Cher

Cher

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 Beatle-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 and Cleo, later that year, and cut "The Letter," "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Love Is Strange."
Caesar and 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 Spectorish 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 and 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. Cher's solo career ended up slightly overshadowed by her work with Sonny and 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."

Her contract with Imperial lapsed in late 1967 and it would be two years before another release. In the meantime husband and wife continued recording duets with little luck.

    In 1969 Cher landed a contract with Atco and travelled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record with my cousin at his world famous studio. The result album was "3614 Jackson Highway." The address refers to the studio (Muscle Shoals Sound) pictured on the cover. My cousin Jimmy Johnson played guitar on the album and is featured on the cover (back row). The album though quite good, failed to find a market and didn't produce any hit singles.
     Recently Rhino Records reissued the disc along with 11 bonus cuts, that were presumably recorded for a second album that never materialized. The Rhino Handmade release is limited to 4,500 pressings and is nearly as rare as the original album.
     After this release her contract with Atco expired and Cher (along with Sonny) went label shopping for a new home.

    By the end of the 1960's, Sonny and 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 Atco — 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 1960's. 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 Kapp 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. 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 transcendant performance by the singer, marking Cher's maturation as an artist. A long list of hits followed on Kapp (then MCA it's parent company), "Dark Lady," "The Way Of Love," Half-Breed," "Train Of Thought," "Carousel Man" and "I Saw A Man And He Danced With His Wife." The songs, 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.

    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.
     The split also found Cher moving over to Warner Brothers for a series of less than successful albums. "Stars" (1975), "I'd Rather Believe In You" (1976), "Cherished" (1977) and "Two The Hard Way" (1977) with new hubby rocker Gregg Allman all showed yet another side of Cher musically and the albums are all very good but failed to capture an audience.
     1978 saw her marriage to Allman disolve and the birth of "party girl" Cher. Disco was in full swing and Cher decided to embrace it whole heartedly. A move to the popular Casablanca label and the recruitment of wiz disco produder Bob Esty and Cher was set to go.
     Her 1979 release "Take Me Home" gave her two 12" single club hits and launched her to a whole new audience. "Take Me Home" landed at the top of the Club charts, #-8 on the Pop singles chart and even went to #-21 on the Black charts. The followup "Wasn't It Good" landed at #-49 on the Pop charts and top 20 on the Club lists. She even scored a minor country hit with "It's too Late To Love Me Now" which went to #-89 on the Country lists. The album was her most successful in years. Casablanca quickly followed it with "Prisoner" which yielded her one more 12" single with the skating hit "Hell On Wheels." But just as Cher was releasing disco hits the market changed and the bottom fell out of disco music.
     Cher, ever the chameleon, quickly shifted gears and released her next album as part of a group. "Black Rose" was her 1981 hard rock/new wave-ish debut. At the time I was D.J.-ing and remember programming "Never Should Have Started" in the clubs. The song was about the best thing on the album. The album was an omen of sorts as Cher struggled over the next few years to regain her musical stature.
     A one-off for Columbia, 1982's "I Paralyze" sold largely to Cher fans failed to help her chart fortunes. She embarked on an acting career, even as she continued to make headlines for her romantic exploits, including an affair with the much younger Rob Cameletti (the bagel boy). 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.
     She had put a hold on recording during her acting spurt of the mid-1980's. By 1987 she returned to recording with a contract with old flame David Geffen's own label. "Cher" spawned two major hits and once again Cher was on top of the music scene with "I Found Someone" and "We All Sleep Alone." The album also gave Cher her first 12" in several years with the smoldering remix of "Skin Deep." She followed that with 1989's "Heart Of Stone" which yielded the hits "Just Like Jesse James" and "If I Could Turn Back Time." A final album for Geffen, 1991's "Love Hurts" had the radio hit "Save Up All Your Tears" and another 12" remix club charter with "Love And Understanding." A move to parent company Warner Brothers for 1996's "It's A Man's World" gave her yet another pair of solid 12" club hits with "One By One" and "Paradise Is Here."

In 1998 Cher scored her biggest hit ever. The album, "Believe" spawned a Grammy Award winning #-1 hit that topped the charts in an unprecedented 21 countries. The album was also her highest charter peaking at #-4 on the Hot 100. This set in motion a string of late 1990's and 2000's club smashes. Cher became a disco diva in the new millenium with 12" remixes of "All Or Nothing," "Strong Enough," "Dove L'Amour," "Song For The Lonely," "A Different Kind Of Love Song," "The Music's No Good Without You" and "When The Money's Gone" all of which hit the top five on the club charts. A final string of tours brought Cher's magic to yet another new generation of fans. Cher holds the distinction of being one of a handful of artists to have a #-1 hit in each of the the last five decades (60's-70's-80's-90's-00's). A true icon who will always be in the spotlight...we love Cher!