How Paul Simon Inspired the Iconic Acoustic Intro on Heart’s “Crazy On You”

In the conversation of instantly recognizable guitar intros, Heart surely had its share. “Crazy On You” was the third single release on Heart’s debut album Steamboat Annie. Opening the track is Nancy Wilson’s quick-picking acoustic guitar, stunning listeners in the mid-70s. The acoustic guitar remains throughout the track, even after the electric guitar kicks in, which was unusual at the time. Let’s take a look at the thought process behind this iconic intro.

Wilson Drew Inspiration From the Moody Blues, Yes, and Paul Simon

It’s known that Nancy Wilson was inspired by The Moody Blues’ song “Question,” but that wasn’t the only source of inspiration. In a Rolling Stone interview in 2016, Wilson credited the progressive rock band Yes, as well as folk singer Paul Simon.

Wilson explained, “The acoustic intro was written with the song in mind. What I was trying to get at was a thing like what Paul Simon had done on his version of “Anji”. I took that sort of tempo and groove and put it in the key of the song and worked on it for a couple of days. We were kind of hell-bent on making Dreamboat Annie into a concept sort of thing.”

“At the time, we were listening to stuff like Yes, where you had Steve Howe doing some mellow acoustic intros to things. And there were lots of different parts to songs – it wasn’t just riff-verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus-out, or whatever. We were trying to be more creative and kind of meaningful and poetic with these songs. We weren’t afraid to be a little bit more “lofty” with all of it, to a certain degree.”

Heart Became One of Classic Rock’s Most Successful Bands

“Crazy On You” peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 but became one of Heart’s signature tracks. Paired with the No. 9 hit “Magic Man”, Heart propelled into rock stardom. Heart earned nine Top 10 hits and spawned two No. 1 hits in the 1980s.

Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson parted ways in 2016 but later reunited Heart in 2024. Following a successful run of their “Royal Flush Tour” in 2025, they’ve extended their tour into 2026 with new dates added. The iconic acoustic guitar intro for “Crazy On You” is still played by Nancy Wilson at every Heart concert.