Nancy Wilson was born in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, Scotland, and learned guitar as a child. While attending art school in Glasgow, she performed on the local folk club circuit where she met fellow singer and guitarist Jimmie Macgregor who introduced her to blues and hillbilly music. She took her stage name from a Scottish folk song, "The Carlton Weaver", which has a chorus of: "Whisky, whisky, Nancy whisky, Whisky, whisky, Nancy-O".
