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.
Tell Me Tell Me
Ann-Margret Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me a story
Tell me something I don't know
Tell me something
Tell me your bad dreams
Tell me when you close your eyes, what you see
Tell me how we went this long
Only hearing half the song
Tell me something
Tell me how we got this far
Tell me how we let our hearts lose control
And tell me something
Tell me how I fucked this up
Tell me that you've had enough
Tell me how I made that call
Not to even think at all
Tell me how I'm supposed to fall from grace
Tell me something
Tell me what I'm supposed to do
Tell me how to live without you
Ann-Margret's song "Tell Me Tell Me" is a heart-wrenching ballad that revolves around the theme of communication and miscommunication. At the beginning of the song, the singer is asking the person they love to tell them something new, to reveal something they don't already know. They crave a deeper connection, a more intimate understanding of their partner. In the line "tell me how we went this long, only hearing half the song, never knowing just how wrong we were before," the singer acknowledges that they were only hearing part of the truth, that there was a lack of communication and understanding within the relationship. They want to make amends and move forward together.
As the song progresses, the singer becomes more desperate for answers, asking their partner to reveal their innermost fears and nightmares, as well as the visuals they see when they close their eyes. They want to know everything about their partner, to completely and truly understand them. However, the singer also acknowledges their own mistakes and shortcomings, asking their partner to tell them how they "fucked this up." They want to take responsibility for their actions and work towards a better future together, but they are lost and unsure of how to proceed without their partner.
Overall, "Tell Me Tell Me" is a powerful song that highlights the importance of communication and honesty in relationships. The singer's desire for greater understanding and connection is something that many people can relate to, and the raw emotion and vulnerability in Ann-Margret's performance really drives that point home.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell me something
The singer wants to engage in a conversation with the other person.
Tell me a story
The singer wants the other person to narrate an experience or event to them.
Tell me something I don't know
The singer wants to learn something new from the other person.
Tell me something
The artist is still interested in knowing more and wants to be engaged in a conversation.
Tell me your bad dreams
The artist is curious about the other person's nightmares.
Tell me when you close your eyes, what you see
The singer wants to know what the other person visualizes when they close their eyes.
Tell me how we went this long
The singer wants to know how they managed to continue the relationship without knowing the whole story.
Only hearing half the song
The artist feels that they were only aware of part of the situation.
Never knowing just how wrong we were before
The artist is now realizing that they were not aware of the mistakes they made earlier.
Tell me something
The artist is still interested in knowing more and wants to be engaged in a conversation.
Tell me how we got this far
The singer wants to know what led to the current state of their relationship.
Tell me how we let our hearts lose control
The artist wants to know how their emotions got out of hand.
And tell me something
The singer is still interested in knowing more and wants to be engaged in a conversation.
Tell me how I fucked this up
The singer wants to know where they went wrong.
Tell me that you've had enough
The singer is asking the other person to confirm if they are tired of the situation.
Tell me how I made that call
The artist wants to know how they made a certain decision or choice.
Not to even think at all
The artist regrets not having thought things through.
Tell me how I'm supposed to fall from grace
The singer is unsure of what actions to take next.
Tell me something
The singer is still interested in knowing more and wants to be engaged in a conversation.
Tell me what I'm supposed to do
The artist is asking the other person for guidance on a course of action.
Tell me how to live without you
The artist is acknowledging that they need help on how to move on from the other person.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Ann Marie Nacchio
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind