|
Cher Biography | ||
|
Cher Links
By the late 70s, she became a regular fixture in gossip columns and
fashion magazines, which lauded over her sartorial outrageousness and
much publicized musical and personal relationships with Allman, Gene
Simmons (of Kiss) and Les Dudek. In 1981, Cher appeared on Meat Loaf's
"Dead Ringer For Love" but recording interests increasingly took a back
seat to her first love: acting. A leading role in Come Back To The Five
And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) was followed by a lucrative part
in Silkwood (1983), and an Oscar nomination. Appearances in Mask (1985),
The Witches Of Eastwick (1987) and Suspect (1987) emphasized that her
thespian aspirations were no mere sideline. For Moonstruck (1987), she
won an Oscar for Best Actress and celebrated that honour with another
musical comeback courtesy of Cher and "I Found Someone" (US number 10,
November 1987; UK number 5, December 1987). In 1989, she enjoyed three
US Top 10 singles courtesy of "After All", a duet with Peter Cetera that
reached number 6 in March, "If I Could Turn Back Time" (number 3 in
July; UK number 6 in September) and "Just Like Jesse James" (number 8 in
October). Her April 1991 UK number 1 "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His
Kiss)", a cover of the Betty Everett song, was the theme song to another
screen appearance in Mermaids. |
Cherilyn Sarkisian La
Pierre, 20 May 1946, El Centro, California, USA. Cher began working as a
session singer in an attempt to finance an acting career. She recorded
with producer Phil Spector as a backing vocalist, having become
romantically attached to his studio assistant and PR man Sonny Bono.
After releasing two singles under the name Caesar And Cleo, the duo then
achieved international acclaim as Sonny And Cher. Throughout this period
Cher also sustained a solo career, initially singing a paean to Ringo
Starr ("Ringo I Love You") under the pseudonym Bonnie Jo Mason.
Thereafter, she secured several hits, including an opportunistic cover
version of the Byrds' "All I Really Want To Do" (US number 15, July
1965; UK number 9, August 1965). The sultry "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me
Down)", with its gypsy beat and maudlin violins was a worldwide smash in
March 1966 (US number 2; UK number 3), leading Cher to tackle more
controversial themes in "I Feel Something In The Air" and "You Better
Sit Down Kids" (US number 9, October 1967). Although her acting
aspirations seemed long-forgotten, she did appear in two minor 60s
movies, Good Times (1967) and Chastity (1969). In September 1971, the
zestful, US chart-topping "Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves" and its
attendant album saw her back in the ascendant. Two further US number 1
hits ("Half Breed" in August 1973, "Dark Lady" in January 1974) preceded
her divorce from Sonny, though for a time the duo continued to appear
together on stage and television. In 1975, she switched to Warner
Brothers Records for the Jimmy Webb-produced Stars, while her on-off
relationship with Gregg Allman (whom she divorced in 1979) resulted in
one album, the punningly titled, Allman And Woman: Two The Hard Way.