtained the proper performance rights to the song and were under no obligation to get further permission to use it (they would have if they wanted to use it in a commercial or video).

With no legal recourse, the Wilson sisters retaliated in the media, telling Entertainment Weekly: "Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

The song's co-writer Roger Fisher was also anti-Palin, but he saw things differently, telling Reuters he was "thrilled" that the song was being used as it was a win-win situation. He explained that while Heart gets publicity and royalties, the Republicans benefit from "the ingenious placement of a kick-ass song." He added that he would use some of the proceeds in a donation to the Obama campaign, and thus, "the Republicans are now supporting Obama."

When Heart entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, they played "Barracuda" last in a 3-song set. By this time, the Wilson sisters were the only original members still with the band, but it was the Little Queen lineup that got inducted: Roger Fisher, Howard Leese, Michael DeRosier and Steve Fossen. There was some bad blood between the Wilsons and their former bandmates, and at first, Ann and Nancy ruled out a reunion. In the end, they appeased fans by performing "Crazy On You" with the classic lineup, but did "Barracuda" with their current band along with some of their Seattle-based friends: Chris Cornell (who inducted them), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) and Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains).

While contributing guest vocals to Alice in Chains' 1992 Sap EP, Ann Wilson refused the bands' request to sing the "Barracuda" chorus on the song "Right Turn." She told them they wouldn't find it funny when people were still hounding them to play "Man In The Box" 10 years later.

"Barracuda" soundtracks the 2024 Hyundai "Conquer the Weekend" Vikings Commercial for their Santa Fe SUV.

The "Magic Man" is Mike Fisher, Heart's original guitarist. He was Ann Wilson's boyfriend, and she followed him to Canada during the Vietnam War years so he wouldn't get drafted. In 1974, Nancy Wilson (Ann's sister) joined the band and Fisher became their manager and sound engineer. The song is about being madly in love to the point where you are not thinking clearly.

The line, "Come on home girl..." relates to Ann Wilson's mother. The line, "Try to understand, Mama, he's a magic man" is Ann's response. Wilson says her mother helped keep her grounded when she was being rather irrational and acting under the spell of her "magic man."
According to Ann and Nancy Wilson's autobiography Kicking and Dreaming, this hit climbed the charts thanks to a radio publicist who offered DJs drugs and prostitutes in return for airplay. "When we were out of the way he'd pass the DJ a gram of cocaine," recalled Nancy, "or the number of a hooker and say, 'She's yours, on Heart.'"

Heart built their following in Canada, where they were waiting out the Vietnam War. When their debut album, Dreamboat Annie, was released there in 1975, some radio stations picked up the song as the band toured the country. When they returned to America in 1976, they had to start the promotional cycle again, but it worked: "Crazy On You" got airplay around the country and generated a buzz for the band. When "Magic Man" was released, more radio stations were familiar with Heart and added it to their playlists, helping send the song to #9 and push Dreamboat Annie Platinum. They were off and running in a career that landed them in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

In a 2022 interview with Ann Wilson, she talked about what "Magic Man" means to her when she sings it. "Now, it's like looking back on a love affair of the past from this great distance," she said. "It's pretty interesting to look back on all that naiveté and just what it's like when you fall in love for the first time. It's so powerful, it becomes a lifestyle. That song is a 'leaving home' song. So, I sing it as my 21-year-old self, just taking off into the world."

Dolly Parton covered "Magic Man" for her 2023 rock album Rockstar. Her version is a duet with Ann Wilson and is dedicated to Parton's husband, Carl.

"Nobody can out-sing Ann, but I gave it my darndest, and we added a few lines that were not in the original," said Parton. "We wanted to have a few things that made it seem like ours."