In "Cher: The Memoir – Part One" (set to be released on November 19 by HarperCollins), the iconic singer and actress delves deep into her early years in the music industry, including her groundbreaking partnership and marriage to Sonny Bono. Together, they had a string of eight Top 20 hits throughout the 1960s and 70s, cementing their status as pop culture icons. Their TV show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, became a smash hit, dominating the airwaves and securing their place in television history.
Preface: A Glimpse Into a Starry Beginning
It was the summer of 1956 in Los Angeles, and the young Cher, home alone after school, found herself mesmerized by a moment that would change her life forever. Sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV, peanut butter and jelly sandwich forgotten on her lap, her world shifted as the camera zoomed in on one of the most iconic figures in music history—Ray Charles. His performance of "Georgia" left her in tears, a deep emotional connection forming between the artist and young Cher.
At that moment, Ray Charles’s voice and melody seemed to speak directly to her. “I couldn’t believe he was singing a song about my mom,” Cher writes, reflecting on how the music, and the artist himself, touched her in a way she had never experienced before. The sound of his voice and the raw emotion it conveyed spoke to something deep inside her, something that would shape her own future in music.
But the experience didn’t stop there. Just a year later, another iconic performance would blow the young girl’s understanding of the world wide open. On The Ed Sullivan Show, a then-unknown Elvis Presley made his TV debut, and Cher, watching alongside her mother, was spellbound. As Elvis crooned “Don’t Be Cruel” and segued into “Love Me Tender,” Cher felt as though the King of Rock was singing only to her. It was as if the world had just opened up, and she had to be part of it.
It was an unforgettable moment in pop culture, with over 60 million Americans tuning in to see Elvis’s electric performance. Cher, watching in awe with her mom, felt an immediate, undeniable connection to the man and his music. She even dreamed of what it would be like to marry him one day, despite the significant age difference. The dream seemed distant, but the fire was already lit. Elvis Presley, with his revolutionary style and charisma, had captured her heart, and from that point on, she would be forever changed.
The following year, news broke that Elvis was performing at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles. Cher’s excitement reached a fever pitch, and she begged her mom to take her to the concert. “Mom, Mom! Elvis is going to be at the Pan-Pacific! Can we go? … Please?” Cher recounts, still holding onto the belief that somehow, Elvis would notice her in the crowd. Luckily, her mom, Georgia, was just as enchanted by Elvis as Cher was, which made it all the more exciting. Together, they would experience a night that would become a cornerstone of Cher’s memory.
Their journey to the concert was nothing short of a teenage dream come true. They arrived at the auditorium, where a tidal wave of excited girls surrounded them. The air was thick with anticipation, the atmosphere charged with energy. It was a frenzy of noise and excitement, and Cher, still young, felt as if she was caught up in something bigger than herself—a cultural moment that she would carry with her forever.
Once inside the auditorium, the electric atmosphere only intensified. Cher was in awe of the size of the crowd, but when the lights dimmed and the stage lit up, all her focus was on one thing: Elvis Presley. There he was, in all his glory, wearing his famous gold suit, shimmering in the spotlight. The crowd erupted into chaos—flashbulbs went off in a constant barrage, and the girls around her screamed in pure, uncontrollable excitement. Cher, however, was too entranced to make a sound. She stared at him, mesmerized by his presence, his moves, and his undeniable magnetism.
“I wanted to jump right into the TV and be Elvis,” Cher admits. The night unfolded like a dream, with Cher and her mom swept up in the hysterical energy of the crowd. They both stood on their chairs, stretching their necks to get a better view of the man who had stolen their hearts. The audience’s reaction to Elvis was unlike anything Cher had ever experienced—a deafening roar, girls screaming, and the feeling of being part of something bigger than life itself.
As the performance unfolded, the girls around her seemed to lose all control. They screamed, they cried, and they jumped to their feet to get a better view of Elvis’s legendary gyrating hips. Cher, still too young to fully understand the sexual power that Elvis wielded, was simply entranced by his raw energy and stage presence. “It was the most exciting experience I’d ever had,” she recalls. “Because I knew that I wanted to be on that stage in the spotlight one day, too.”
Looking over at her mom, Cher could see that Georgia was just as captivated as she was. In fact, she looked stunning that night, dressed to the nines, and Cher felt sure that if anyone had a chance of being picked by Elvis, it was her mom.
In a moment of excitement, Cher leaned over and whispered into her mom’s ear, “Mom, can we stand on our seats and scream, too?” Georgia, in a flash of youthful abandon, grinned widely and said, “Yes, come on, let’s do it!” And just like that, mother and daughter were swept up in the frenzy together. They screamed, they jumped, and they shared a moment that was both exhilarating and transformative.
For weeks after the concert, Cher was on cloud nine. She couldn’t stop talking about Elvis, dreaming about what it would be like to marry him. She imagined him singing to her every day, her life intertwined with his. Those dreams were, of course, just that—dreams. But they were the kind of dreams that fueled Cher’s desire to reach for the stars. She was already imagining herself as a part of that world, a world that was electric, vibrant, and full of possibility.
This was just the beginning of Cher’s incredible journey into the world of fame and music. Her experiences, shaped by these early moments of awe and inspiration, would later inform her career and solidify her place in pop culture history. From a young girl captivated by the raw power of Ray Charles and Elvis Presley, to a woman who would go on to become an icon in her own right, Cher’s story is one of passion, persistence, and, of course, an unshakable belief that she belonged in the spotlight.
In Cher: The Memoir – Part One, she gives readers an intimate look at her evolution, sharing the joys and struggles that shaped her career. Through it all, her story is a testament to the power of music and the incredible journey of an artist who dared to dream big.
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