''Cher'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer-actress

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

, released on November 10, 1987 by

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and ...

. The album has been certified Platinum in the US by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

and Gold in Australia by

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

and the UK by BPI.

Background

Five years after the release of Cher's last album, '' I Paralyze'', and her decision to focus on a film career, Cher signed with

(which would later absorb one of her former labels,

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wi ...

) and was rushed to the studio to record what would become her comeback album. The self-titled album, ''Cher'', was released in the fall of 1987 and was produced by

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...

and

Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's " I Was Made for L ...

. Among the notable guest artists,

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh people, Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album ''The World Start ...

and

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with he ...

were backing vocalists on "Perfection". After a series of pop and disco records, Cher moved to a radio-friendly rock sound, which helped her get back onto the charts. The album includes a new version of her 1966 hit "

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress Cher from her second album, '' The Sonny Side of Chér''. It was written by her husband Sonny Bono and released in 1966. The song reached No. 3 in the UK Singles ...

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

's "

I Found Someone "I Found Someone" is the name of a chart single originally written and composed for Laura Branigan by Michael Bolton and Touch keyboardist Mark Mangold. The song was a bigger hit for Cher in 1987, reaching the Top 10. Background Though best k ...

"—which Bolton and Mark Mangold had originally written for

Laura Branigan Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single "Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a ...

, released on her 1985 album '' Hold Me''—several songs written by

, and two by

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. War ...

, who would go on to write many more songs for the singer. This was also her third album to be named ''Cher'' or ''Chér'', as '' Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves'' was initially released under the name ''Chér'' before it was retitled following the success of the single of the same name, while a studio album in 1966 was also entitled '' Chér''.

Reception

The album reached No. 26 in the UK and peaked at No. 32 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' album charts. The first single released from the album and its only UK top 10 hit was "

", which reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 10 in the US. The second single, " We All Sleep Alone", peaked at No. 14 on ''Billboard''s Hot 100 chart and just missed breaking the Adult Contemporary top 10 in the US, stalling at No. 11. It was less successful in the UK, however, peaking at No. 47. The album's third single was " Skin Deep". The fourth and final single was " Main Man", released in the US and Australia in October 1988. " Bang Bang", was released as a promotional single in Europe.

Promotion

On November 13, 1987, Cher appeared on ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

'', where she performed "I Found Someone" and "

I Got You Babe "I Got You Babe" is a song performed by Sonny & Cher and written by Sonny Bono. It was the first single taken from their debut studio album '' Look at Us''. In August 1965, their single spent three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 1 ...

", the latter with ex-husband

Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and politician who came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republica ...

. Later released on VHS, the ''Late Night'' performance would be her last with Bono before his death. On November 21, Cher appeared as the musical guest on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'', performing "I Found Someone" and "We All Sleep Alone". The album was also promoted on UK television.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

. *

Peter Asher Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and ...

– producer (7), percussion (7) * Phillip Ashley – keyboards (1, 10) *

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

– producer (1, 10), background vocals (3) *

– producer (2, 3), background vocals (2, 3) *

Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...

– keyboards (1, 10) * Jimmy Bralower – drums (6, 9) * David Bryan – keyboards (2, 3), synthesizer (2) * Rosemary Butler – background vocals (7) * Thom Cadley – assistant engineer * Elaine Caswell – background vocals (4-6, 9) * Cher – primary artist, vocals *

– producer (2-6, 9), background vocals (2-4, 9) * Michael Christopher – engineer (1, 10) * George Cowan – assistant engineer * Bridget Daly – assistant engineer * Patty d'Arcy – background vocals (1, 10) * Jim Dineen – assistant engineer * Debra Dobkin – background vocals (8) * Michael Fisher – percussion (7) * Chris Floberg – assistant engineer * Greg Fulginiti – original mastering *

Albhy Galuten Albhy Galuten (born Alan Bruce Galuten; December 27, 1947) is an American technology executive and futurist, Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and conductor. He has numerous inventions and has produced 18 ...

– drums, additional production (10) * Seth Glassman – bass guitar (4) *

Mark Goldenberg Mark Goldenberg (born April 10, 1952) is an American guitarist and songwriter, noted for his session work and composition of successful songs for Linda Ronstadt, the Pointer Sisters, and others. Biography Early career Raised in Chicago, Illin ...

