Ann-Margret started recording for RCA in 1961, but her recording career was not as successful as her concurrent movie career. She had a sexy, throaty singing voice comparable to Eartha Kitt or Nancy Sinatra, and RCA attempted to capitalize on her "Female Elvis" comparison by her recording a version of Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and other songs stylistically similar to Presley. She scored one minor hit, "I Just Don't Understand" (which entered the Billboard Top 40 in the third week of August 1961 and stayed 6 weeks, peaking at #17.) Her only charting album is The Beauty and the Beard (1964), on which she was accompanied by trumpeter Al Hirt. The contract with RCA ended in 1966.
Years later, she returned to music at the end of Disco era. Her 1980 album, "Ann-Margret" became a success with both singles, "Midnight Message" and "Love Rush" reaching the Top 10 of the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. In the early 1980s, the album was followed up with the single, "Everybody Needs Somebody Sometimes" and the B-Side "Hold Me/Squeeze Me." Ann Margret has continued to record music sporatically since then.
[edit]Film career
In 1961 she also made her film début for in Pocketful of Miracles, starring Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, and Hope Lange, a remake of the Oscar-winning 1933 film Lady for a Day; both versions were directed by the great Frank Capra. She followed that role with the successful remake of Rodgers' and Hammerstein's musical State Fair in 1962. Her next starring role, as the all-American teenager in Bye Bye Birdie, made her a major star. When she filmed Viva Las Vegas with Elvis Presley the two began an affair that received considerable attention from the gossip columnists in various media. The reports led to a showdown with a very worried Priscilla Beaulieu, which she recounts in her 1985 book, Elvis and Me, including Ann-Margret's attempt to "cut her off at the pass" with a press announcement that Ann-Margret and Elvis were engaged to be married. Although he ended the affair, Presley remained a friend and continued to send her flowers at the opening of each of her stage appearances until he died. Of all the Hollywood starlets he had worked with or had a relationship with, Ann-Margret was the only one to attend his funeral.
In 1963, Ann-Margret was featured and guest-starred, in animated form, in an episode of Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones as "Ann-Margrock." Decades later, she recorded the theme song to the live-action film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas in character as Ann-Margrock. The song she recorded was a modified version of the "Viva Las Vegas" theme.\
In March 1966, Ann-Margret and entertainers Chuck Day and Mickey Jones teamed up for a USO tour to entertain U.S. servicemen in remote parts of Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia. She still has great affection for the veterans and refers to them as "my gentlemen". [1] Ann-Margret, Day and Jones reunited for an encore of this tour for veterans and troops at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada in November 2005. [2]
In 1971, she starred in Mike Nichols's Carnal Knowledge, marking a change from her sex-kitten musical roles, garnering a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The following year, while performing at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, she fell 22 feet from the stage and suffered injuries that put her out of commission for several months. Throughout the 1970s, Ann-Margret balanced her live performances with a string of critically acclaimed dramatic film performances that played against her glamorous image, including Tommy in 1975, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In addition, she has been nominated for ten Golden Globe Awards, winning five times including Best Actress for Tommy. She also did a string of successful TV specials, starting with The Ann-Margret Show for NBC in 1968. Now in her mid-60s, she continues to act in movies.
In 1994, she published an autobiography titled Ann Margret: My Story (ISBN 0-399-13891-9). She has been married to actor Roger Smith since 1967. Smith suffers from myasthenia gravis, and Ann-Margret has devoted much of her life to caring for him.
In 2001 Ann-Margret made her first appearance in a stage musical, playing the character of Mona Stangley in a new touring production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
She has also filmed the movie "Mem-o-re", where she stars with Billy Zane and Dennis Hopper.
Just Because
Ann-Margret Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just because you think you're so pretty,
And just because your momma thinks you're hot,
Well, just because you think you've got something
That no other girl has got,
You've caused me to spend all my money.
You laughed and called me old Santa Claus.
Well, I'm telling you,
Because, well well, just because.
Well, well, well,
There'll come a time when you'll be lonesome
And there'll come a time when you'll be blue.
Well, there'll come a time when old Santa
He won't pay your bills for you.
You've caused me to lose all my women
And now, now you say we are through.
Well, I'm telling you
Baby, I was through with you
A long long time ago.
Well, just because you think you're so pretty
And just because your mama thinks you're the hottest thing in town
Well, just because you think you've got something
That nobody else has got,
You've caused me to spend all of my money.
Honey, you laughed and called me your old Santa Claus.
Well, I'm telling you I'm through with you
Because, well well, just because.
Ann-Margret's song "Just Because" is about a lover who has been taken for a ride by their partner. The lover talks directly to the person they were lovers with, pointing out that just because they are pretty and their mother thinks they are hot doesn't justify their actions, such as spending all of their partner's money. The partner even laughed and called them old Santa Claus, making the lover feel like they were just being used for their wealth.
Towards the end of the song, the lover informs their ex-partner that there will come a time when they will be lonesome and blue, and that poor decisions in the past will come full circle. No longer will old Santa, as the partner referred to their lover, pay for their bills. They then state that their partner caused them to lose other women in their life, and that they were over their partner a long time ago.
The song is a warning to anyone who may seem superficial in their relationships, but also a reminder that eventually, one's actions will catch up with them. Ann-Margret's powerful vocals in this song encapsulate the raw emotions of a lover used and taken for granted.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, well, well
Expression of surprise and mild irritation at the actions of the person being addressed
Just because you think you're so pretty
The person being addressed is overly confident in their physical appearance
And just because your momma thinks you're hot
The person being addressed is overly praised by their mother
Well, just because you think you've got something
That no other girl has got
The person being addressed thinks they possess unique qualities that aren't found in anyone else
You've caused me to spend all my money
The person being addressed has been a financial burden on the artist
You laughed and called me old Santa Claus
The person being addressed has made fun of the singer for their generosity
Well, I'm telling you,
Baby, I'm through with you.
The singer is declaring their intention to end the relationship with the person being addressed
Well, well, well,
There'll come a time when you'll be lonesome
And there'll come a time when you'll be blue.
A warning that the person being addressed will experience loneliness and sadness in the future
Well, there'll come a time when old Santa
He won't pay your bills for you.
A warning that the person being addressed is too reliant on others for financial support
You've caused me to lose all my women
And now, now you say we are through.
The person being addressed has caused the artist to lose the affections of others and is now trying to break up with the artist
Well, I'm telling you
Baby, I was through with you
A long long time ago.
The singer is emphasizing that they have been ready to end the relationship for a while
Well, just because you think you're so pretty
And just because your mama thinks you're the hottest thing in town
Well, just because you think you've got something
That nobody else has got,
You've caused me to spend all of my money.
The person being addressed has been draining the artist's finances because of their self-righteousness
Honey, you laughed and called me your old Santa Claus.
Well, I'm telling you I'm through with you
Because, well well, just because.
The person being addressed has compared the singer to their gift giver at Christmas and the singer is declaring their intention to end the relationship for the reasons mentioned before
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LLOYD PRICE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind