Cher: The Memoir: Part One

Back in LA, Sonny and Cher returned to the studio to finish recording their album, which was now highly anticipated. The two were signed by the William Morris agency but ignored their advice about toning down their style. Cher was particularly thrilled to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show since that show was how she had discovered Elvis. The taping was largely successful, though Cher regrets not singing more of their hit songs.

The two now had money to spend, and they purchased a home in Encino, California. Cher was largely left out of financial decisions, as Sonny controlled their finances. While Cher was happy to have a home, her impoverished childhood made her feel that her financial success could be over at any time, and she bought doubles of everything for fear of running out. Sonny was also controlling about how they spent their time, and he pushed them to continue working rather than enjoy themselves. As time passed, Cher felt that Sonny asked her to give up increasingly more of her passions and freedom, while he didn’t sacrifice anything for her. These constraints grew so gradually that she did not notice them until she had already lost much of her autonomy. 

Cher found their new pace of life “relentless” but was also happy that they were finally living their dreams as singers. Cher had new opportunities, such as designing a fashion line and being an “agony aunt”—an advice columnist—for Teen Beat magazine. She and Sonny were astonished when, at the request of Jackie Kennedy, they were invited to sing at a prestigious party. Cher recalls how kind Mrs. Kennedy was to her. Cher was photographed by Vogue and loved the experience. She was assured that she would never make the cover of the magazine because she had both dark hair and dark eyes, but six years later, she graced the cover.

Fame brought new pressures, too. Cher preferred to stay out of the spotlight and let Sonny do more of the interviews, but she could not avoid being grilled herself. One interview went particularly poorly, as the journalist misconstrued Cher’s responses and published the couple’s full address for fans to use. Some fans became completely wild at their concerts, grabbing at their legs and trying to climb onstage with them.

Over the next few years, the culture changed, and Cher wondered how to change with it. The counterculture movement popularized recreational drug use, free love, and resistance to the Vietnam War, and Sonny and Cher’s wholesome, married-couple brand began to seem out of fashion. This triggered a sharp decline in their record sales, which put pressure on both of them. Cher believes that Sonny abused prescription drugs to cope with his workload, giving him mood swings. Cher recalls that it was difficult to influence Sonny’s strong opinions but that he seemed to be more open to her comments when she jotted down notes in his notebooks. While she knows that she meant a lot to him, she often felt that he undervalued her.

As Sonny and Cher fell out of fashion, Sonny decided that they should star in a film to give their popularity a boost. Sonny co-wrote the script for and got funding from Paramount to direct a comedy movie called Good Times. Cher was surprised that Sonny found the support he needed from Hollywood, and she wondered how the movie would turn out. She recalls filming at the Africa USA Wildlife Park in Vallejo, California, and interacting with lions, elephants, and chimps, realizing that the film would be funny after all.

Cher feels that this period of her life was full of surreal experiences and new opportunities. She and Sonny met Salvador Dali by chance in New York, though they did not become fast friends with the eccentric artist. She and Sonny appeared on The Carol Burnett Show, and Cher met Bob Mackie, a stylist who would go on to be her friend and colleague for decades. Good Times received positive reviews but did not make much money at the box office, and Sonny and Cher’s agency declined to help them advertise it more.

Now 21, Cher lost a third pregnancy and learned that she would continue to find it difficult to conceive. This alarmed her, as she wanted children. To make matters worse, she caught Sonny cheating on her with his new secretary. Cher was devastated, but Sonny convinced her that it was her fault that he had cheated since he felt neglected. In hindsight, Cher regrets being so forgiving and submissive. Despite buying a beautiful new home together, things remained tense between the two as Sonny became prone to unpredictable outbursts that frightened Cher. She began to feel caged in her home, with her every decision dictated by Sonny. She begged him to let her take tennis lessons, and he agreed but then burned her tennis clothes and racquet when he heard that she had socialized with men at her tennis lesson. His jealousy and paranoia extended to their next film set, too, where he scheduled her scenes to be shot separately from those of the male co-star she had befriended.

Cher became pregnant again and was ordered to stay on bedrest. One day, she discovered Valium and painkillers in Sonny’s bathroom. She felt that the medications explained his erratic moods but was shocked since he had always been publicly anti-drugs. She decided not to confront him about it. Cher’s pregnancy continued, and she and Sonny finally made their marriage official. Cher recalls her difficult labor and early days with her new baby girl, Chastity, or “Chas.” Cher was terrified of being a bad mother, and health complications added to her stress. Her relationship with her mother became particularly tense, as Georgia hated Sonny for cheating on Cher and was critical of their parenting.

The German nanny whom Sonny hired was intrusive and controlling and made Cher feel incompetent as a mother. When Chas was only three weeks old, Cher traveled to Arizona for a photoshoot with Vogue. Thankfully, Sonny stayed behind in LA, which allowed Cher to enjoy the experience. She came back to LA feeling great, but it didn’t last long: Sonny broke the news that they were badly in debt to the IRS with no way to pay it off. Their only option was to tour again. Cher was terrified at the prospect of losing what they had and living in poverty again, especially now that she had a child. She was also shocked since Sonny had always seemed so competent with money. She couldn’t believe that he had overspent so much and allowed their situation to get so bad.

The two performed in London and New York and promoted their new album and film, Chastity, but their fortunes did not improve. Cher’s sales were so low that her record label dropped her, ruining their plans for a lucrative tour. They found smaller gigs at casinos, motels, and hotels, and it saddened Cher to play at these “dives.” These audiences were not the appreciative fans they were used to; some were downright uninterested. Cher and Sonny lived on the road with Chas, leaving her in the care of Gee or their new nanny, Heidi, while they worked. When a stranger noticed how unhappy she was and prophetically told her that she wouldn’t be with her husband forever, Cher decided to tell Sonny how much she hated their new life. Unfortunately, this did not resolve anything, as he lost his temper, accused her of being “ungrateful,” and threatened to divorce her (244).

As they continued their tour of small venues, Cher and Sonny noticed that audiences loved their banter, and they redeveloped their show to include more comedy. The tour began to sell out, and their new agent secured them a TV show called The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour based on their touring act. The two were nervous but excited about this new opportunity, and Cher hoped that they could finally pay their back taxes and feel secure again. The two had to learn to be more improvisational, and they both grew as performers. Their working relationship was always easy; Cher felt that the show was the “perfect playground” for them to experiment together. While the show was a lot of work, Cher began to feel happier in her marriage and career again.

As their Comedy Hour show gained an audience, their budget grew, and they attracted guest stars like Muhammad Ali, the Jackson 5, and Elton John. Cher loved the work but was tired and had little time for anything else in her life. Nevertheless, when Sonny insisted that they record another album and go back on the road to “make the most of this second chance,” she agreed (260). Cher’s next album, simply called Cher, was a success, earning the singer her first Grammy nomination. While she didn’t like being overworked and constantly busy, she acknowledges that Sonny’s work ethic and industry savvy helped her achieve that success.