Cher in the 1970s on DVD
Cher 1970s recordings on CD


Cher Concert on DVD
Sonny & Cher 1970s recordings Tennesee Tuxedo on DVD Car Battery Charger
TV Shows on DVD
Commercials on DVD
TV Show ReviewsTV on DVD Reviews
Christmas Specials
TV DVDs & TV Books

 

CHER IN THE 1970s: Her Recordings
by Billy Ingram

FAIR CHER

cher in the 1970sCher has been scoring hits since the mid-Sixties, but there were lean times in her recording career - here are some highlights from the Seventies and early-Eighties as Cher jumped on to each new musical fad while searching for an audience.

As a duo, Sonny and Cher had several top 40 tunes in the Sixties before the hits - and the money - dried up in 1967. They made a huge comeback (with All I Ever Need Is You) right after their TV show debuted in the summer of 1970.

Snuff Garrett produced their comeback album and also produced several solo albums for Cher that generated top ten hits like Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, The Way of Love and Half-Breed among others beginning in 1971.

One of Cher's solo albums in 1973 (produced by Sonny Bono) didn't hit. Bittersweet White Light was a collection of fully orchestrated, lushly-arranged classic torch songs that Cher had performed on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour - with some innovative synthesizer riffs blended in. The Bonos started in the music business with producer Phil Spector, and this album demonstrates a heavy 'Wall of Sound' influence.

cher Lp from the 1970sThere were some fine cuts on Bittersweet White Light, even if most of the arrangements were way over the top. One of the best numbers was the opening cut on side one, By Myself - another standout was a reworking of the standard More Than You Know.

Sonny liked the gimmicky tunes Snuff Garrett produced - and the millions of dollars they produced - but Cher reportedly hated them and wanted to record more mature material. Unfortunately for her, the soulless Snuff Garrett album Half-breed was a monster hit in 1973, while the vastly superior Bittersweet White Light died on the vine. Unpopular, but definitely one of Cher's best efforts.

As a team, Sonny and Cher stopped charting in 1972; their 1973 release, Mama Was a Rock and Roll Singer Papa Used to Write Her Songs (Part 1), only made it to number 73.


Dark Lady

The top-40 hits continued for Cher through 1974 when the Snuff Garrett LP Dark Lady (actually the best of the bunch) delivered singles that reached number 1 (Dark Lady) and number 27 (Train of Thought). Sonny and Cher divorced that same year, ending their professional ties and television show - for a while.

In control of her career for the first time and with a long run of hit LPs behind her, Cher turned to Phil Spector for her very first recordings without Sonny's influence. Spector produced some incredible tunes that went ultimately unreleased, including a slow, mournful remake of the Ronnie Spector classic Baby I Love You, a duet with Harry Nilsson, and this cut, A Woman's Story (found on a British import collection of wonderful material Spector produced with several of his favorite vocalists like Dion and Darlene Love).

Why were these sides not released? The record company felt that Spector's style was too old fashioned for 1975. Perhaps that was true, but this collection holds up very well today - it's all old now!

cher 1974After her split with Sonny in 1974, Cher signed with David Geffen's new operation at Warner Bros Records. The first release, Stars, was an eclectic mix of seventies' folksy-rock tunes, written by people like Neil Young, Jimmy Cliff, Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton and Janis Ian.

Stars was an attempt to warm up Cher's image, to make her less icy and more real. The result was a fine album by any measure, especially when you consider that, up until this point, Cher had mostly been portrayed in public as a wisecracking, singing, dancing Barbie Doll come to life.


Geronimo's Cadillac from a Flip Wilson Special.

cher 1974 albumsStars was a very successful album artistically - consisting of lesser-known tunes by the best songwriters of the day. Cher began singing in a deeper octave and the bluesy material was well-suited to her newly emerging personality. The lush-life orchestrations and intricate arrangements were provided by the legendary Jimmy Webb who had produced hits for The Fifth Dimension and Art Garfunkle. Webb also wrote a bombastic new tune for the album, Just This One Time, released as the first single.


Love Enough from Stars.

Reviews were good, but sales were light despite lots of promotion - including Cher on the cover of the National Enquirer every week (with 'boyfriend' David Geffen on her arm much of the time).

When Cher covered The Way of Love in 1973, many reviewers commented on how odd it was that she was singing about losing the love of another woman. Was Cher trying to say something, or merely singing the song the way it was written? Geffen must have thought this sexual ambiguity would enhance Cher's image, there is at least one love song on Stars that Cher directs to a female.


Part of Love Hurts from the Cher show.

 

READ PART TWO:
A string of flops, then...
Disco Cher, New Wave Cher, Rave Cher!

Classic TV!


YOU NEED:
Real Player

For video &
audio on TVparty!

ORDER NOW:
Cher 1970s cd

Sonny & Cher CD 


Please consider a donation
so we can continue this work!

 

 

Amazon Prime - unlimited streaming
of your fave TV shows and movies!
Get your FREE 30 Day Trial!

PR4 & PR5 Pages for Advertising

 

 

Video on Demand Rent or Buy

Entertainment Collectables

 



Local Kid Shows / Movie Stars on TV / Saturday Morning Shows / Video Vault / TV Goodbyes / Fabulous Fifties / Unseen Scenes / Game Shows / Requested Forgotten TV Shows / The Super Sixties / The New * * Shows / 1980's Wrestling / TV Blog

TVparty is Classic TV on the internet!
Classic TV on the Internet!

TV's Embarrassing Moments / Action Shows of the Sixties / TVparty Mysteries and Scandals / Variety Shows of the 1970s / The Eighties / The Laugh Track / 1970's Hit Shows / Response to TVparty / Search the Site / Add Your Comments

Hit Shows of the Seventies: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy / Gene Roddenberry in the 1970s / 1977-1978 Superhero & Science Fiction TV Shows / Funniest SNL Skit Ever! / Remembering Suzanne Somers / Prisoner: Cell Block H / Why John Amos Left Good Times / Reviving Match Game / How Betty White's 'Happy Hommaker' Came About / Remembering Cindy-Williams / Creating The Rockford Files / TV Dads Talk Sex & Fatherhood / TV Shows We Watched 50 Years Ago / How Maude Came About / Rare Audio of Bette Davis' Broadway Bound Flop 'Miss Moffat' / Interview With Director John Erman / Orson Welles' Last Interview / Remembering Ed Asner / When PBS Got Naked: Steambath / Bruce Vilanch on Writing for Donny & Marie / Writing For Fernwood 2 Night / Kris Kristofferson vs Barbra Streisand on A Star Is Born? Kinda... / Remembering Gavin MacLeod / Cher Reviews Her Iconic Outfits Since 1965 / Best Columbo Episodes / Star Maidens Sci-Fi Series / Sonny Bono's Last Show 1974 / Interview with Cindy Williams (Lavern & Shirley) / One of the Most Controversial Episodes of All In The Family / Outside Chance / The Night Johnny Carson Broke Down / Real People / That's Incredible! / Gavin MacLeod on His MTM Castmates / Norman Mailer & Muhammad Ali / Charles Nelson Reilly Flops on Broadway / Chuck Norris vs Eva Gabor / Dear Detective / Dirty Sally / Peggy Lee & Anthony Newley's Weird Pre-Show Rituals / The Protectors / Chevy Chase Talks Hollywood Cocaine Parties / 1977 Season Show Openings / Love Boat's Oscar Winning Guest Stars / Henry Fonda's 4 Favorite Films / Tom Snyder Interviews Star Trek Cast & Harlan Ellison / The Corner Bar / Tim Conway's 'The Dentist' Sketch / Roy Radin Revue: Drunken Ronnie Spector / Henry Winkler on His Happy Days Audition / Patrick Duffy of Dallas Interview / Time Express / Wonder Woman Leaves Paradise Island / 1972-73 TV Season / George Burns on the Carson Tonight Show in 1989 / Best Season of Dallas Ever? / Cloris Leachman Remembered / Ken Berry Interview / Why Barney Miller Ended / Vivian Vance Almost Joined the Cast of Rhoda / Marilu Henner Talks About Andy Kaufman / Cher on Mike Douglas 1979 / TV Show Book Tie-Ins / 1972 Jackie Robinson Interview / Dr. Strange 1978 TV Movie / Kathy Garver Interview / Space: 1999 / Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky / Mary Kay Place Albums of the 1970s / The Supremes - Mary Wilson vs Diana Ross / When Bruce Dern Killed John Wayne / 1974 Tom Snyder Our Gang Special / Remembering Ken Berry / Bruce / Caitllyn Jenner? / Billy Crash Craddock Interview / Melissa McCarthy Almost Quit Acting Days Before Landing Gilmore Girls / Bar Rescue's Wildest Customers! / TV HITS - By the Numbers / Alex Baldwin On His TV and Film Roles / Ray Charles' BIG Problem With TV / Top Ten Sitcoms of the 1970s / James Cameron Made No Money for Titanic / Growing Up In The Playboy Mansion / Ed McMahon Drunk on the Air! / Lucy Interviewed by Barbara Walters / Valerie Harper Cancer / Jeff Bridges Breaks Down His Iconic Roles / Dallas vs Eight is Enough / 1974 MAD Magazine TV Special - Never Aired! / Iconic M*A*S*H Restaurant Coming To Kroger? / When Lucy Got Fired / Partridge Family and Brady Bunch at Kings Island theme park 1972-73 / Awkward Talk Show Moments / Allan Blye Interview / Jack Benny's Last Tonight Show 1974 / Patricia Heaton's Audition for Everybody Loves Raymond / Luke Perry's Last Role / Johnny Cash's Last Interview / Judy Garland's Last Film / Who Was Bob Gordon? / Richard Dreyfuss vs Bill Murray / Jeff Ross vs Everybody / Tennessee Williams 1972 Interview / Ed Asner Interview / Norm Macdonald vs OJ Simpson / Tony Kornheiser Interview / Freddy's Nightmares TV Series / Emmy Award Multiple Winners / Nathaniel Taylor aka Rollo Lawson / Mary Kay Place Albums of the 1970s / That Girl & TV's Single Working Women / Can You Identify These Stars? / Betty White vs Joan Rivers / Paul Lynde's Greatest Hollywood Squares Zingers / Sonny Comedy Revue / Star Trek Animated / Dark Shadows / Hal Linden Interview / Dark Shadows Movies / Dark Shadows Novels / The Night Stalker / One of the Funniest Carol Burnett Show Skits Ever / Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson / Johnny Carson interviews Lucille Ball / Dawn Wells / Betty White : An Appreciation / Bette Davis' 2 Best Interviews 1971 / Barbara Eden Interview / Gavin McLeod / Spider-Man 77 / The Next Step Beyond / The Music Dark Shadows / 1970 TV Shows / Mike Connors Remembered / Mike Wallace, Virginia Graham & Jim Longworth / Dick Clark / Woody Allen Hosts Tonight Show 1971 / Carson Tonight Show / Alan Alda Interview / Jackie Gleason Show / 1973 TV Shows / Thriller / Post Modern Sitcoms / Elvis in Greensboro / Remembering Dick Van Patten / TV Dating Shows / The Jacksons TV Show / Fall Previews of the 70s / Lance Link, Secret Chimp / Star Wars Holiday Special / Alias Smith and Jones / 1977 Year in Review / Top Ten 1970-76 / The Rockford Files / All in the Family / Sam Hall (Dark Shadows) Interview / Actor Ed Nelson / Death of Archie / Battlestar Galactica / Wonder Woman / Network Jingles / Class of '74 / Happy Days / Good Times / Mr. Bill / Dinah! / Maude / Doris Day Show / Pamelyn Ferdin Interview / The Bicentennial Minute / Jingles & Catch Phrases of the 1970s / Early Cable TV 1970s / TV commercials for Women / TV Moms / Country Music TV Shows of the 1960s & 1970s / Betty White Show / Ron Palillo / Shirley Jones Interview / Tom Bosley / Rodney Dangerfield / How Sanford & Son Ended / Sanford & Son Spin-Off Grady / Great Memoirs / Virginia Graham Show / The "N" Word on TV / 10 Classic Comedy Routines You Have To Laugh At Before You Die / Hollywood Squares / 1970's Teen Idols & The Hudson Brothers / TV Stars with 3 Hit Shows / The Rookies / Unsold Pilots / Jackie Cooper / The Good Guys / Match Game / Make Room For Granddaddy / Mannix & Gail Fisher / Bette Midler in the 1970s / Bonus 1970's Stuff: Silent Star Marion Mack / Biff Burger / 1970s Fast Food Chains / Latin Casino / Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire / 1970's Daytime Talk Shows / The Fess Parker Show / Brady Bunch Sex Dungeon? / Love, Loss & What I Watched

Classic TV Commercials / 1950's TV / 1960's TV / 1970's TV / Lucy Shows / Classic Cars / John Wayne / Gene Roddenberry / Rockford Files / Sea Hunt / Superman on DVD / Toy Gun Ads / Flip Wilson Show / Big Blue Marble / Monty Hall / Carrascolendas / Mr. Dressup / Major Mudd / Chief Halftown / Baby Daphne / Sheriff John / Winchell & Mahoney / Fireball X-L5 / Mr. Wizard / Captain Noah / Thanksgiving Day Specials / Disney's First Christmas Special / Saturday Morning Cartoons / The Magic Garden / Amahl & the Night Visitors / Holiday Toy Commercials / Lucy & Desi's Last Christmas Show / Joey Heatherton / Fat Albert / The Virginian / Bewitched / Death of John Wayne / 1974 Saturday Mornings / Chuck McCann / Rudolph Collectables / Shrimpenstein / Local Popeye Shows / New Treasure Hunt / 1966 ABC TV Shows / 1967 TV Shows / 1968 TV Shows / Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes & Baby Doll / Fridays / TV Moms / Red Skelton / George Lindsay / Star Wars / KISS / Lancelot Link / Saturday Morning Cartoons / The Magic Garden / Wonder Woman / Classic Comic Books / Andy Griffith / Cher / TV Shows on DVD / Outtakes & Bloopers / 1967 TV Shows / Romper Room / ABC Movie of the Week / The Goldbergs / Daws Butler Commercials / Saturday Morning Commercials / Captain Kangaroo / Chicago Local Kiddie Shows / Boston Local TV / Philly Local TV / NYC Local Kid Shows / Amos 'n' Andy / Electric Company / Bette Davis / Judy Garland / Christmas Specials / Redd Foxx / Good Times / Sitcom Houses / What's Happening! / Winky Dink & You / Sonny & Cher / Smothers Brothers / Commercial Icons of the 1960s / Soupy Sales / TV Terrorists / Irwin Allen / The Untouchables / Carol Burnett Show / Batman TV Show / Green Hornet / Today Show History / Our Gang / Doris Day Show / 1970's Commercials For Women / Bill Cosby in the 1970s / The Golddiggers / Lola Falana / 1970s TV Shows / David Bowie on TV / Hudson Brothers / Jackie Gleason / Hollywood Squares Match Game / Andy Williams / The Flip Wilson Show / Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour / The Bobby Darin Show / The Richard Pryor Show / George Burns / Celebrity Commercials / Rudolph / Movie Posters & More! 
Superman on DVD GLOW / Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling on DVd Match Game on DVD Get Smart TV Show on DVD New TV Diver Dan TV show on DVD
Looking for classic TV DVDs?/See below:
TV Commercials on DVD Wrestling DVDs Classic TV Books

Bionic Woman on DVD

TVparty is Classic TV on the internet!
Contact Us / Survey

TV Blog
Bionic Woman on DVD