Little Queen

Little Queen
Cover photography by Bob Seidemann
Studio album by Heart
Released 14 May 1977
Recorded Kaye Smith Studios, Seattle, Washington, February–April 1977[1]
Genre Hard rock, folk rock
Length 39:26
Label Portrait
Producer Mike Flicker
Heart chronology
Dreamboat Annie
(1975)Dreamboat Annie1975		 Little Queen
(1977)		 Magazine
(1977)Magazine1977
Singles from Little Queen
  1. "Barracuda" / "Cry to Me"
    Released: May 1977
  2. "Little Queen" / "Treat Me Well"
    Released: May 1977
  3. "Kick It Out" / "Go On Cry"
    Released: December 1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
PopMatters(mixed)[5]

Little Queen is the second studio album released by the American rock band Heart. It was released in May 1977 on Portrait Records, and re-released in 2004 with two bonus tracks.

Overview

The group intended Magazine to be the official follow-up album to the debut Dreamboat Annie. However, a contract dispute with their label, Mushroom Records, resulted in the group signing with the newly formed Portrait Records, a division of CBS Records (now Sony/BMG).[6]

The Mushroom contract called for two albums and the label took the position that they were owed a second one. On that basis, Mushroom attempted to prevent the release of Little Queen and any other work by Heart. They took the five unfinished tracks for Magazine and added a B-side and two live recordings. The first release of the album in early 1977 came with a disclaimer on the back cover.[6]

The dispute dragged on and ended with the court deciding that Heart was free to sign with a new label, but added that Mushroom was indeed owed a second album. So, Heart went back to the studio to rerecord, remix, edit, and resequence the Magazine recordings in a marathon session over four days. A court-ordered guard stood nearby to prevent the master tapes from being erased.[6]

Little Queen was released 14 May 1977 and Magazine was re-released 22 April 1978. With the hit single "Barracuda", Little Queen outsold Magazine handily, eventually achieving 3X Platinum status.[7] However, the almost contemporary release also gave the band the distinction of having all three of their albums on the charts at the same time.[6]

"Barracuda"

After the first album became a million seller, Mushroom took out a full-page ad in Rolling Stone magazine touting the band's success, using the headline "Million to One Shot Sells a Million".[8] The ad looked like the front page of a tabloid newspaper and included a photo from the Dreamboat Annie cover shoot. The caption read: "Heart's Wilson Sisters Confess: 'It Was Only Our First Time!'".[6]

Just after this ad appeared, a Detroit radio promoter asked Ann Wilson where her lover was (referring to sister, Nancy). Ann was outraged and retreated to her hotel room to write a song. When she relayed the incident to Nancy, she, too, was outraged. Nancy joined Ann and contributed a melody and bridge. The song became "Barracuda", which peaked on the charts at number 11[9] and remains one of the band's signature songs.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Barracuda"Ann Wilson, Roger Fisher, Nancy Wilson, Michael DeRosier4:21
2."Love Alive"A. Wilson, Fisher, N. Wilson4:22
3."Sylvan Song" (Instrumental)N. Wilson, Fisher2:12
4."Dream of the Archer"A. Wilson, Fisher, N. Wilson4:30
5."Kick It Out"A. Wilson2:45
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Little Queen"A. Wilson, N. Wilson, Fisher, DeRosier, Howard Leese, Steve Fossen5:10
7."Treat Me Well"N. Wilson3:25
8."Say Hello"A. Wilson, Fisher, N. Wilson3:36
9."Cry to Me"A. Wilson, N. Wilson2:52
10."Go On Cry"A. Wilson, Fisher, N. Wilson5:53

Personnel

Heart

Additional musicians

  • Lynn Wilson Keagle, Seal (Celia) Dunnington – vocals on "Cry to Me" and "Go On Cry"

Production

  • Produced by Mike Flicker
  • Recording and Mix (Engineering) by Mike Flicker, Buzz Richmond and Winslow Kutz; Recorded at Kaye Smith Studios from February to April 1977
  • Mastered at Kendun Recorders
  • Mike Doud, Marilyn Romen – art direction
  • John Kehe – design
  • Bob Seidemann – photography
  • Michael Fisher – "special direction"
  • Tracks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 10 published by Wilsongs/Know Music/Play My Music. Track 3 published by Know Music/Play My Music. Track 5 published by Wilsongs. Track 6 published by Wilsongs/Know Music/Play My Music/Rosebud Music/Fozbass Music/Primal Energy Music. Track 7 published by Know Music. Track 9 published by Wilsongs/Know Music.

Charts

Certifications

Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA 1994 3x Platinum (+ 3,000,000)[7]
Canada CRIA 1977 2x Platinum (+ 200,000)[27]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Little Queen – Heart". AllMusic.
  2. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Heart - Little Queen review". All Music. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Altman, Billy (30 June 1977). "Heart: Little Queen : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 372. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  5. ↑ Horning, Rob (9 August 2004). "Heart: Little Queen / Dog & Butterfly / Bebe Le Strange (reissue)". PopMatters. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilson, Wilson, Cross: 13 - Natural Fantasies
  7. 1 2 "RIAA Searchable database: search for "Little Queen"". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Mushroom Records Ad" (JPG). Mushroom Records (Canada). Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Little Queen Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Saulnier, Jason (15 March 2012). "Roger Fisher Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  11. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 27, No. 19, August 06 1977". Library and Archives Canada. 6 August 1977. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Little Queen Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "Heart – Little Queen (album)". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc)|format= requires |url= (help). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ↑ "Album – Heart, Little Queen". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Artist Chart History - Heart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "Heart – Little Queen (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 28, No. 3, October 15, 1977". Library and Archives Canada. 15 October 1977. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "Single – Heart, Barracuda". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "Heart – Barracuda (song)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "Heart – Barracuda (song)". Austriancharts.at (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  22. ↑ "Heart – Barracuda (nummer)". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  23. ↑ "Heart - Barracuda". Ultratop (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "Heart – Barracuda (song)". Charts.org.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  25. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 28, No. 4, October 22, 1977". Library and Archives Canada. 22 October 1977. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  26. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 28, No. 11, December 24, 1977". Library and Archives Canada. 24 December 1977. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "Gold Platinum Search for Heart". Music Canada. Retrieved 16 July 2014.

References

Wilson, Ann; Wilson, Nancy; Cross, Charles R. (18 September 2012). Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock & Roll. It Books. New York City: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0062101679.

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