…So on August 1 1971, I was on my second honeymoon at the Tidewater Inn on Maryland’s historic Eastern Shore.
I can’t recall too much of the honeymoon but I do remember that this television show debuted.
I was blown away.
By Cher, of course.
Who wasn’t? Her look! Her hair! Her clothes! Her feisty, cock-sure attitude!
Her belly button!
She was all of twenty-five- only four years older than me- but Cher became my role model then and there.
And with Mamma Mia 2 opening last week and The Cher Show set to debut at the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway this fall, I’m guessing that I am not her only life-long fan.
Who else has had a career like hers? She went from record producer Sonny Bono’s starstruck teenaged gopher to his wife*** and co-singer with this huge hit under their hippie belts.
***Actually, I think at the time of the record’s release, they were not man and wife. But with the record’s unbelievable success, the powers that be thought they should make it legal pronto. So they tied the knot.
Here she is. Still very much Cherilyn Sarkisian- with her original nose.
But the shaggy vest and the bo-ho look didn’t last long.
Enter Bob Mackie.
Not since Audrey Hepburn wafted into Givenchy’s life had there been a better match made in designer/muse heaven.
Some of her outfits were pretty improbable.
But they matched Cher’s acting career arc perfectly.
We all watched as she went from a joke to broke to an Academy Award-winning actress.
And as for her singing…
Cher has set a record for her records that will probably never be equalled.
She is the only artist to date to have a number-one single on a Billboard chart in each decade since the 1960’s.
And in 1998, her “Believe” became the biggest-selling single of all time by a female artist.
Besides her Oscar, Cher has won a Grammy, an Emmy, and three Golden Globes.
And now at 72 she is still showing the world how to rock a look.
Cher gives me hope that there is life after seventy.
You just got to believe.
Nice blog Ellen. Thanks for “Chering.”
You’re welcome, Steve! Your nice comment made my day “Sonny.”
Everyone needs an inspiration. I’ve got you, babe!
Why,thank you, Kevin! I’m happy and proud to be the Cher of the Roaring Fork Valley. (As long as I’m not a gypsy, tramp or thief.) 😘
Deb and I were on our honeymoon in August of ‘71 at The Playboy club in Lake Geneva Wisconsin. Guess who was there ? Yep Sonny and Cher. You got me babe!
How fabulous. You and Debbie must have thought they were singing that song just for you two lovebirds. Right on. 😊🎼🎤
I still love Cher. Her movie, Moonstruck, is one of my all time favorites. She is a remarkable woman. Thanks for these wonderful memories of Cher (and Sonny).
You’re welcome. I’m with you, Babe.
Ever since we set them up for their first date on NYE 1985, my wife and I have spent most NYEs with my best [but now late] friend, Trip Abnee and his wife, Nina, family, and friends the Tanzmans. A few years ago karaoke insinuated itself into the evening’s entertainment. Somehow Jeanine and I got tagged to do “I Got You, Babe”. Strangely, that also was the first .45 I ever bought…at Porter’s, natch. sadly, Sonny proved that skiing is a contact sport. He also had quite a trajectory, despite that nose.
And I’m sure you and your wife sang the heck out of it, Dave. And poor Sonny. Gone too soon. Thanks for the personal touch here.