Cher reflects on 50 years of topping (the charts)
Cher has reflected on 50 years of being on top… of the Billboard charts.
The legendary gay icon is celebrating half a century in the music industry – marking by her debut appearances on the Billboard Charts in 1965 with ‘All I Really Want to Do’ and Sonny and Cher duet ‘I Got You Babe’.
She has gone from strength to strength ever since (we’re choosing to ignore the Burlesque soundtrack) – from the heights of Believe through to latter-day hit Woman’s World.
In an interview with Billboard, she reflected of making it on the charts: “It was everything that we were living for. It was what we were breathing for.
“It was our goal to do it. We struggled and struggled and struggled because of the way we [Sonny & Cher] looked. And people didn’t get it until we went to England and then came back and they thought we were English.
“But I mean, we looked different than anyone else. We got thrown out of every place. We couldn’t get in.
“But we had a hard time getting on that show because we looked so strange to everyone. And then he said, ‘You’re wasting your time here, go to England, that’s where it will happen for you’.
“We had songs that didn’t do anything, and then all of a sudden we had all these songs on the [chart] at one time.”
Of continuing to perform her old hits, she said: “You know, I don’t love doing them myself.
“I love when Bob [Mackie, the fashion designer] makes me a great costume. And then, you know, everybody goes ‘oooh’ and ‘ahhh’.
“And that’s fun for me to see… But I know people love them so much, that they don’t bother me. I actually never loved them that much when I recorded them.”
She continued: Back in that time, people had A&R men and they brought you songs, and they gave you songs, and you did the songs. And especially women, you know?
“I didn’t really get a chance to pick my songs back then.. I don’t know a lot of times what a hit is because a lot of times commercial songs, I don’t really love them.”
Of the potential for new music, the 69-year-old confessed that she had skipped a recent recording session to go on holiday.
She said: “I was supposed to go… Mark [Taylor] has a song and I loved it, and I was supposed to go to England to do it.
“But then I wanted to go on vacation, so I went on vacation instead..
“I’m going to be in England to do something in October, so I’ll go early and work with Mark.”
