Cher

About Cher

While many musicians are stars, few have attained the status of legend. Cher is definitely one of those few. She may have begun her career in the 60's, but the strong-voiced, long-haired icon has never been more popular. As her recent tours have shown, Cher can set any ticket prices she wants and still count on a capacity crowd. Reading the track-list for a Cher greatest hits CD is enough to make lesser artists just give it up and walk away; everything from recent hits like "Believe" and "If I Could Turn Back Time" to classics like "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves", "Strong Enough" and "Half-Breed." And that's just her solo career; the first half of Cher's musical career with ex-husband Sonny Bono yielded a whole other set of pop classics. Cher deserves to finally rest on her reputation after a career spent defining the term "come-back." Nearly every step of Cher's career has been panned by critics but, after surviving it all, the diva finally gets the last laugh. Cher has never been afraid to try new things, and her can-do spirit has allowed her to experiment with acting and writing as well as her music. Cher had a difficult early life, which has always been reflected in her music. The daughter of an Armenian refugee father and a mother of mixed Cherokee, German and English ancestry, Cher always had trouble in high school and it was later revealed that she suffered from severe dyslexia. Unfortunately, this meant that she dropped out at the age of 16. Cher then moved to Hollywood to try her talent as a singer. She quickly became romantically involved with (and later married to) Phil Specter's assistant, Sonny Bono, and she was also offered a gig singing backup vocals on Specter's recordings, including The Righteous Bros "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and The Crystals' "Da Do Ron Ron." Sonny began writing songs for Cher, and as a duo, Sonny & Cher had hits with "I've Got You Babe", "The Beat Goes On" and "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down.)" Sonny & Cher's career struggled in the psychedelic late-60's, when their shamelessly pop sound was suddenly deemed "un-hip." Cher began working on her solo career while still married to Sonny, but as the duo's popularity suffered so did the couple's marriage, up until their divorce in 1975. Today, Cher has released 25 solo albums to date, making her one of the most prolific and beloved female artists of all time.