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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
MP3 News Breakers: Cassidy, R. Kelly, Ludacris, Barker, Cher
Philly rapper injured in car crash; "Trapped in the Closet" singer gets sued; Ludacris to appear in comedy; Plus-44 drummer breaks arm while wife hits Paris; Cher auction snares $3.5 million.
Cassidy seriously hurt in car accident
Cassidy
Philly rapper Cassidy was seriously hurt in a car accident last night in New Jersey, leaving him in critical condition in a nearby hospital. Cassidy was a passenger in an SUV that was traveling to a studio in Yonkers, New York, when it was struck in the side by a U-Haul truck that had swerved into oncoming traffic, according to MTV News. The truck hit the side of the SUV on which Cassidy was sitting. The rapper is reportedly in critical condition, having sustained a fractured skull and numerous broken bones in the left side of his face. He is said to be breathing on his own and is undergoing a CAT scan. None of the four other passengers in the vehicle were injured.
Cassidy was working on his third album with producer Swizz Beatz, who appeared on Power 106 in Los Angeles today to ask listeners to pray for Cassidy's well-being. The rapper was released from prison in March after serving eight months for involuntary manslaughter and other charges stemming from the 2005 shooting death of Desmond Hawkins. The rapper turned himself in for the murder in June 2005, just as his sophomore LP, I'm a Hustla, was hitting stores. He was cleared of the murder charge but given a prison term of up to 23 months for the other convictions. Time served prior to the conviction made Cassidy eligible for parole after serving 13 months of the sentence.
Alleged mentor sues R. Kelly
R. Kelly
R. Kelly's attorneys are arguable the hardest-working people in the music business. With a trial on charges of having sex with a minor slated for later this year, Kelly has been hit with another lawsuit.
Henry "Love" Vaughn claims that R. Kelly and his entourage stepped on him--but not in the name of love--repeatedly in Kelly's basement. In a lawsuit filed yesterday, Vaughn says that he has been a "mentor and guide" to Kelly since he was a teenager and that he was the brainchild behind the Chicago singer's hit "Step in the Name of Love." Vaughn charges that Kelly reneged on an agreement to split the royalties from the song with him.
Vaughn, who alleges that he has been an employee of Kelly's off and on for several years, also claims that he went to Kelly's Chicago area home in February to watch a basketball game and received the beating of a lifetime. The suit claims that one of Kelly's other employees became "verbally abusive" during the game and that Kelly and others dragged him to the basement, attacked him, and held him against his will. Vaughn's suit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, and court costs for the assault, false imprisonment, and breach of contract.
In a written statement, a Kelly spokesperson characterized Vaughn as a "disgruntled former employee and hanger-on" who is using the lawsuit to extort money from the singer. In fact, his lawsuit is a pathetic collection of half-truths, distortions, and outright lies," the statement says.
Ludacris signs on for Christmas comedy
Ludacris
Widely praised for his acting in recent dramas like the Oscar-winning Crash and Hustle & Flow, Ludacris is about to take on a less serious role. The Atlanta rapper will play an elf in the upcoming Christmas comedy Fred Claus, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The movie stars Vince Vaughn as Santa Claus' loser brother who returns to the North Pole and almost ruins Christmas. The cast of the film also includes Paul Giamatti and Kevin Spacey.
Ludacris currently has the top-selling album in the US, with Release Therapy his third No. 1 album. He's set to host and perform on the November 18 episode of Saturday Night Live.
The life and times of Travis Barker
Plus-44's Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker.
It's been an eventful week for former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. Barker's new band with fellow Blink alumnus Mark Hoppus, Plus-44, recently ended a European tour to promote their forthcoming album, When Your Heart Stops Beating. But the tour exacerbated a fracture in Barker's arm, which he broke during the shooting of a video for the album's title track and first single. Now a doctor has ordered Barker to rest the arm for eight weeks, putting performances in support of the album on hold.
The injury is not the only turmoil involving Barker, however, as his estranged wife reportedly got into it with his rumored love interest Paris Hilton early Wednesday morning. Both Hilton and Shanna Moakler filed police reports charging battery after an incident at the Hollywood nightclub Hyde, according to the Associated Press. Moakler claims that Hilton's ex, Stavros Niarchos, shoved her down some stairs, while Hilton, with whom the tabloids have romantically linked Barker, claims that Moakler punched her. Police are reportedly investigating the incident.
Cher auction commands $3.5 million
Out with the old.
Cher's auction of clothing, furniture, and other items in the Gothic motif brought in a total of $3.5 million, according to the firm that helped to administer the two-day auction. Cher auctioned more than 700 items in an attempt to redecorate her Malibu home and get rid of the Gothic theme. Julien Auction and Sotheby's handled the event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, auctioning dozens of vintage gowns and flashy costumes, with one outfit drawing $60,000. A black 2005 Bentley Continental GT Coupe fetched the highest bid of $204,000, or about $34,000 more than the asking price. A Gothic revival brass bed, circa 1865, sold for $84,000. Cher said she plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to charity.
Little Kids Rock holds benefit
Little Kids Rock
Jack Black might have brought the School of Rock to a wider audience, but music programs at public schools have been seeing plenty of budget cuts in recent years. The nonprofit group Little Kids Rock hopes to reverse that trend, providing free instruments and music lessons for public school children. The organization is hosting a benefit show in San Francisco October 22, with Santana band vet Gregg Rolie and the Flying Other Brothers set to perform. Check the group's Web site for more information.
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