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CHER
year
of birth:1946
famous
for:Cher's
success in music, movies, television, and on stage over
nearly four decades qualifies her as one of the most
enduring entertainers of our time.
born cherilyn sarkasian lapierre, in 1946, the artist
who would eventually come to be known only as cher came
of age just as the music industry shifted its focus from
the east coast to the west. as motown prepared to
relocate to hollywood, and members of the mamas and the
papas formed friendships that would result in pop
superstardom, cher was a faithful disciple of phil
spector. cher trained her distinct vocals in rehearsals
with spector's top act, the ronnettes, and recorded the
spector-produced single "ringo, i love you" (released
under the name bonnie jo mason), prior to joining forces
with would-be writer and producer, sonny bono in 1963.
originally billed as caesar and cleo, the two released
the singles "the letter", "do you wanna dance" and "love
is strange", with little effect. when cher was signed to
liberty records as cherilyn, in 1964, bono came along as
producer and husband. mimicing the success of phil
spector's 'wall of sound', the two released "dream
baby", which became a hit in their native los angeles.
with the promising success of "dream baby", sonny & cher,
once again a duo, were signed to reprise records, where,
in 1965, they recorded the first sonny & cher single,
"baby don't go". 1965 saw another label change to atco,
a division of atlantic, and another nominally successful
release, "just you". about this time, liberty records,
who still had a contract with cherilyn, became anxious
for another release. inspired by byrd's covers of bob
dylan songs that they'd witnessed in l.a. clubs, cher
released the bono-produced cover "all i really want to
do". living a double life as solo artist cherilyn and
one half of the duo sonny & cher, cher enjoyed success
in both roles. though the eventual success of "i got you
babe" would overshadow her intial solo career, her early
solo persona is remembered for dealing with unusually
sensetive subjects, for the time, such as teen pregnancy
and divorce. big-time success, however, would come in
the form of "i got you babe". though an obvious product
of the 1960s, sonny & cher were far less threatening to
mainstream america than other hippie icons, such as
janis joplin and cass elliot. though garbed in the
outlandish uniform of the hippie, sonny & cher were a
married couple, and it wouldn't be two long before their
blessed union was further strengthened by the birth of
their daughter, chastity. this cross-over ability
allowed "i got you babe" to become an international hit
and an enduring track on the soundtrack of a generation.
| towards the end of the decade,
cher's double life would coallesce into one, as
bitterness over her relationship with imperial
records forced her to move her solo career to
atlantic, where she was paired with a new
producer (leaving sono to focus on their career
as a duo). times were changing, though, and a
redirection of a fickle public's musical
appetite, coupled with troubles with the
internal revenue service, threatened to destroy
the success that the star-crossed lovers had
acheived. misfortune, however, resulted in one
of sonny & cher's biggest success…the sonny &
cher show. just as their music had captured
the heart's of middle america so, too, did their
comically adverserial relationship. a comedic
formula that had begun with the honeymooners
and would continue with moonlighting, the
sonny & cher show positioned sonny as the
straight-man to cher's biting bon mots.
teamed with producer snuff garrett, cher was
finally coming into her own as a solo artist.
though criticized for uncanny similarities
between her music and pop ingenue
dusty springfield's, her reluctance to
abandon edgy material worked to her advantage
and established her a solid fan base. while her
1960s music, as a soloist or part of a duo,
tended to emulate the featherweight material
that was the style at the time, cher emerged
into the 1970s with material that was decidedly
more substantial. this new material suited cher
well, as it relied less on powerful vocals
(which were necessary to compete with the wall
of sound created for her by bono and spector)
and more on a commanding persona which would
allow her to assume the roles of the songs she
performed.
cher's new musical direction coincided with
her split from her husband and mentor; as
evidenced throughout her solo career, cher had a
darker side than sonny was willing to explore in
music and the inherent differences between the
two eventually drove them apart. and though it
was sonny whose knowledge of the industry had
gotten them as far as they'd come, there was no
denying that there was no sonny & cher without
cher. with her larger-than-life personality and
over-the-top bob mackie costumes, cher continued
to sell out shows in vegas and produce albums as
she'd done with sonny. now in control of her own
destiny, cher decided to persue a life-long
dream…acting. suprisingly, though, her mae west
attitude and relationship with what was seen, by
some, as the svengali-like bono prevented her
immediate transition to the silver screen. not
one to give up, cher headed to new york, where
she landed a supporting role in come back to
the five and dime, jimmy dean, jimmy dean.
her impressive performance in come back…
led to a co-starring role in mike nichols'
silkwood. while roles in 1985's mask
and 1987's the witches of eastwick helped
to establish her as a serious actress, it wasn't
until moonstruck that she received the
oscar for best actress.
in 1998, cher released believe,
and album which is quickly becomming her biggest
to date.
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