Rate everything from 1-10, with one 10.5 and one 11! Due by March 4th.
A House is Not a Home
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Ain't No Way
Alfie
Anyone Who Had a Heart
Baby I Love You
Bad Girls
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)
Believe
Call Me
Chain of Fools
Chain Reaction
Could It Be Magic
Dark Lady
Daydreaming
Dim All The Lights
Don't Make Me Over
Don't Rain On My Parade
Do You Know the Way to San Jose?
Endless Love
Enough is Enough (No More Tears)
Evergreen
Freeway of Love
Good Morning Heartache
Guilty
Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves
Half-Breed
Happy Days Are Here Again
Heartbreaker
Heaven Knows
Hot Stuff
I Feel Love
I Finally Found Someone
I Found Someone
I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself
I Knew You Were Waiting for Me
I Love You
I Never Loved a Man (The Way That I Love You)
If I Could Turn Back Time
I'll Never Fall in Love
I'll Never Love This Way Again
I'm Coming Out
It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)
It's My Turn
Just Like Jesse James
Last Dance
Love Hangover
Love to Love You Baby
MacArthur Park
Message to Michael
Missing You
On The Radio
One by One
Papa, Can You Hear Me?
People
Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)
Respect
Rock Steady
She Works Hard for the Money
Somewhere
Song for the Lonely
Spirit in the Dark
Stamp Your Feet
Stoney End
Strong Enough
Take Me Home
Tell Him
The Boss
The Way We Were
Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To?)
Theme from Valley of the Dolls
Then Came You
Think
This Time I Know It's For Real
Touch Me in the Morning
Until You Come Back to Me
Upside Down
Walk On By
Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
Woman in Love
Woman's World
You Don't Bring Me Flowers
(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman
You're Gonna Need Me
Cherilyn Sarkisian, better known as Cher. Crazy to believe, but she'll be seventy this year! A true California girl, young Cher was the only raven-hair in a house of blondes. Her parents split before she turned one, and Cher's mother became an actress, getting Cher and her young sister extra roles in some of the leading sitcoms of the day. Her childhood wasn't the most stable (thank goodness for that!), as her mother married and divorced multiple times in multiple states. Cher wasn't the best student, and was diagnosed with dyslexia as an adult. That didn't keep her from expressing herself, though, as she was bitten by the show business bug. At nine, she performed in a school production of Oklahoma, and, as a natural contralto, sang many of the male parts!
At 16, Cher dropped out of high school and moved to LA. She wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps, and took up acting classes. She was not nervous to advance her career, and approached anyone she thought could get her to where she wanted to go. In November 1962, at eighteen, Cher met a young producer named Sonny Bono; two years later, they were married.
Sonny convinced Cher to sing, and they became a duo - originally called Caesar & Cleo. They wisely went with their own names, later. Cher also signed with a label as a solo artist, and Sonny became her producer. Her/their first singles weren't immediate hits Stateside, so, upon a manager's advice, they went to the UK. That's when Sonny & Cher exploded, having five songs in the top 50 at the same time! Cher also gained her first top ten as a solo artist, Bang Bang! (My Baby Shot Me Down).
Sonny & Cher became huge, got their own show ... and then their relationship hit the skids. By the 70s, Cher was divorced (although she still had a show with her ex-husband!) Their musical relationship persisted, at least for a while. They signed to an imprint of MCA Records. Sonny wrote her a song, "Classified 1A," about the Vietnam War - but radio stations were hesitant to play it. Their label hired a producer, Snuff Garrett, to make her a hit.
He did just that.
Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves was the start of a new Cher - emboldened by her Bob Mackie designs, she represented something exotic, glamorous, a little dangerous. She was her own woman. The hits didn't stop there!
Half-Breed was written for Cher, and held back for her to record. It became her second number one single.
By the early 70s, Sonny and Cher had fallen apart - but their show was more successful than ever. They stayed together for the sake of their public image, but effectively split up. Cher began dating the noted homosexual impresario David Geffen, who convinced her to become a rock singer.
It didn't take.
Neither did their relationship, which crumbled after two years. Sonny and Cher crumbled as well, as they officially filed for divorce in 1974. They tried to keep their show going, but the strain was too much. Days after the divorce was finalized, Cher met and married rock singer Gregg Allman. She went back to pop, but her albums tanked. She did have a successful show of her own, though - The Cher Show! Cher and Allman had one successful collaboration - their son, Elijah Blue - and one unsuccessful - an duet album that collapsed upon release. The marriage ended, and she dated Gene Simmons. (!!!)
But as a single mother of two kids in the late 70s, Cher had to revitalize her musical direction. What was in at the time? Disco, baby!
Take Me Home brought Cher back to the top ten, and all was well. For that decade!
Not for long! Cher couldn't get over being a rock singer. So she put out another rock record, a year after her disco comeback.
FLOP.
She started dating this random, and they formed a band called Band Rose. FLOP.
She picked up a gig in Vegas, a true trailblazer - although she hated it. Vegas in the 80s was not the tea!
So, in another career revamp, she decided to focus on acting.
By the end of the 80s, she had won the Actress prize for one film (Mask) and the Golden Globe and Academy Award for another (Moonstruck). I'd say she did quite well, huh?
Cher's astonishing success as a musician - which will NEVER be duplicated or replicated by a modern pop girl or boy (keep trying Timberlake!) - helped bring buzz back to her musical career. By the mid 80s, she was one of Hollywood's most bankable actresses! She hooked back up with her homosexual ex, David Geffen, and covered a recent Laura Branigan hit. The result was I Found Someone.
Two facts about the video - it gave Cher a VMA nod for Female Video, and it stars a pre-fame Virgina Madsen!
By the mid 80s, Cher also became known for her lovelife, as she was escorted by Val Kilmer, Tom Cruise (haha), her Mask son Eric Stoltz, and a bagel baker she met in New York. She also started messing with her nose!
In 1989, with the help of Diane Warren, she gained her biggest hit of her career.
