CHER: Two big things ahead for her this weekend
This is a high-profile weekend for Cher. Sunday night she'll receive the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards. She's on the cover of the new issue of Billboard magazine. And she turns 71 on Saturday.
What qualifies her to be an Icon? How about 22 chart hits -- plus 10 more with her ex-husband and mentor Sonny Bono -- and becoming the first artist to score a number-one single on a Billboard chart in the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, ’00s and ’10s?
Even though she's been a star for more than 50 years, Cher says, "Things just didn’t come easily to me... I made lots of mistakes. I was this massive amount of energy with no direction." Claiming she'd dreamed of being a star since she was four, Cher "knew what I wanted to do, but never would’ve gotten there without Sonny."
His genius was not shaping her to be another Lesley Gore or Dionne Warwick. But being different had its drawbacks. She recalls, "People were frightened of us. They thought we were dirty, because of how we looked. They tried to beat us up."
What's next for this singer, Oscar-winner and still compelling live performer? The Broadway bio-musical she's creating with Jersey Boys co-author Rick Elice and Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller. Expect it to open sometime in 2018.
ROLLING STONES, EAGLES, BEATLES: TV documentaries coming in June
Documentaries on such iconic rockers as The Rolling Stones, the Eagles, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix will air during June on Ovation TV.
A quick look at the schedule:
- The Beatles: Parting Ways (2010) – June 3rd at 11am.
- An unauthorized story on life after The Beatles, Parting Ways examines the phenomenon that was BeatleMania.
- Becoming…The Beatles (2012) – June 4th at 11am.
- Promoted as "the lesser-known story about the six young men who would -- and wouldn’t -- grow up to become The Beatles."
- Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused (2009) – June 5th at 7am.
- Spans their formation out of The Yardbirds in 1968 to the band's dissolution after the death of John Bonham, incorporating both performance footage and interviews with the band.
- Jimi Hendrix: Trapped in Amber (2017) – June 7th at 6am.
- Learn about the seeds that planted his musical genius leading up to his tragic death. With exclusive interviews from some of the people lucky enough to work alongside Jimi, it's a look at how the legendary guitarist lived his life in the high-powered world of 1960s rock.
- Eagles: The Long Road (2016) – June 7th at 7am.
- Focusing on the late Glenn Frey, the fim features such classic songs as “Hotel California,” “New Kid in Town,” “Life in the Fast Lane” and “One of these Nights.”
- The Rolling Stones: Rock of Ages (2015) – June 12th at 7am.
- Details how their passion for blues-based rock, showmanship and campy irony has kept them on top of the rock and roll world for over half a century.
- David Bowie: Stardust (2016) – June 19th at 6:30 am.
- A tribute based on the groundbreaking album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars and how he added a visual and fashionable dimension previously unseen in rock.
The films will be available on-demand the day after they air on Ovation.