The Goddess of Pop!
One of the most iconic American female singers, Cher, has had a #1 in seven consecutive decades.
Let’s take a look at her biggest tunes, starting with what brought her to fame: her duo with husband Sonny.
The two met in a Los Angeles coffee shop when she was just 16. Sonny was 27 and worked with Phil Spector. Two years later, they were married.
The first hits Cher sang were as a backing singer for Be My Baby (The Ronettes, 1963) and You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling (Righteous Brothers, 1964).
The first tune the duo released with some success was Baby Don’t Go (1964). This was followed up with the debut album, Look At Us (1965).
On this album, we find covers like Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers), Then He Kissed Me (The Crystals), and You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me (Smokey Robinson).
We can also find an original tune by Sonny that would propel the couple to worldwide superstardom, I Got You Babe.
The album reached #2 in the U.S. and #7 in the U.K., but only sold half a million copies. The single, I Got You Babe, did twice that amount in the U.S. alone.
More importantly, worldwide, I Got You Babe reached the top 10 in 19 countries.
The second album, The Wondrous World of Sonny & Cher (1966), wasn’t anywhere near the same success. Two well-known covers can be found here in Summertime (Gershwin) and Bring It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke).
The third album was similar, with no big hits but more covers, most notably, Ben E. King’s Stand By Me and Sunny (Bobby Hebb).
After this release, we get several compilations/greatest hits, a live album, and two more studio albums with no big tunes.
The final album, Mama Was a Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write All Her Songs (1963), is an ironic title as it again mostly had covers; only the title track is written by Sonny. One of the covers worth mentioning here is Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now.
After a decade, five studio albums, and a couple of TV shows together, Sonny and Cher divorced.
Cher immediately launched a solo career; her first hit is from her second album, Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down). Using a huge production, it did well, although Nancy Sinatra’s one-guitar arrangement became a bigger hit.
On this album, she also had Bob Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone.
During the rest of the ‘60s, Cher kept releasing albums and singles; none reached the same heights as she did with Sonny. Covers include Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel), Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix), The Times They Are A-Changing (Dylan), and (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding.
Cher post the ’60s
Her next success comes as we enter the ‘70s with the title track of her 1971 album Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves.
Even though the decade started well, it wasn’t the best by her standards, with only two #1’s in Half-Breed and Dark Lady. She also released Rescue Me as a single, but it didn’t even chart.
In the ‘80s, she started off slowly but had a #1 as a duo with Peter Cetera with After All before one of her biggest tunes arrived in 1989 If I Could Turn Back Time.
The following year, as we entered the ‘90s, she followed it up with another smash hit, The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss).
In 1992 she released Love Hurts, which had in 1975 been an album track only. This was originally an Everly Brothers hit; Roy Orbison also covered it.
In 1993 she released I Got You Babe again, this time with Beavis and Butt-head!
Five years later, one of her biggest hits, Believe (1998), arrives. A worldwide smash hit, it reached #1 in 21 countries, selling 11 million copies.
In itself a fantastic composition, the success was helped by the controversial use of auto-tune which became a big talking point at the time.
As we move past the millennium, Cher continues racking up #1 singles with Song for the Lonely and A Different Kind Of Love Song in 2002 and When The Money’s Gone (2003).
For the 2010s, Cher has two #1’s in You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me and Woman’s World. She also got two #2’s with Take It Like A Man and I Walk Alone before she started releasing ABBA tunes.
Finally, in the 2020s, she had another #1 with DJ Play a Christmas Song (2023).
On top of being one of the most successful singers of all time, Cher has also acted in several blockbusters, including Mask (1985), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and Moonstruck (1987) during the ‘80s.
‘90s films by Cher include The Player (1992), Prêt-à-Porter (1994), and Tea With Mussolini (1999).
Post the millennium, we find her in Stuck On You (2003) and Burlesque (2010) with Christina Aguilera.
Cher may not have written any of her big hits, but her vocal abilities, looks, and iconic persona earned her the nickname Goddess of Pop.
Cher Tunes | Related Pages
(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay
Learn how to play (Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| G | B7 | C | A |
Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun, I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ comes…
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)
Learn how to play Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) by Nancy Sinatra using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Fm Fmmaj7 | Fm7 Fm6 |
I was five and he was six we rode on horses made of sticks…
Be My Baby
You can learn how to play Be My Baby by The Ronettes using chords, lyrics, a backing track, a chord chart, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| E | E | F#m | B7 |
The night we met I knew I, needed you so…
Believe
You can learn how to play Believe by Cher using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| G | G | Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 |
No matter how hard I try, you keep pushing me aside.
Hey Joe
You can learn how to play Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recordings.
| C G | D A | E7 | E7 |
Hey Joe, ah where you goin’ with that gun of your hand…
Like A Rolling Stone
You can learn how to play Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| C Dm |
Once upon a time you dressed so fine…
Rescue Me
You can learn how to play Rescue Me by Fontella Bass using chords, lyrics, a backing track, a chord chart, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| A | D |
Rescue me, take me in your arms…
Stand By Me
You can learn how to play Stand By Me by Ben E. King using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| A | A | F#m | F#m |
When the night has come, and the land is dark…
Summertime
You can learn how to play Summertime by Billie Holiday using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C | Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C |
Summertime and the living is easy…
Sunny
You can learn how to play Sunny by Bobby Hebb using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Em7 | G9 | Cmaj7 | F#m7b5 B7 |
Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain…
Cher on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about Cher tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
