Feb 24 2009
Favorite Females No. 3: CHER
Catwoman may not be on her list of upcoming film roles (as was rumored), but Cherilyn Sarkisian has dipped into her litter of nine lives more than once during her 40-plus years in entertainment.
Nearly 45 years ago, the husband-and-wife singing duo of Sonny and Cher provided one of pop culture’s most popular and expressive sentiments in a love song- that no matter what anybody says, or if bad times or challenges arise, “I Got You Babe.” The No. 1 hit became the couple’s signature tune, with other notables including “The Beat Goes on,” “All I Ever Need is You” and “A Cowboy’s Work is Never Done.”
Simultaneously, Cher recorded Sonny-Bono-produced solo material, herself landing three signature No. 1 hits, which came to be known as “the story songs”- “Half Breed,” “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” and “Dark Lady.” Even though she didn’t compose “Half Breed,” the track detailed Cher’s struggles as a part-Caucasian-, part-Cherokee-American.
During the Sonny and Cher years, aside from scoring duo and solo hits and starring in a successful variety show- aptly titled The Sonny and Cher Show-Cher also became a fashion icon, popularizing long black hair, bellbottoms, exposed midriffs and eye-popping costumes. When the duo divorced in 1975, Cher’s music career suffered, until she jumped on the disco train in 1979 and landed a top 10 hit with “Take Me Home.”
It would be another eight years before Cher landed another significant U.S. chart hit, with 1987’s “I Found Someone.” However, during the chart dry spell, she focused her energies on acting- and, in the process, landed critically lauded roles in Silkwood (for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination), Mask and Moonstruck, for which she snared the Best Actress Academy Award.
Though her film career has received plenty of accolades, Cher’s music career remains underrated. Few deny her iconic status (especially among the gay community), but when it comes time to discussing Cher’s music, she’s often given the shaft. Cher became eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, both as part of the Sonny and Cher duo and as a solo act- but has yet to be a serious contender for induction.
Do critics and historians view Cher as more of a punchline than a serious, impactful musical artist? Have all the plastic surgery stories, dalliances with younger men, dreadful infomercials and outrageous wardrobe choices (at awards shows and in music videos, particularly) affected perception of her as an artist? Her current Vegas residency may not do her any favors, either (while successful, it isn’t necessarily the hippest avenue to go; and she took over for, of all people, Celine Dion). While it’s true that her music has not scored big critical marks through the years (outside of “I Got You Babe” and her smash 1999 comeback single, “Believe”), the fact remains that if critics listened to Cher’s catalog without prejudice, they would find themselves taking part in a highly satisfying, musically varied journey.
Cher expertly shifts with the times, effortlessly moving from 1960’s/1970’s folk rock and pop to disco to 1980’s hairband rock to dance. Sometimes, Cher’s music even gets poignant: Listen to the heartbreaking family/relationship woes chronicled on “You Better Sit Down Kids,” “Living in a House Divided” and “I Saw a Man and He Danced With His Wife,” or powerful, uplifting tracks like “If I Could Turn Back Time,” “Heart of Stone” and “Song For the Lonely.” She does not possess one of the greatest voices of our time, but she delivers each vocal with a distinctness, sincerity and passion like few others. Just about every Cher track has an anthemic quality- you could feel the rush, the intensity in her voice, as she treats each performance like it’s her last.
Maybe that’s where the critical problem lies: She makes it look, and sound, easy. People have taken Cher for granted for so long, that it’s a given, as she joked, that along with the cockroaches, she’ll be here when life on Earth ends. Maybe at that time she’ll receive her proper due.
Until then, in-between nightly Vegas shows, Cher- who turns 63 this May- undoubtedly is plotting her next comeback. How big could it be, though, for a woman in her 60’s? Well, by now we know that we cannot underestimate her- after all, who could have predicted that she would land the biggest hit of her career nearly 35 years after “I Got You Babe” and her first solo hit, “All I Really Want to Do”? That’s our Cher.
