Maps of Music

Little Queen (1977)

Where the lyrics of Little Queen take you, and where it was really made.

A court-ordered guard stood by the master tapes while the band re-recorded the Magazine tracks in a four-day marathon session.

Key places

Where Little Queen was recorded and mixed (1977)

Recording site Kaye-Smith Studios — The album was recorded and mixed at this Seattle studio from February to April 1977. The Magazine tracks were later re-recorded and remixed for the release. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Little Queen: third studio album by American rock band Heart
• Released May 1977 by Portrait Records
• Recorded and mixed at Kaye-Smith Studios in Seattle, Washington, from February to April 1977
• Remastered version released 29 June 2004 by Epic Records and Legacy Recordings, with two bonus tracks
• Hit single "Barracuda" is the album's best-known song

Background

• Band intended Magazine to be the official follow-up to debut album Dreamboat Annie
• Contract dispute with label Mushroom Records led the group to sign with newly formed Portrait Records
• Portrait is a division of CBS Records (now Sony BMG)
• Mushroom contract called for two albums, and the label claimed a second album was owed
• Mushroom took five unfinished Magazine tracks, then added a B-side and two live recordings
• First release in April 1977 carried a disclaimer on the back cover
• Court ruled that Heart was free to sign with a new label but did owe Mushroom a second album
• Heart re-recorded, remixed, edited, and resequenced the Magazine recordings in a four-day marathon session

Recording

• Recorded and mixed at Kaye-Smith Studios, Seattle, Washington, in February, March, and April 1977
• Mastered at Kendun Recorders, Los Angeles
• Engineers credited: Buzz Richmond, Mike Flicker, Winslow Kutz
• Production credited to Mike Flicker

Cover

• Cover concept credited to Heart
• Art direction by Mike Doud and Marilyn Romen
• Design by John Kehe; photography by Bob Seidemann

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Heart is an American rock band formed in 1974 in the Pacific Northwest, coalescing from earlier projects including the Army (1967–1969), Hocus Pocus (1969–1970), and White Heart (1970–1973).
• By 1975 the lineup had settled with Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, Michael Derosier, Howard Leese, Roger Fisher, and Steve Fossen.
• The band rose to fame with music influenced by hard rock, heavy metal, and folk.

Members

• Ann Wilson (lead vocals, flute) and Nancy Wilson (rhythm guitar, vocals) are the only consistent members across the band's history.
• Early members included Roger Fisher (guitar), Steve Fossen (bass), Michael Derosier (drums), and Howard Leese (guitar, keyboards).
• Mark Andes (bass) and Denny Carmassi (drums) joined around 1982 after the earlier lineup changes.

Career

• Debut album Dreamboat Annie (1975) produced the hits "Magic Man" and "Crazy on You" and sold over a million copies.
• The band split from Mushroom Records and signed with Portrait; "Barracuda" became a major hit in 1977.
• A commercial decline in the early 1980s was followed by a mid-1980s comeback led by the album Heart (1985), which produced the No. 1 hit "These Dreams".
• The 1987 single "Alone" spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Heart disbanded in 1998, reunited to tour and record several times afterward, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
• The band has sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Records

• "Barracuda" entered the Billboard Hot 100 on May 28 and peaked at number 11
• Little Queen outsold Magazine by a wide margin, mainly because of the hit single "Barracuda"
• The album eventually earned a triple platinum certification from the RIAA
• The reworked Magazine entered the Billboard chart on April 22, 1978
• All three of the band's albums (Dreamboat Annie, Magazine, and Little Queen) were on the charts at the same time in 1977
• Dreamboat Annie had become a million seller before this album came out
• Little Queen was remastered and reissued by Epic Records and Legacy Recordings on 29 June 2004
• No critical reviews from publications are cited in the source text

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Mushroom ran a full-page ad in the December 30, 1976 issue of Rolling Stone, headlined "Million to One Shot Sells a Million", after Dreamboat Annie became a million seller.
• The ad looked like the front page of the tabloid National Enquirer and used a photo from the Dreamboat Annie cover shoot.
• After the ad surfaced, a Detroit radio promoter asked Ann Wilson about her lover, which implied an incestuous relationship between the sisters.
• Ann Wilson wrote a song in her hotel room after the incident, and Nancy Wilson contributed a melody and bridge, turning it into "Barracuda".
• The credits list Mike Doud and Marilyn Romen for art direction and John Kehe for design.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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