'Barracuda' by Heart Was Inspired by a Sleazy Music Industry Lie

Heart's record label used music industry sexism and voyeurism to promote the Seattle-based rock band, led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, but ended up getting a lot more than they bargained for, becoming the subject of their now-signature 1977 hit, "Barracuda."

At the time of writing, Ann had recently discovered Mushroom Records had placed a full-page ad in Rolling Stone, framing her and Nancy as some lewd incestuous gimmick for the pleasure of male audiences.

"That pissed us off. It went against everything we were trying to initiate, trying to invent – and the fact that our first time in [Rolling Stone] had that lascivious implication," Ann told the publication almost forty years later.

"For [this promoter] to imagine us together in an incestuous lesbian relationship – the sleaze factor really dawned on me in that moment," she continued. The sisters also recalled realizing the scale of the sleazy PR move when a post-concert interviewer asked after Nancy, referring to her as Ann's "lover."

Written by Ann in her hotel room on her return from the humiliating exchange, "Barracuda," a rip-roaring blaze of a woman scorned, was born. The rage over the label's predatory promotion in exchange for the duo's dignity is especially apparent in the lyrics, "The real thing don't do the trick, no/You better make up something quick/You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn it to the wick/Ohh, barra-barracuda, yeah."

"Those lyrics were written by my true nature, in true rage," Ann told Rolling Stone. The star went on to compare the song's words to the emerging #MeToo movement at the time of the 2018 interview, adding, "I hope that that song will come in handy now when women are thinking about what they want to do and not do."

With sister Nancy penning the galloping rhythm, the fiery, feminist record demonstrated the immeasurable power of women's forces combined, with the sisters working together on the bridge, "'Sell me, sell you' the porpoise said/Dive down deep now to save my head, you/ I think that you got the blues too."

Ironically, Mushroom Records got the hit record they wanted from Heart, but the Wilson sisters got the last laugh, creating a classic rock anthem through their powerful lyricism and technical witchcraft as musicians, rather than on sex appeal.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 2:42 PM.