The American pop singer cher had such a colorful life that she had to divide her autobiography into two parts. The 78-year-old star is releasing the 432-page first volume in english this Tuesday. In it, she describes her fate from birth to the end of her turbulent marriage with singer Sonny Bono. The second part will be released next year, writes the DPA agency.
“This book completely tired me. It really sucked all the energy out of me,” the singer, who, like Madonna, Beyoncé or the younger Zendaya, is known to the whole world only by her first name, told the New York Times. “I’ve lived too much. And too long,” Cher added.
She has been on the scene for more than six decades, she created her first hit with Sonny bono when she was nineteen.She shone in the era of hippies and disco. Even later,she won an Oscar for her performance in the movie Under the influence of the Full Moon,a Grammy Award for the dance hit Believe from the end of the millennium,or a TV Emmy statuette for recording a concert from The Farewell Tour,with which she prematurely saeid goodbye to her career at the turn of the millennium.
It wasn’t until this year that Cher was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “It was easier to get divorced twice than to get here among you,” she joked.
In the first part of his memoirs, according to the DPA agency, he mainly returns to his childhood. The daughter of a former model and a drug-addicted truck driver, she grew up poor. Her mother married “at least seven times”, at one point dropping her daughter off at an orphanage and visiting her once a week.”Or maybe one day we’re driving like this when my mother turns to me and says: Cher,I don’t know where to rent. How should I do it?” the singer told CBS television.
She understood what she wanted to do in life when she saw Elvis Presley singing on TV in September 1956. “He looked and moved differently than anyone before him.I felt like he was singing just for me. I wanted to jump in front of the TV and be like Elvis,” Cher writes in the book.
In it, she also describes how the mother had just come up with some money, so she took her daughter to a Presley concert. “He was there and he was absolutely charming. There was an unimaginable scream from the crowd. Everyone jumped to their feet and started screaming so hysterically that we almost didn’t hear the words from Heartbreak Hotel,” mentions Cher Presley’s famous song.
As a sixteen-year-old, she did not finish high school, instead trying to establish herself as a dancer and actress in Los angeles in the early 1960s. It was there in the cafe that she met singer Sonny Bono, who was 11 years her senior, with whom she soon formed a life and artistic couple.
Already as Sonny & Cher in the middle of the decade, they shone with the hit I Got You Babe, which even surpassed the Beatles in the British charts and resonated with the generation of so-called flower children of the time. They later liked the pair, among other things, with songs tuned against the war in Vietnam. Another great success followed with The Beat Goes On or Bang bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).
But by the end of the 60s, the softer folk-rock music of Sonny & Cher was definitively supplanted by a harder rock sound. The couple went into debt and financed the film Chastity out of their own pockets, in which Cher played the lead role, but the film flopped and deepened their problems. even their regular TV show The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which was watched by tens of millions of americans, did not solve them in the long term.
The couple, who were already raising a child at the time, officially separated in 1975. The singer now describes the circumstances of the breakup in her memoirs, including infidelity, the episode when Sonny allegedly burned her tennis outfit in the yard, or the moment when Sonny reorganized the accounting of the family business so that Cher formally worked for him as a lower paid employee of Cher Enterprises.
The singer has now told the New York Times that Sonny “robbed her of all her money”. The musician, who later became the mayor of a california city and was also elected as a Republican to
For a while after the divorce, Cher supported herself by performing regularly in Las Vegas, where at one point she sang twice a day, seven days a week.
She lived with music publisher David Geffen or rock musician Gregg Allman,performed on New York Broadway. She shifted her focus to dance music and experienced a comeback in pop music in the late 1990s with the album Believe and the hit of the same name.
She made the moast of her success between 2002 and 2005, when her farewell tour, called The Farewell Tour, became the most commercially prosperous concert series organized by any female singer at the time. Cher thus surpassed even Madonna.
However, she still deals with music today, for example in 2018 she released the album Dancing Queen, which consisted exclusively of covers of songs by the Swedish group ABBA. So far, the last time Cher released a Christmas album called simply christmas was last year.
Today, according to the New York Times, her partner is alexander Edwards, a thirty-eight-year-old music publishing worker. “You shouldn’t be singing at my age. But I’ve been doing it all my life, so I’ll be terribly sorry if it doesn’t work one day,” says 78-year-old Cher, who still goes to her now 96-year-old singing teacher. “I’ve basically been on tour my whole life. How could I be doing anything else?” concludes the singer in an interview with the New York Times.
