Consummate entertainer Ann-Margret has announced her first new studio album in over a decade, “Born To Be Wild”, due out April 14 on Cleopatra Records. It’s a collection of brand-new recordings of her favorite rock n roll and pop gems from the ’50s through the ’70s, featuring an all-star group of friends and fans including THE WHO‘s Pete Townshend, AEROSMITH‘s Joe Perry, Paul Shaffer, Pat Boone, country legends Mickey Gilley (on one of his final recordings),THE OAK RIDGE BOYS, and T.G. Sheppard, Stax guitarist Steve Cropper, Linda Gail Lewis, Robben Ford, and many more. Featuring golden-era favorites like “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, “Son Of A Preacher Man”, “Volare” and “Why Do Fools Fall In Love”, Ann-Margret remains at the top of her game (and still rides her purple Harley Davidson) while possessing a voice that’s enchanting as ever.
With the announcement, Ann-Margret has also unveiled her take on THE EVERLY BROTHERS‘ “Bye Bye Love”, featuring Pete Townshend and T.G. Sheppard.
Townshend said: “Being offered an opportunity to work with Ann-Margret, especially on an EVERLY BROTHERS song, was just too romantic to pass. Ann-Margret‘s work on the ‘Tommy’ movie back in 1974 (when she was most certainly not old enough to pretend to be Roger Daltrey‘s mother) was a joy from beginning to end. Her sonorous voice, her Scandinavian beauty, her sense of humor, her stamina and her strength all shone through.”
Ann-Margret stated: “I am very honored and proud to have had this opportunity to record ‘Born To Be Wild’ for Brian Perera‘s Cleopatra Records. What fun I had, and then to find all of the great artists that lent their support for this project. Reading the quote from my dear friend Pete Townshend brought back such great memories. Thank you all — Brian, Tim, Ken, Adam, Jurgen, Shore Fire, and everyone involved.”
Ann-Margret has been nominated twice for an Academy Award, won five Golden Globe Awards, won an Emmy, and received five other Emmy nominations. She is a three-time winner of the “Female Star Of The Year” award and has been twice honored as “Outstanding Box Office Star Of The Year” by the Theatre Owners Of America. Ann-Margret was also nominated for a Grammy for her album “God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions”. She has performed at the White House, received presidential citations for entertaining the U.S. armed forces overseas and was honored by the USO World Board of Governors. She has made over fifty-five films, including such hits as “The Cincinnati Kid”, “State Fair”, “Tommy”, “Carnal Knowledge”, “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Viva Las Vegas”.
For “Born To Be Wild”, Ann-Margret teamed with producers Jürgen Engler (David Hasselhoff, Robby Krieger),Adam Hamilton (William Shatner, MISSING PERSONS) and Danny B. Harvey (Nancy Sinatra, Wanda Jackson),as well as engineer Chris Lietz.
“Born To Be Wild” track listing:
Side A:
01. Rock Around The Clock (feat. Joe Perry & Jim McCarty)
02. Bye Bye Love (feat. Pete Townshend & T.G Sheppard)
03. Son Of A Preacher Man (feat. Steve Cropper & Brian Auger)
04. Earth Angel (feat. The Oak Ridge Boys & Harvey Mandel)
05. Why Do Fools Fall In Love (feat. Robben Ford & Chip Z’Nuff)
06. The Great Pretender (feat. Paul Shaffer, Danny B. Harvey & Adam Hamilton)
07. Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (feat. Cliff Richard & Rick Braun)
Side B:
01. Born To Be Wild (feat. The Fuzztones)
02. Splish Splash (feat. Mickey Gilley, Linda Gail Lewis & The Rockats)
03. Somebody’s In My Orchard (feat. Don Randi)
04. Teach Me Tonight (feat Pat Boone, Rick Wakeman & Damiano Della Torre)
05. Volare (feat. Lee Rocker & Slim Jim Phantom)
06. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree (feat. Sonny Landreth)