RIP Nancy Wilson
Intelligent, emotional and true — Nancy Wilson called herself a “song stylist”. She managed to mix irony and compassion in her interpretations seemingly effortlessly. She died today at the ripe age of 81.
Listen to her caught-you-red-handed song, Guess Who I Saw Today, for an example of her ability to spin a yarn, her remarkable technique and perfect timing.
Wilson was born with Venus Rising in Aries, and along with being a straightforwardly beautiful woman, this could explain the immediacy of her singing, and its pin-point precision.
There’s a lot of water in this chart — Sun and Moon, plus the chart ruler Mars is in a watery grand trine with Pluto and Saturn. Listen to her interpretation of Jobim’s Wave on this album, seems like a perfect expression of that emotional power. Of course, she made perfect “easy listening”, her music kind of washes through you. But within that wave of emotion there’s a thread of Marsy-Aries-Scorpio strength.
She’s had some pretty tough transits over the past few years. I hope she did not suffer too much. I guess she’ll be singing with Aretha now.
“How Glad I Am” ! I’m old enough to remember when that tune was in heavy rotation on the AM dial.
Very few of today’s song stylists can hold a candle to this lady. A superstar talent.