''Love Me Forever'' is a studio album by American recording artist

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...

. It was released in May 1963 via Capitol Records and contained 12 tracks. It was Jackson's fifth studio album of her career and the second to included orchestrated production. ''Love Me Forever'' was a collection of country and pop music standards composed by other artists. The album received positive reviews from critics following its release.

Background and content

In the 1950s, Wanda Jackson recorded as a Rockabilly artist and released singles such as "

Fujiyama Mama "Fujiyama Mama" is a song written by Jack Hammer. It was first recorded in 1955 by Annisteen Allen, and in 1957 by rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson, both for Capitol. It did not chart in the United States, but Jackson's recording became a No. 1 ...

" and "

Let's Have a Party "Let's Have a Party" is a 1957 song written by Jessie Mae Robinson and recorded by Elvis Presley for the movie '' Loving You''. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom under the title "Party" and peaked at #2 in the UK Singles Chart. W ...

". In 1961, Jackson made the decision to return to country music and placed two singles on the American country chart top ten. ''Love Me Forever'' was recorded during Jackson's country transition. The project's liner notes explain that ''Love Me Forever'' "demonstrates a country music background and a feelingful style can work on some of the rich and most beautiful of today's romantic ballads." ''Love Me Forever'' contained a total of 12 tracks. Unlike other Jackson releases, the album contained recordings composed by other songwriters including Bill Anderson,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

and Hank Williams. All of the album tracks were cover versions of songs first cut by different artists. Among these songs was

Kitty Kallen Kitty Kallen (born Katie Kallen; May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was an American popular singer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s, to include the Swing era of the Big Band years, the post-World War II pop scene and the early ...

's pop single " Little Things Mean a Lot", Hank Williams' " May You Never Be Alone" and

Johnny Ace John Marshall Alexander Jr. (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer. He had a string of hit singles in the mid 1950s. Alexander died of an accidental self-inflicted guns ...

's "

Pledging My Love "Pledging My Love" is a blues ballad. It was written by Ferdinand Washington and Don Robey and published in 1954. Background The song's theme is captured in the title and the opening lines: :Forever my darling, my love will be true, :Always an ...

". ''Love Me Forever'' was recorded in sessions held at the Bradley Studio in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

between October and November 1962. The album was produced by Ken Nelson and featured orchestrated string arrangements by Bill McElhiney.

Release and reception

''Love Me Forever'' was released in May 1963 on Capitol Records. It was the fifth studio album issued in Jackson's career and the fifth to be released with Capitol. The project was originally issued as a

vinyl LP The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and ...

, containing six songs on either side of the record. In later years, the album was released with an identical track listing to digital and streaming markets, including

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

. The project received a positive response from music critics and writers. In June 1963, '' Billboard'' magazine praised Jackson's vocals and the string arrangements set by Bill McElhiney: "Miss Jackson is in great form on this, her newest outing, and for a change, she's in almost strictly pop setting, with handsome arrangements for strings and voices by Bill McElhiney." Authors Mary Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann described ''Love Me Forever'' as "a fine album of orchestrated standards".

Track listings

Vinyl version

Digital version

Release history

References

{{Wanda Jackson 1963 albums Albums produced by Ken Nelson (United States record producer) Capitol Records albums Wanda Jackson albums