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.
Lovie Joe
Ann-Margret Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About that lovin' man of mine
He's so neat and sweet as the berry
That grows on the vine
And he's mine all mine
Oh Lovie Joe, that ever lovin' man
From way down home in Birmingham
And when he starts to love me I holler more
'Cause he's the master of those lovin' arts
Where all your lovers quits
That's where he starts
And when I hear the wedding march so grand
I just get myself a wedding band
Take it to the preacher man
Make the preacher understand
That he must join me hand in hand
To Lovie Joe, that ever lovin' man
Oh Lovie Joe, that ever lovin' man
From way down home in Birmingham
He can do some lovin' and some lovin' sure
And when he starts to love me
I holler more, more
Master of those lovin' arts
Where all your lovers quits
That's where he starts
I just get myself a wedding band
Take it to the preacher man
Make the preacher understand
That he must join me hand in hand
To Lovie Joe, that ever lovin' man
To Lovie Joe, that ever lovin' man
The song "Lovie Joe" by Ann-Margret is a playful and flirtatious ode to a man who is both beloved and frustrating. The singer vacillates between different emotions towards "that lovin' man of mine," expressing sadness, gladness, and anger. Despite this emotional rollercoaster, she can't help but sing his praises, describing him as "neat and sweet as the berry that grows on the vine" and the "master of those lovin' arts" where other lovers fall short.
The song is filled with playful rhymes and repetition, such as the catchy chorus of "Oh Lovie Joe, that ever lovin' man from way down home in Birmingham." The singer dreams of marrying Lovie Joe and taking him to the preacher with a wedding band, declaring that he must join her hand in hand. The song is a celebration of the joy and frustration that comes with being in love, and the playful, upbeat melody reinforces this lighthearted tone.
Overall, "Lovie Joe" is a light and fun song that captures the feeling of being smitten with someone who can drive you crazy, but you can't help but love anyway.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm sad, I'm glad, I'm mad
I have a range of emotions about my lover, Lovie Joe
About that lovin' man of mine
My lover, Lovie Joe, is the center of my emotions
He's so neat and sweet as the berry
Lovie Joe is tidy and gentle, like a ripe berry
That grows on the vine
Just like a berry grows on a vine, so does Lovie Joe grow in love for me
And he's mine all mine
I feel possessive of Lovie Joe, as if he belongs solely to me
Oh Lovie Joe, that ever lovin' man
Lovie Joe is an always-affectionate man, and this is his title
From way down home in Birmingham
Lovie Joe is from the southern town of Birmingham
He can do some lovin' and some lovin' sure
Lovie Joe is skilled in the art of physical affection
And when he starts to love me I holler more
I become more vocal and animated during affectionate acts with Lovie Joe
'Cause he's the master of those lovin' arts
Lovie Joe is extremely skilled and experienced in love-making
Where all your lovers quits
Even when other lovers give up, Lovie Joe keeps going
That's where he starts
That's where Lovie Joe shines and really gets going
And when I hear the wedding march so grand
At the thought of marriage to Lovie Joe, I get emotional
I just get myself a wedding band
I'm ready to get married to Lovie Joe
Take it to the preacher man
I plan to go to the preacher for the marriage ceremony
Make the preacher understand
I want the preacher to comprehend my deep love for Lovie Joe
That he must join me hand in hand
I want the preacher to officiate our wedding and join our hands together
To Lovie Joe, that ever lovin' man
I want to marry Lovie Joe, the man who loves me so deeply
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILL MARION COOK, JOE JORDAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind