Cher met songwriter and producer Sonny Bono in 1963. She was 16, he was 28, and two years later they recorded their first hit song, "I Got You Babe." They were an amusing physical combination: Cher tall and willowy, Sonny short and mustachioed, both clad in the psychedelic clothing of the Love Generation. In 1967 they had another chart-topper with "The Beat Goes On." Their recording career seemed about to fade when they bounced back with a tongue-in-cheek television variety show: The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour was a hit from 1971 to 1974, when the couple split up and filed for divorce. (A revived post-divorce version of the show, The Sonny and Cher Show, ran from 1976-77.) Meanwhile, Cher's solo singing career took off, with hits including "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" and "Half Breed." Then Cher turned to acting. She earned praise for her work in Silkwood (1983, with Meryl Streep) and Mask (1985), and in 1988 she won the best actress Oscar as a lovelorn Brooklyn widow romanced by Nicolas Cage in the wry comedy Moonstruck. In the 1990s she returned to music as an electro-pop diva, releasing the successful album Believe in 1999. In later years her many "farewell" tours and cheerful embrace of plastic surgery made her the subject of good-natured ribbing in celebrity journals, but she has been unfazed. She began a three-year gig in Las Vegas in 2008, replacing Celine Dion at Caesar's Palace
.
Cher and Sonny Bono were married from 1969-75. The actual date of their marriage is a bit confusing: some sources say they were married in 1964, but while they apparently exchanged rings in 1964 in Tijuana, and told others they were married, they were not legally married until 1969. They had one daughter, Chastity, born in 1969... Cher was married to rock guitarist Gregg Allman from 1975-77. They had one son, Elijah Blue, born in 1976... At the start of her career, Cher also performed under the name Bonnie Jo Mason.
Cher has had three careers that place her indelibly in the public consciousness, and two have been in association with her then-husband, composer/producer/singer Salvatore "Sonny" Bono (February 16, 1935-January 8, 1998). She charted major hit records in the 1960s and 1970s, working in idioms ranging from early- '60s girl group-style ballads to Jackie Deshannon folk-influenced pop, to adult contemporary pop in the manner of later Dusty Springfield. She also embarked on an acting career, initially in the late 1960s in association with her work as part of Sonny & Cher but later on her own, which led to a series of increasingly polished and compelling performances in Silkwood, Mask and Moonstruck, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Cherilyn Sarkisian was born in California in 1946; she was 17 when she first met Salvatore "Sonny" Bono, a songwriter and protégé of producer Phil Spector. Bono brought her to Spector, who used her as a backup singer and produced one single by her, a novelty Beatles tribute record called "Ringo I Love You" issued under the name Bonnie Jo Mason. It disappeared without a trace, but the couple were undaunted -- they emerged as a duo, initially called Caesar & Cleo, later that year, and cut "The Letter," "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Love Is Strange."
Caesar & Cleo didn't trouble the chart compilers with any degree of success, but late in 1964, Cher (then known as Cherilyn) was signed to Liberty Records' Imperial imprint, and Bono came along as producer. A Spector-ish version of "Dream Baby" managed to get airplay in Los Angeles, becoming a local hit, and they suspected they were onto something. That same month, Sonny & Cher, as they were now known, signed to Reprise Records and released their first single, "Baby Don't Go." The song became a major local hit in Los Angeles, after which the duo jumped from Reprise to the Atco label, a division of Atlantic Records. In April 1965 their first single, "Just You" was released and rose to number 20 on the charts. The duo was on its way, and Cher also had Imperial Records after her for a second single. The couple had seen the Byrds pioneer commercial folk-rock with Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," and had witnessed them performing another Dylan number, "All I Really Want to Do" at a club in Los Angeles. The group intended to issue their own recording of "All I Really Want to Do," but Cher, with Sonny producing, beat them to the punch with her own recording of the song.
She pursued a dual career for the next two years, cutting solo recordings under Sonny's guidance that regularly charted, and duets with her husband for Atco. A month after "All I Really Want to Do," they released "I Got You Babe," which was one of the biggest-selling and most beloved pop/rock hits of the mid-'60s, and the couple's signature tune across two eras of success. Cher's solo career ended up slightly overshadowed by her work with Sonny & Cher, but at the time she was fully competitive on her own terms -- her first LP reached the Billboard Top 20 and was on the albums charts for six months. "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" was another hit, a million-seller that made number three in America and England, and she made the Top Ten once more with her 1967 single "You Better Sit Down Kids." The latter song, written by Bono (and which was also a hit for Glen Campbell), dealt with divorce, an unusual subject for a 1960s pop record, and was one of a series of releases on which Cher's music broached difficult areas -- others were "I Feel Something's in the Air," which dealt with unwanted pregnancy, and "Mama (When My Dollies Have Babies)," both written by Bono.
Cher's solo career at Imperial, which had created some political problems for the couple at Atlantic, ended with the lapsing of her contract in 1967, and she moved to Atlantic. Ironically, it was this move that contributed the unhappy reversal of the couple's fortunes at the end of the decade.
By the end of the 1960s, Sonny & Cher were no longer selling records. A series of commercial missteps, coupled with a change in public taste, had sharply curtailed their sales, and a pair of movies (Good Times, Chastity) had lost millions. Additionally, they were no longer recording for Atlantic -- though they were still under contract to them -- owing to the label's decision to take Cher's solo recordings out of Sonny's hands and assign a new producer to her.
Coupled with the presentation of a bill from the Internal Revenue Service for $200,000 in back taxes, these events left the couple in dire financial straights at the end of the 1960s. They were forced to play club dates, opening for artists like Pat Boone, and it was there that their second career, and a second career for Cher, took shape. A new contract with Decca Records in 1971, coupled with a chance at a summer replacement gig on the CBS television network, brought them a second chance at success.
The try-out on television was a success, as the couple proved to be as funny as they were musically diverse. It took a little longer to find a new formula for Cher's music -- her initial single on Decca's Kapp label, "Classified 1A," written by Bono, was a failure; a serious song dealing with a girl's feelings for a boyfriend killed in Vietnam; it was topical in all the wrong ways to become a pop chart success. Producer Snuff Garrett was recruited to work with her, and he found a series of songs that were perfect for Cher's maturing talent.
"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," a conscious attempt to emulate Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" (which also recalled Cher's own "Bang Bang") was released late in 1971 and became a number one hit and a million-seller. To some listeners, "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" was the epitome of schlocky pop/rock, but the song's subject matter, unusual tempo changes, and an incredibly memorable chorus-hook became a vehicle for a transcendent performance by the singer, marking Cher's maturation as an artist (the B-side, "I Hate to Sleep Alone," written by Peggy Clinger of the Clinger Sisters, curiously enough, managed to recall Sonny's Spector-influenced productions from the Imperial years). A follow-up album, featuring her covers of contemporary hits such as "Fire and Rain," sold well also, and her next single, "The Way of Love," a revival of a mid-'60s Kathy Kirby hit, solidified the image of a new, more confident and powerful Cher. And the debut of the couple's regular network variety series on CBS in January 1972 brought them back to the center of American and international popular culture in a more mature, wittier guise, and one that concentrated much more on Cher as a personality.
Her 1960s music ran the gamut from Spector-style miniature teen-pop symphonies to covers of contemporary adult pop ("It's Not Unusual") and folk-rock, all cut under Bono's guidance. Her voice wasn't very rich or powerful, but it was expressive and surrounded by Bono's radiant Spector creations, and she could put over an almost inappropriately cheerful sounding version of "The Bells of Rhymney" or "Blowin' in the Wind." By contrast, her early- 1970s material, solo or with Sonny, had a more adult point of view and personality. Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" and the later number one solo hits "Half-Breed" and "Dark Lady" were dramatic, highly intense performances, almost as much "acted" as sung, and very different from her 1960s output.
In 1974, it was revealed that the couple's marriage was coming to an end. Ironically, Cher came out of this split more secure than her husband, despite his having guided her career for a decade and having all of the real training in the entertainment business. She embarked on an acting career, even as she continued to make headlines for her romantic exploits, including an affair with (and two marriages to) Gregg Allman. She became a far better actress than she was a singer, first revealed in Mike Nichols' Silkwood (1983) and then in Peter Bogdanovich's Mask (1985) and George Miller's The Witches of Eastwick (1987). Her acting peers caught on to the worth of her work in time for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Norman Jewison's 1987 romantic comedy Moonstruck.
Since the mid-'70s, Cher has been known more for her acting than for her music, although she has continued to record for numerous labels, including Columbia, and in 1998 scored an international chart-topping smash with the club-friendly single "Believe." She is, by Garrett's analysis, more of a stylist than a singer, and almost as much a personality as an actress, almost a modern-day Helen Morgan (Showboat, etc.) with better luck in life and career. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
Born into a lower-income California family, actress/pop singer Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian) attempted to escape her poverty by entering show business as a go-go dancer at the age of 16. She met and married singer/promoter Sonny Bono, who lifted her from obscurity as half of the immensely popular singing duo Sonny and Cher. The diminutive, ebullient Bono and the tall, deadpan Cher became a top recording team (their big hit was "I Got You, Babe") and a regular guest act on the many variety shows of the period. Sonny and Cher continued their upward climb until musical tastes changed in the early '70s, whereupon they began concentrating on comedy sketches and kidding-on-the-square insults directed at one another in their own variety weekly, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which enjoyed a successful three-year network run beginning in 1971. It was on this program that Cher, began sharpening her acting versatility in such sketch roles as brash housewife Laverne, sardonic waitress Rosa, and a whole slew of historical vamps. But Cher began to chafe at Bono's hold on her career and her private life, and the couple divorced in 1974. Both Sonny and Cher were starring on separate TV series that fall, but they also each faced poor ratings; so the pair decided to team up professionally once more in 1976 for a new Sonny & Cher Show, although Cher was now married to Gregg Allman and pregnant with their son Elijah. But the old chemistry was no longer there, and the new program was canceled in the following year.
Bono eased out of show business for a successful political career, while Cher began seeking out film work. At first treated condescendingly by critics, she matured into a first-rate actress in such movies as Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) (repeating her Broadway role), Silkwood (1983), Mask (1985), Suspect (1987), and Moonstruck (1987). She was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Silkwood, received one for her role in Moonstruck, and shared a Best Actress award at Cannes for her supporting role in Mask. Something of an enigma in the show business world, Cher has managed to retain her stature as a highly respected film actress while promoting exercise videos and a line of cosmetics, in addition to recording new chart-topping songs and appearing in music videos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Happy birthday to Cher, who turns 60 today. First known as half of pop-duo Sonny and Cher, she eventually became a mega-star in her own right, first as a singer and then as an actress. Her portrayal of Loretta Castorini in the 1987 romantic comedy Moonstruck, brought Cher a Best Actress Oscar. Cher holds the record for the longest gap between #1 hits ("Dark Lady" in 1974 and "Believe" in 1999). "Believe" also made her the oldest female artist with a #1 hit.
"If you really want something you can figure out how to make it happen."
"Nothing lifts me out of a bad mood better than a hard workout on my treadmill. It never fails. To us, exercise is nothing short of a miracle."
"I'm insecure about everything, because... I'm never going to look in the mirror and see this blond, blue-eyed girl. That is my idea of what I'd like to look like."
"Men aren't necessities. They're luxuries."
"The trouble with some women is they get all excited about nothing, and then they marry him."
Cher first rose to prominence in 1965 as one half of the pop/rock duo Sonny &
Cher. She also established herself as a solo recording artist, releasing 25 albums, numerous compilations and tallying 34
BillboardTop 40 entries over her career, both
solo and with Sonny. These include eighteen Top 10 singles and five number
one singles (four solo). Cher has had 16 top ten hits in the UK between 1965 and 2003 which includes a single recorded with Chrissie Hynde, Neneh Cherry and Eric Clapton for Comic Relief entitled "Love Can Build a Bridge", which
made number 1, another as a duet with Meat Loaf and three more as part of the duo Sonny &
Cher. Four of these 16 reached number one (two solo).
She became a television star in the 1970s and a well-regarded film actress in the 1980s. In 1987, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the romantic comedy Moonstruck.
In a career that has now surpassed 40 years, Cher has established herself as an enduring pop culture icon and one of the most
popular female artists in music history.[2][3] Since her debut in 1964 Cher has sold over 180 million records
worldwide[4] which includes an estimated 70 million solo
singles[5], becoming one of the biggest-selling artists of all time.
Early life
Cher was born in El Centro, California, on May
20, 1946, at 7:25 a.m. Her father was John
Sarkisian, an Armenian refugee who worked as a truck driver.[6] Her
mother, Georgia Holt (née Jackie Jean Crouch[7]), an aspiring actress and occasional model, is of Cherokee, English, German and
Irish descent.[8][9] Cher's mother and father
separated when she was young and she was raised primarily by her mother, who had remarried to Gilbert LaPierre, a
banker who adopted Cher.[6] The early days for Cher and her mother were often difficult financially and led to Georgia
placing Cher in foster care for a brief time as a child. However, Cher was enamored of seeing her mother on stage and dreamed of
one day becoming famous. Later, Georgia was able to provide her daughter with acting lessons to help guide her career.[10] In those years Cher had a relationship with the actor
Warren Beatty.[11] Due to severe, undiagnosed dyslexia, she left
Fresno High School at the age of sixteen.[12]
During this time, the duo was a big hit on diverse college campuses across the country, including Stanford University, a large
university in California, as well as St. Lawrence University, a small Upstate New York college.