– guitar * Diana Grasselli – background vocals (3, 6) * Jimmy Haslip – bass guitar (8) * Jay Healy – assistant engineer * Chris Isca – assistant engineer * Rob Jacobs – additional engineering (2, 3) * Doug Katsaros – keyboards (1) * Chuck Kentis – keyboards, synthesizer (4-6, 9), additional keyboards (2, 3) * Daren Klein – engineer (8) *

Larry Klein Larry Klein (born March 17, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobby ...

– bass guitar (7) *

Holly Knight ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

– background vocals (2), additional keyboards (3) * Craig Krampf – drums and drum programming (8) * Matthew "Boomer" La Monica – assistant engineer * Chris Laidlaw – assistant engineer *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitc ...

– guitar (7) *

Will Lee William Lee (born William Lubovsky; August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was best known for playing Mr. Hooper, the original store proprietor of the eponymous Hooper ...

– bass guitar (1, 10) *

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since ...

– bass guitar (9) * Jolie Jones Levine – assistant producer (8) * Jon Lind – producer (8) * Ken Lomas – assistant engineer *

– featured vocals (6) *

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stead ...

– guitar (1) * Bob Mackie – clothing/wardrobe, wardrobe * Gregg Mangiafico – keyboards and synthesizer (5, 6, 9) * Bob Mann – guitar solo (7) *

Jerry Marotta Jerome David Marotta (born February 6, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American drummer who resides in Woodstock, New York. He is the younger brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a drummer and composer. Career Marotta was a member of the bands ...

– drums (4-6, 9) *

Arnold McCuller Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back-u ...

– background vocals (7) * John McCurry – guitar (1, 4-6, 10) * Dave Meniketti – background vocals (3) * Louis Merlino – background vocals (2, 4-6, 9) * Mark Morgan – synthesizer, Hammond organ (8) * Nancy Nash – background vocals (2) * Gene Parciasepe - additional engineering (6, 9) * Chris Parker – drums (1) * Mark Partis – additional engineering (10) *

Bill Payne William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano roc ...

– keyboards (7) * Sir Arthur Payson – engineer (2-6, 9) * Frank Pekoc – assistant engineer * Csaba Petocz – engineer (8) * John Putnam – guitar (4, 9) * Gabrielle Raumberger – art direction, design, hand tinting * Sharon Rice – assistant engineer *

Vicki Sue Robinson Vicki Sue Robinson (May 31, 1954 – April 27, 2000) was an American theatre and film actress, and singer, closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around". Early life Bor ...

– background vocals (10) *

Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, ...

– mixing (2, 3) * Matthew Rolston – photography *

– producer (2, 3), guitar (2, 3), background vocals (2) * Brian Scheuble – assistant engineer * Michael Schmidt – clothing and wardrobe, wardrobe * Bernie Shanahan – background vocals (2, 3, 9) * Ira Siegel – guitar (10) * John Siegler – bass guitar (5) * Gary Solomon – assistant engineer * Ken Steiger – assistant engineer * Alec John Such – bass guitar (2, 3) * Bette Sussman – piano (4) * David Thoener – mixing (1, 4-6, 8-10) * Michael Thompson – guitar (8) *

Tico Torres Hector Juan Samuel "Tico" Torres (born October 7, 1953) is an American musician, artist, and entrepreneur, best known as the drummer, percussionist, and a songwriter for American rock band Bon Jovi. In 2018, Torres was inducted into the Rock ...

– drums (2, 3) * Ted Trewhella – assistant engineer *

Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer known for his work in the hard rock bands Rainbow, Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Deep Purple. During his career, Turner fronted and played guitar with pop ro ...

– background vocals (2-4, 6, 9) * Red Turner – clothing and wardrobe *

– featured vocals (6) * Myriam Naomi Valle – background vocals (3-6, 9) *

John Van Tongeren John Warrington Van Tongeren is an American keyboardist and composer for films and television. Biography Van Tongeren's career in the entertainment business began as a keyboardist, with one of his earliest projects being the band Q, featurin ...

– synthesizer (8), bass guitar (8) * Jim Vanzino – assistant engineer *

Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...

– drums (7) * Bob Vogt – assistant engineer *

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy ...

– guitar (7) *

– background vocals (6) * Julia Waters – background vocals (8) * Maxine Willard Waters – background vocals (8) *

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...

– vamp vocals (8) * Melanie Williams – coordination * Frank Wolf – engineer and mixing (7) * Gary Wright – assistant engineer *

Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is reference ...

– additional engineering (3)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1987 albums Cher albums Albums produced by Desmond Child Albums produced by Peter Asher Albums produced by Richie Sambora Geffen Records albums Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios