Cher
There are a handful of one-named superstars in the world…and then there’s CHER.
As a recording artist, live performer, TV star and Oscar-winning actress, she is truly peerless. Quite simply, Cher is a force of nature…eternally youthful and ever-vital as a creative, trend setting figure – and she’s about to add yet another jewel to her crown. Her latest musical venture, Living Proof, is a collection of songs that shows Cher at her career zenith as a singer.
“I love the idea of making songs that reach different generations of people – songs that hold the attention of longtime fans, while also grabbing the attention of kids. That’s the dream of any artist.”
Living Proof shows Cher reuniting with the UK-based team of Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling, who produced her 1998 global chartbuster “Believe” from the multi-platinum selling album of the same name. The new CD also features tracks produced by Rick Nowels (Madonna, Celine Dion), British musician/producer Chicane and Norwegian team, Stargate.
Among the strongest tunes on Living Proof is the first single “(This is) A Song for the Lonely,” which she dedicated “to the courageous people of New York” following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11. “When I first heard “Song for the Lonely,” I just loved the feeling of it – the balls to the wall strength coupled with the fact that it just moved me emotionally. The song just makes you feel more powerful.” Although the song was recorded well before the event, “the song took on a completely different tone for me. People have told me that it helped them cope with the after-effects of the attack. There’s no greater compliment than that.”
Elsewhere on Living Proof, Cher continues to experiment with the studio technology that made Believe such an innovative recording. “The Music’s No Good Without You,” which has already scored with pop listeners and club punters as a European single, is a deliciously trippy trance-disco gem, while vibrant-percussion and silkly synthesizers fuel “A Different Kind of Love Song.” Both songs deftly display Cher’s smoky alto range in pure and computerized form.
BACKGROUND
The seeds of Cher’s career were sown in the ‘60’s, when she began working as a session singer. She recorded with producer Phil Spector as a backing vocalist, having become romantically attached to his studio assistant and PR man, Sonny Bono. After releasing two singles under the name Caesar & Cleo, the duo eventually achieved international acclaim as Sonny & Cher. Sparkling with undeniable chemistry, the pair racked an armful of pop hits during the period, including timeless classics “The Beat Goes On” and “I Got You Babe,” which became the theme to their hugely successful CBS television program, “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.” The show was an instant smash, firmly establishing Cher as both a singing sensation and as a comedic actress to be reckoned with.
Throughout this period, Cher also successfully pursued a solo recording career, scoring hits that include an earnest cover of the Byrds’ “All I Really Want To Do,” the sultry “Bang Bang (Baby Shot Me Down),” “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves,” “Half Breed,” and “Dark Lady.”
In 1981, the ride got even more interesting when Cher shifted her attention from music to another passion: acting. A leading role on Broadway in “Come Back To The Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” (1982) was followed by a critically praised turn in “Silkwood” (1983) that earned an Academy Award nomination. A stunning star turn in “Mask” (1985) followed by “The Witches of Eastwick” (1987) and “Suspect” (1987), clearly brought Cher to her acting peak as one of this country’s finest actresses.
However, Cher’s love of music never waned. For “Moonstruck” (1987), she won an Oscar for Best Actress and celebrated that honor with another recording comeback – courtesy of the rock-etched album Cher and the top-10 smash single “I Found Someone.” In 1989, she enjoyed three more top-10 hits: the romantic power ballad “After All,” a duet with Peter Cetera; the rock-fueled “If I Could Turn Back Time,” which Cher sites as one of her “top-five favorite recordings;” and the clever, acoustic-framed “Just Like Jesse James.” Her April 1991 “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)” was the theme song to another screen appearance in “Mermaids.”
“It may look like I have been planning everything very carefully, but nothing could be farther from the truth,” Cher notes. “I love making records and I love making music. I just follow the flow of what’s working and what feels right in the moment.”
The year 1995 saw Cher getting in deeper touch with her inner musical muse. In March, in the company of Chrissie Hynde, Nenah Cherry and Eric Clapton, she topped the UK pop charts with the charity single, “Love Can Build A Bridge.”
None of this, however, could prepare the artist or the world for Believe – the song and album that would become one of the biggest hits of Cher’s career to date. Considered undisputable proof of the superstar’s transcendent popularity, the worldwide smash single topped the UK’s pop charts for seven weeks in late 1998. “Believe,” the single, holds the record as the biggest selling song in England by a female in the history of recorded music. In March 1999, “Believe” completed its long climb up the US Billboard Hot 100 to the very top.
Cher says she’s most proud of the fact that “Believe” didn’t originally sound like a Cher song. “As it built, the elements just seemed to explode. It’s a song that will never be duplicated, so I haven’t even considered trying to do so. Believe was just one of those records that just took on a life of its own,” she says. “Just when it appeared to have run its course, it got bigger.”
And for the future? It definitely won’t be a quite 2002 for Cher. “I’m hoping to do a feature film of “Auntie Mame” and I’ve been working on a remake of a favorite old film of mine, “Enchanted Cottage,” and of course a BIG tour.”
Living Proof indeed.