Czechs could also experience her, in March 1999 she performed at the announcement of the Anděl music awards. In Prague’s Veletržní palác, she sang the song believe from a playback and told the ČTK agency that she had already visited the Czech capital at the beginning of the decade on the occasion of a Rolling Stones concert. “I arrived at the time with my friend Patrik, who did the Rolling Stones lighting and simultaneously occurring installed the lighting in the Spanish hall of Prague Castle,” she said.
Video: Singl Believe od Cher
Cher returned to the charts in 1999 with the dance hit Believe. | Video: Warner Bros.Records
what are some key themes explored in Cher’s autobiography?
Interview: Time.news Editor Interviews Cher’s Biographer and Music Expert
Editor: Welcome to our special segment on pop culture legends! Today, we have with us Jane collins, a renowned biographer and music expert, to discuss the amazing life of Cher and the release of her new autobiography. Thank you for joining us, Jane.
Jane Collins: Thank you for having me! It’s interesting to discuss such an iconic figure in music history.
Editor: Cher’s life story is quite complex and colorful, as highlighted in her memoir. What stood out to you most from the frist volume that was just released?
Jane Collins: Cher’s resilience really shines through in her writing. despite a tumultuous childhood, she managed to rise to unparalleled heights in the entertainment industry.The way she describes her early life—growing up poor with an unstable family and her mother’s numerous marriages—is heart-wrenching.Yet, it beautifully sets the stage for her transformation into a global superstar.
Editor: Absolutely. She mentioned in an interview that writing the book “tired” her out. Did you get the sense that reliving those memories took an emotional toll on her?
Jane Collins: Without a doubt. Writing a memoir isn’t just a recount of events; it’s a deep emotional journey. Cher’s candid reflections on her challenging childhood, her turbulent marriage to Sonny Bono, and her experiences within the music industry definitely weighed on her. The sheer number of experiences she’s had in her 78 years must have made the process quite overwhelming.
Editor: Speaking of her marriage to Sonny Bono, Cher describes it as both a romantic and a professional partnership. how do you think that dynamic influenced her career trajectory?
Jane Collins: Their relationship was pivotal in shaping her early career. As Sonny & Cher, they created some of the most memorable hits of the ’60s, like “I got You Babe,” which defined a generation. Their partnership combined music with an element of activism, particularly with songs that resonated with the anti-war movement.However,the downside of that dynamic also led to challenges and ultimately their divorce.This duality in their relationship is a central theme in the memoir.
Editor: Cher also references Elvis Presley as a major influence on her life. What does this tell us about her artistic inspirations?
Jane Collins: Cher’s admiration for Presley highlights the importance of representation and aspiration in her life. When she saw him perform, she felt a connection unlike anything before. This moment not only ignited her desire to pursue a career in music but also shaped her understanding of performance and stardom. It’s fascinating to see how those early inspirations laid the groundwork for her unique style,characterized by both vulnerability and strength.
Editor: After a successful career spanning over six decades,Cher was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame this year. How important is this recognition for artists like her?
Jane collins: It’s monumental. for an artist of Cher’s stature, being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame is not just recognition; it’s validation of a lifetime of work and influence. Her humor about finding it easier to get divorced then to achieve this honor reflects the hurdles she’s faced in her career. It’s a testament to her perseverance in an industry that often overlooks female artists, especially those from older generations.
Editor: her ability to adjust and thrive through different music eras is noteworthy, too. What do you think has allowed Cher to remain relevant?
Jane Collins: Cher has always embraced change and reinvention.From her early days in folk-rock to disco royalty and later into dance-pop, she has continually evolved her sound while maintaining her identity. She understands the value of adaptability in an ever-changing industry and, as a result, has maintained her status as a cultural icon. Plus, her unabashed authenticity resonates with audiences of all ages.
Editor: Jane, this has been incredibly insightful. Cher’s life is a remarkable story of talent, resilience, and reinvention. any closing thoughts on what readers can expect from the second volume of her autobiography?
Jane Collins: I anticipate that the second volume will explore her later years and perhaps delve into her experiences as a solo artist, her activism, and her reflections on contemporary culture. Given her rich tapestry of experiences, I’m excited to see how she continues to reflect on her journey and the life lessons she’s learned along the way.
Editor: Thank you,Jane,for sharing your insights on Cher and her upcoming memoir.We look forward to seeing what the future holds for this legendary artist!
Jane Collins: Thank you for having me! It’s always a pleasure to discuss such an extraordinary life.