Cher

Cher (1946- ) is an American singer and actress. She became famous in 1965 with a song she sang with her husband Sonny Bono called “I’ve Got You Babe”.

She is most famous for these songs:

• 1965: I Got You Babe
• 1971: Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
• 1973: Half-Breed
• 1974: Dark Lady
• 1989: If I Could Turn Back Time
• 1999: Believe

and for appearing in these films:

• 1983: Silkwood
• 1985: Mask
• 1987: Moonstruck
• 1990: Mermaids

Few singers and actors have done so well for so long.

She has won an Oscar (film), a Grammy (music) and an Emmy (television).

She was born Cheryl Sarkisian LaPiere. She is half Armenian and part Cherokee, German, Irish and English. Sarkisian is from her birth father, not LaPiere. She used Cherilyn and later just Cher (what Sonny called her) as her stage name. In 1979 she changed her real name to just “Cher”.

She grew up in California. When she was 16 she met Sonny Bono at Aldo’s coffee shop in Los Angeles. She fell in love. He was already working in the music business for Phil Spector and got her work as a backing singer.

In the early years she did not feel comfortable singing or being on stage without Sonny. That is why they sang together even though he could barely sing. But somehow it worked. He wrote songs and made films for her to be in. One of his song, “I Got You Babe”, made their name.

After a few years their music fell out of favour and they found themselves singing to smaller and smaller crowds. It happens to most singers. Cher, partly in anger, started saying mean things about Sonny on stage. He was much shorter than her and clearly had less ability. It made people laugh and their act starting drawing large crowds again.

It was enough to get them a show in Las Vegas. When that did well, it was turned into “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour”, which was on American television for much of the 1970s in one form or other.

Sonny Bono was older and more experienced than Cher. He could not sing as well as she could, but he knew the music business and helped her succeed. But after a point his guiding hand became too controlling. The two broke up – both as singers and as husband and wife. Cher struck out on her own.

For a long time she did not do well. She was becoming a has-been. But then in 1983 she appeared in “Silkwood” and proved to be a good actress. This led to a string of films, “Moonstruck” (1987) being her best. Her songs started to get on the radio again too.

In 1998 Sonny died suddenly. When he was buried, it was clear that she still loved him.

In 1999 when her song “Believe” came out, she was the oldest woman ever to have a number one song in America. She was then 53. It came 34 years after her first number one song. That is a record too.

See also:

• California