Her first solo recording was the unsuccessful novelty single "Ringo, I Love You," released under the pseudonym of Bonnie Jo
Mason and produced by Phil Spector.[11] Her second attempt was "Dream Baby", released under the name "Cherilyn", was written and
produced by Sonny Bono. Both were released in 1964.
With Sonny continuing to write, arrange and produce the songs, Sonny and Cher’s first incarnation was as the duo "Caesar and
Cleo(patra)."[13] They received little
attention, despite releasing the single "The Letter" in late 1964 which featured the B-side "Baby
Don't Go".[13]
Now calling themselves Sonny & Cher, the duo released their first album Look
at Us in the summer of 1965. This album contained the overnight smash single "I Got You
Babe" (1965) which would reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Cher was 19
years old, Sonny 30. A re-released "Baby Don't Go", peaked at number eight.
Several more midlevel hits would follow, notably "Just You" (#20, 1965) "But You're
Mine" (#15, 1965), "What Now My Love" (#14, 1966) and "Little Man" (#21, 1966), before "The Beat Goes On" (#6, 1967)
returned the duo to the Top 10. Sonny and Cher charted a total of 11
BillboardTop 40 hits between 1965 and 1972,
including 6 Top 10 hits.
The duo became a sensation, traveling and performing around the world. Following an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in the fall of 1965 in which Mr. Sullivan had infamously pronounced her
name 'Chur' during their introduction, the singer began spelling her name with a (misleading) acute accent: Chér. The
couple soon appeared on other hit television shows of the era including American
Bandstand, Top of the Pops, Hollywood a Go-Go, Podunk,
Hollywood Palace, Hullabaloo, Beat
Club, Ready Steady Go! and Shindig!.
While initially perceived as the slightly awkward and less important half of the popular singing duo, Cher disguised her
stage fright and nervousness with quick-witted barbs directed at her partner. She soon rose
to prominence as the more outspoken, daring and provocative half of the team. With her dark, exotic looks, she became a fashion
trendsetter, helping to popularize fashions such as bellbottoms, and incorporating
"hippie" attire and eccentric gowns and elaborate costumes into their live shows.
In 1966 Cher released her second solo album on the Imperial Records label,
The Sonny Side of Cher. It peaked at number 26 in the U.S. charts, and
number 11 in the UK chart. It contained the singles "Where Do You Go (#25 on the Billboard Hot 100, as
well as "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"(#2 on the Billboard Hot
100). Both hits were written and produced by Sonny Bono. In the United States, the latter was Cher's biggest solo hit of the
1960s. Other artists to record versions of the song include Frank Sinatra,
Nancy Sinatra, Cliff Richard, Petula Clark, and Terry Reid. Also in 1966 she released another album,
Cher; The album itself was not as successful as its two predecessors. However,
it did manage to provide the European top ten hit "Sunny".
In an attempt to capitalize on the duo’s initial success, Sonny speedily arranged a film project for the duo to star in. But
the 1967 feature, Good Times, was a flop.[14] Cher continued to establish herself as a solo artist and released the
album Backstage. The album was a flop.
1968-1969: Career woes
Sonny and Cher's career had stalled by 1968, as album sales dried up. Their gentle, easy-listening rock folk sound and
drug-free life had become "unhip" in an era becoming increasingly consumed with psychedelic
rock, and the overall evolutionary change in the American pop culture landscape during the late 1960s.
Sonny and Cher's only child together, Chastity Bono, was born on March 4, 1969. The duo made another unsuccessful foray into film later in 1969
with Bono writing and producing the film Chastity, intended as a dramatic debut for
Cher as an actress. That film (directed by first and only-time director Alessio De Paulo) was also a commercial failure.[14]
1970-1974: TV and musical stardom
In 1970, Sonny and Cher starred in their first television special, The Sonny and Cher Nitty Gritty Hour. A mixture of
slapstickcomedy, skits
and live music, the appearance was a critical success, which led to numerous guest spots on other television shows.
Sonny and Cher caught the eye of CBS head of programming Fred
Silverman while guest-hosting The Merv Griffin Show, and Silverman
offered the duo their own variety show.[15]The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour debuted in 1971 as a summer
replacement series.[15] The show returned to
prime time later that year and was an immediate hit, quickly reaching the Top 10.[15] The show received 15 Emmy Award
nominations during its run, winning one for direction.
