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.
Please Be Kind
Ann-Margret Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So please be kind
Handle my heart with care
Oh please be kind
This all so grand
My dreams are on parade
If you'll just understand
They'll never never fade
So tell me your love's sincere
Oh please be kind
Tell me I needn't fear
Oh please be kind
Cause if you leave me dear
I know my heart will lose its mind
If you love me
Please be kind
Oh please be kind
Oh please be kind
Cause if you leave me dear
I know my heart will lose its mind
If you love me
Oh please be kind
The lyrics of Ann-Margret's song "Please Be Kind" express the concerns of someone who has fallen in love for the first time. The singer asks for gentle treatment, knowing that her heart is fragile and vulnerable. She puts her dreams on display and hopes that her lover will understand and reciprocate her feelings. The lyrics also reveal the singer's fears about being left alone and how it will affect her mental state. The repetition of the phrase "Oh please be kind" emphasizes the plea for compassion and the importance of the lover's response.
Overall, the song captures the intensity of first love and the heightened emotions that come with it. The singer expresses a deep desire to be loved, accepted, and protected. With delicate instrumentation and Ann-Margret's heartfelt delivery, the lyrics take on a raw and authentic quality that is relatable to anyone who has experienced the ups and downs of a first love.
Line by Line Meaning
This is my first affair
I am new to loving someone, and I am inexperienced with the emotions and responsibilities that come with it.
So please be kind
I ask that you treat me gently and with consideration since I am innocent about what love really means.
Handle my heart with care
Please be tender with my heart and my feelings because it is a fragile, delicate organ that is easily hurt.
Oh please be kind
My request for your compassion and patience is sincere, and I am hoping you will understand how much I need your support.
This all so grand
Being in love and committing myself to someone feels like the most significant and wonderful thing in my life right now.
My dreams are on parade
The hopes and aspirations I have for our relationship and our future together are playing out like a beautiful, joyful procession in my mind.
If you'll just understand
If you can empathize with me and comprehend the gravity of what I am feeling, then you will be able to appreciate the enormity of my emotions.
They'll never never fade
If you know me well enough and understand me completely, then you will realize that the love I have for you will never diminish or lose its intensity.
So tell me your love's sincere
I want you to express your feelings to me truthfully, authentically, and with the full weight of your heart behind them.
Tell me I needn't fear
Assure me that you will not hurt or betray me, that you will remain faithful and committed to our relationship.
Cause if you leave me dear
If you decide to abandon me or break up with me abruptly and without warning, you will cause me immense pain and devastation.
I know my heart will lose its mind
My emotions will spiral out of control, and I will feel adrift, disoriented, and deeply hurt if you betray my trust or leave me alone.
If you love me
If you have true affection for me and you care for me deeply, then you will respect my feelings and treat me kindly and considerately.
Please be kind
I am pleading with you to show me compassion, patience, and understanding throughout our relationship.
Oh please be kind
I am repeating my entreaty because I need your assurance that you will treat me gently and with empathy throughout our relationship.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMMY CAHN, SAUL CHAPLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind