Released in May 1987, Heart’s “Alone” spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the biggest hit of their career. But here’s what most fans don’t know: the Wilson sisters were the third act to record it, and the song had already flopped twice before. Songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly first released it themselves in 1983 under the name i-Ten, where it went absolutely nowhere. Then John Stamos and Valerie Stevenson performed it on their short-lived CBS sitcom Dreams in 1984, and that version also disappeared without a trace.
The song dominated charts worldwide, hitting number one in Canada and climbing to number three in the UK, which made it Heart’s first Top 40 hit in Britain. It finished as the second biggest song of 1987 on the year-end Billboard chart, and earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. This success came during Heart’s mid-80s reinvention, when they were outselling their 70s hard rock peak by embracing power ballads and contemporary production. The song’s chart run helped push the Bad Animals album to triple-platinum sales and number two on the Billboard 200.
Steinberg and Kelly had hit their stride as hitmakers by 1987, having already written Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors”. When producer Ron Nevison asked for material for Heart’s new album, they dusted off the rejected song and made crucial changes. Steinberg had never liked the original opening line, so they rewrote it from “I always fared well on my own” to “Til now, I always got by on my own.” That small shift gave the chorus more emotional punch. Kelly also tweaked the melody to give it what he called “almost a slightly R&B feel,” which lifted the entire song.
Nancy Wilson recorded the haunting piano intro in a darkened studio at One on One in North Hollywood, setting an intimate mood before the band exploded into the synth-driven chorus. Ann Wilson’s vocal performance was captured late at night with the lights low, and producer Nevison kept her first full take as the master vocal. Tom Kelly, who co-wrote the song, sang the high harmony parts on the final recording. The production team worked across multiple California studios including Power Station, Rumbo Recorders, and Can Am, with Nevison crafting the lush, dramatic sound that defined Heart’s late-80s comeback. The core lineup featured Ann and Nancy Wilson, Howard Leese on guitars and keyboards, Mark Andes on bass, and Denny Carmassi on drums.
“Alone” was the lead single from Heart’s ninth studio album Bad Animals, which Capitol Records released that same month. The album spawned three other charting singles: “Who Will You Run To” peaked at number seven, “There’s the Girl” reached number twelve, and “I Want You So Bad” also charted. Ann Wilson later admitted feeling conflicted about recording so many outside songs, telling an interviewer that tracks written by “an L.A. pool of songwriters” lacked substance compared to the band’s own compositions. But she softened her stance years later, acknowledging that magic sometimes happened with outside material.
The song transformed into a modern power ballad standard, covered by everyone from Celine Dion to countless karaoke singers. Carrie Underwood performed it during her winning 2005 American Idol run, with judge Simon Cowell declaring it would help her win the competition and outsell all previous Idol winners. She later performed it with Ann and Nancy Wilson on stage, and reprised it again in 2023 while opening for Guns N’ Roses. Steinberg and Kelly continued writing hits for Pat Benatar, Tina Turner, Belinda Carlisle, and The Pretenders, eventually earning induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.
What makes “Alone” endure is its raw emotional honesty wrapped in soaring production. Ann Wilson’s vocal performance captures desperate longing in a way that feels both vulnerable and powerful, while the arrangement builds from quiet intimacy to full-throated rock catharsis. The song proved Heart could dominate pop radio without abandoning their rock roots, and it remains their signature ballad more than three decades later. Two failures and one phone call from a producer turned a forgotten album track into one of the defining power ballads of the 1980s.
“Alone” – Single by Heart from the album Bad Animals.
B-side: “Barracuda” (live)
Released on May 15, 1987.
Songwriters: Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.
Musicians:
Ann Wilson – lead vocals
Nancy Wilson – rhythm guitar, acoustic piano, background vocals
Howard Leese – lead guitar, keyboards, background vocals
Mark Andes – bass guitar
Denny Carmassi – drums
Additional musicians:
Mike Moran – keyboards
Tom Kelly – background vocals
