Crazy On You - Heart (1976) 9/13/22

Today we're highlighting a "Great Song of the '70s" that is not only a classic rock staple, but actually two songs in one!

In 1975, the members of Heart were all living in a small cottage in Washington near the US/Canadian border. Ann and Nancy Wilson were stressing about all the social unrest in the world--as well as the war in Vietnam.

At some point, they hit upon the idea of writing a song about being able to forget the world's problems during a night of passion.

Musically inspired by the song "Question" by the Moody Blues (compare below!), Ann wrote a rhythm guitar instrumental called "Silver Wheels," which, thanks to help from Nancy, morphed into the hard-rockin' "Crazy on You." It not only became two of Heart's signature songs...but an overall "Great Song of 1976!"

When the songs were released from the classic album "Dog & Butterfly," music critics fell in love with the combination of guitar styles, and so did FM album rock DJs, who played the songs in heavy rotation for months...which turned into years. In fact, you can still hear the songs quite frequently on classic rock and oldies stations today.

Of course, "Crazy on You" was also played on Top 40 stations, but because of its length at nearly 5 minutes, exposure was a bit limited. Plus, most of them skipped the "Silver Wheels" section to shorten things up.

Still, "Crazy on You" was able to chart respectably: #25 in Canada and #35 in the US.

But really, in this case, the charts didn't matter. "Silver Wheels/Crazy on You" were--and remain-- "Great Songs of 1976!"

"Question" (Moody Blues, 1970):