Hollywood icon Ann-Margret is releasing her first new album in more than a decade. Born To Be Wild (Cleopatra Records) will arrive on April 14.
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Featuring a collection of some of Margret’s favorite pop and rock songs from the 1950s through the ’70s, Born To Be Wild also features an all-star lineup of guest musicians. The Who‘s Pete Townshend, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Paul Shaffer, Pat Boone, The Oak Ridge Boys, Stax guitarist Steve Cropper, Linda Gail Lewis, T.G. Sheppard, Robben Ford, and the late Mickey Gilley in one of his final recordings, among many more, will appear on the project.
“I am very honored and proud to have had this opportunity to record ‘Born To Be Wild’ for Brian Perera’s Cleopatra Records,” said Margret in a statement. “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.”
Featuring classics like “Son Of A Preacher Man,” “Why Do Fools Fall In Love,” Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and “The Great Pretender,” the album also features a cover of The Everly Brothers’ 1958 hit “Bye Bye Love,” featuring Townshend and Sheppard. Coincidentally, Margret starred in The Who’s 1975 mock-drama Tommy nearly 50 years ago as Tommy’s mother, Nora Walker.
“Being offered an opportunity to work with Ann-Margret, especially on an Everly Brothers song, was just too romantic to pass,” said Townshend in a statement. “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 humour, her stamina and her strength all shone through.”
Now 81, Margret, has been nominated for two Academy Awards and won an Emmy, and five Golden Globes Awards throughout her career, which spans more than 60 years. She has also released more than a dozen albums, from her 1961 debut And Here She Is…Ann-Margret through her most recent Grammy-nominated God is Love: The Gospel Sessions 2, released in 2011.
Born To Be Wild Tracklist
Side A
- “Rock Around The Clock” feat. Joe Perry & Jim McCarty
- “Bye Bye Love” feat. Pete Townshend & T.G Sheppard
- “Son Of A Preacher Man” feat. Steve Cropper & Brian Auger
- “Earth Angel” feat. The Oak Ridge Boys & Harvey Mandel
- “Why Do Fools Fall In Love” feat. Robben Ford & Chip Z’Nuff
- “The Great Pretender” feat. Paul Shaffer, Danny B. Harvey & Adam Hamilton
- “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” feat. Cliff Richard & Rick Braun
Side B
- “Born To Be Wild” feat. The Fuzztones
- “Splish Splash” feat. Mickey Gilley, Linda Gail Lewis & The Rockats
- “Somebody’s In My Orchard” feat. Don Randi
- “Teach Me Tonight” feat Pat Boone, Rick Wakeman & Damiano Della Torre
- “Volare” feat. Lee Rocker & Slim Jim Phantom
- “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” feat. Sonny Landreth
(Photo by Matthew Eisman/Getty Images)
