Сher
In 1962 in a café Cher met Sonny (Salvatore) Bono, who worked as record producer Phil Spector’s assistant. Sonny invited her to live in his place, in return for which Cher would clean the house and cook. Soon their relationships grew to be more intimate, and they got married. At that time Cher worked as a session singer in Phil Spector’s studio and sang backup on such classical records as “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” (The Righteous Brothers), “Da Doo Ron Ron” (The Crystals) and “Be My Baby” (The Ronettes). Her first solo recording was “Ringo, I Love You” in 1964, released under the pseudonym of Bonnie Jo Mason because Spector thought that her name Cherilyn does not sound American enough.
Sonny began to write and produce songs and, consequently, in 1965 the duo Sonny and Cher released their first album “Look at Us.” Sonny insisted that the first single from the album be “I Got You Babe,” in which neither the management of the label nor Cher believed. Then he gave the song to a radio station, and it was played in a program, in which listeners were asked to vote over the phone for the song they liked. Sonny and Cher with their friends began to call the radio to cast a vote for “I Got You Babe.” The song became more and more popular, and soon the single topped the American and British charts. The image of “hippie”, long-haired Sonny and looking unlike the others Cher made them distinctly different from pop artists of that time, and the duo became a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic. In summer of 1965 she released an album called “All I Really Want to Do”, self-titled song from which became her first solo hit. By the end of 1960s the duo’s popularity was declining. As the result of a number of commercially unsuccessful records and films, the couple owed money to the USA government. In 1969 Cher gave birth to a daughter, whom she named after the name of the movie she was involved in while getting pregnant – Chastity.
In 1970 Sonny and Cher starred on American channel CBS in their program. “The Sonny and Cher Nitty Gritty Hour” (later “The Sonny and Cher Show”) was broadcast for seven years and was a mixture of slapstick comedy, skits and live music performed by invited guests, among whom were Michael Jackson, Ronald Reagan, David Bowie, Muhammad Ali and many others. In 1971, 1973 and 1974 Cher’s three songs topped the USA singles chart – “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves”, “Half-Breed” and “Dark Lady” accordingly. In 1974 Sonny and Cher divorced, and together with their marriage their TV show also ceased to exist. After unsuccessful attempts to make their own shows, Sonny and Cher reunited for “The Sonny and Cher show.”
After divorcing Sonny, Cher married musician Gregg Allman, a member of “The Allman Brothers” band. In 1976 Gregg and Cher had a son Elijah Blue Allman, and in 1977 the new duo released an album. In 1979 the singer legally changed her name to Cher.
In 1982 Cher moved to New York to star in a Broadway production “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean”. After positive reviews of the critics about Cher’s acting, Mike Nichols offered her a role in his film “Silkwood”. When Cher found out that the main role is played by Meryl Streep she agreed without even reading the script. For the role of a lesbian who is in love with the main character but whose love remains unanswered, Cher received an Oscar nomination. In 1985, after starring in a movie “Mask” where Cher plays the mother of a teenager with a rare illness that disfigured his face she joined the Association of Aid to the Children with Skull and Facial Malfunctions. In 1987 Cher starred in three movie pictures: “Suspect”, “The Witches of Eastwick” and “Moonstruck”, for acting in which she received an Oscar award.
In 1987 Cher signs a contract with Geffen Records. Diane Warren, Michael Bolton and Bon Jovi participated in recording a new album. In 1989 the music video of a popular song “If I Could Turn Back Time” was forbidden to be aired on MTV because of Cher’s revealing attire. In 1992 doctors found that Cher had a syndrome of chronic tiredness. In 1994 Cher among other artists took part in recording an album “The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience”. In 1996 Cher debuted as a director in a movie “If These Walls Could Talk” where she also played an episode role for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. In January of 1998, at the age of 62 years old, a congressman and former husband of Cher Sonny Bono died while skiing downhill in California.
In 1998 Cher released an album “Believe”. Self-titled song became an international hit and added to the 52-year-old singer’s collection of awards a “Grammy” and “The Best Dance Record”. It is from that period of time that Cher becomes a gay icon, and in the end of 1998 a book “The First Time” by Cher was published, in which Cher tells how hard the life of a megastar is. In January of 1999 Cher sang the national anthem of the USA live before an enormous TV audience at the final football Super Cup game. From 2002 to 2005 Cher gave 325 concerts in more than 20 countries of the world as part of her “Farewell Tour.”
In February of 2008 Cher signed a contract regarding concerts in Las Vegas; she will perform 4 times a week for 2-3 years, during that time her new album should be released.
Cher is the only female artist whose songs reached Top10 of Billboard Hot 100 during four decades in a row (from 1960s to 1990s). Single “Believe” is her most successful record as well as the best selling single of 1999 (in that year more than 10 million copies were sold). The singer holds the record in longest span of time being on top of American singles chart: during 33 years her songs reached its top from 1965 to 1998. Cher’s farewell tour “Living Proof: The (Never Can Say GoodBye) Farewell Tour”, which lasted 3 years and ended in 2005, was acknowledged the most successful tour of a female artist of that time.