Before she became a global icon known simply as Cher, she was Cherilyn Sarkisian, a young singer making her way through the bustling music scene of the 1960s. Cher’s big break came when she teamed up with her then-boyfriend Sonny Bono, forming the beloved duo Sonny and Cher. Their 1965 hit “I Got You Babe” catapulted them to stardom, kicking off a string of 11 chart-topping songs. But even before the spotlight found her, Cher was already making waves behind the scenes, lending her voice to Phil Spector’s legendary productions, including The Ronettes’ classic “Be My Baby.”
The pair’s charm wasn’t limited to music. In 1971, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour debuted as a summer replacement on CBS and was such a hit that it returned full-time by December. But as their personal relationship unraveled, they separated in 1974, each launching solo TV ventures before briefly reuniting two years later. Cher, however, was just getting started. She became one of the top female recording artists of the 1970s, scoring number-one hits with “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves,” “Half Breed,” and “Dark Lady.” Her reinvention continued into the '90s with the electro-pop anthem “Believe,” which made her the oldest female artist at the time to top the charts.
Cher won an Oscar for her unforgettable role in Moonstruck and later delighted fans as Ruby Sheridan in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018). Her life story even hit Broadway with The Cher Show, which ran for nine months between 2018 and 2019. More recently, Cher’s remained in the public eye making a memorable appearance on the SNL 50th anniversary special earlier this year.
Happy 79th birthday to the one and only Cher.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]