CHER....

     Forever The Queen of Cool

By: Robin Roth

However, for those of you who don't know what those magical four letters mean, they mean: The Legendary, Icon, Pop Singer-Songwriter, Academy Award Winning Actress, Director and Record Producer. CHER, The legend means that the beat goes on and on and on!

Cher's show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace is absolutely unbelievably amazing. The only way to describe it is to call it, a magical journey brought together into Cher's musical adventure land. The show is nothing short of perfect. The theatre itself is not only gorgeous but state-of-the-art thanks to Celine Dion, as it was built by and for her.

As the audience was waiting for 'THE ONE AND ONLY CHER' to appear, I could hear the fans buzzing full of anticipation and very high expectations. Without a doubt, Cher delivered all their dreams and fantasies to see her perform live and more!

Look, I mean get real, would you expect Cher to do anything else? "The Queen of Cool" memorized, captivated and enthralled her highly sophisticated music loving fans from the first identifiable Cher note to the last. She looked more than amazing. Cher is impossibly ageless and flawless from her face to her body. She looked better than any 20 year old, let alone her age of 64. I don't care about plastic surgery and whatever else she might have done. No one this age looks that spectacular. She is still the gorgeous, youthful Cher with the Cher BOD to match. Her voice was better and stronger than ever. I don't know how she does it, but she manages to stay physically and vocally perfect.  You rock, Cher!

If you want to know where Lady Gaga got all her clothing and hair trend ideas, look no further than Cher, the legend of stage wardrobes.  In this show, she wore every style and color wig, major magnificent head pieces, every length of dress and gown, bell bottoms, gypsy and Indian dresses and head pieces to match, glitter, lace, sequins, glam, beads, rhinestones, and lots of elegance, charisma and style. Only Cher can pull this off, not Lady Gaga or any lady for that matter!

FYI, Cher still does that tongue thing she always did and the flipping of the hair thing which has become her unique trademarks for Cher impersonators. She makes her fabulous entrance from the top of the theater, riding down on a platform, wearing an outrageous typical Cher outfit and headdress, takes the crowds breath away and finishes her first song. Cher spends some time talking and joking with the audience.  She was adorable, personable, relaxed, and funny. She explains with total pride, "The show is great really it just is", and was it ever. She gave a lot of mention and tribute to Sonny, which was nice to see. Cher explains that the show begins with Sonny and ends with Sonny. It was exciting to see what she put into the new show in Vegas. In my opinion, it was her best concert to date. It had it all! From the music the fans wanted to hear, to the 13 awe inspiring costume changes from head to toe, to the extravagant sets and production, Cher's show was out of this world.

She then goes on to show a sneak preview clip of her singing a song from her new film Burlesque . (An upcoming American contemporary musical film directed and written by Steve Antin and starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. ...

This film looks like another Oscar win for Cher!

The sets for the show are outrageous. The concert is basically a major production in its own right. "Cher at the Colosseum" features dancers choreographed by Doriana Sanchez and costumes designed by Cher's longtime designer, Bob Mackie. (BUT, Who else?)

Cher has a very unique ability to entertain millions of people from all over the world. She captivates audiences and places them in the palm of her hand with her voice, style and epitome of glamour and stardom.

Cher's elaborate Vegas show includes special effects, stellar dancers, and aerialists who add dazzle with their amazing choreography and daring acrobatic moves. The stage in the Colosseum has the ability to change in an instant according to the mood of her songs. Her staff and choreographers remarkably have all of this under control. The show is brilliantly paced and visually stunning.

In between her 13 or so costume changes, there were many time fillers such as: Clips of Cher's many films, Clips of the Sonny and Cher show, dancers, acrobatics and aerial performances.  The show is quite nostalgic (even brought a few tears to my eyes with Sonny and Cher photos and memories). It was actually quite magical.

The Cher Las Vegas hour and a half show features her legendary career with the many number one hits she's had over the years. She performed her hits such as: "All I Really Want To Do", "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves", "After All", "The Beat Goes On", "The Way Of Love", "Half-Breed", "Believe", "If I Could Turn Back Time"  (Wearing the famous almost naked costume), and many, many more. She even did "YMCA", with the Village People characters. Yes, rockers, Cher even made DISCO cool, as impossible as that is to get done...

This show is a celebration of peace, love, and rock and roll! Featuring Cher's famous over-the-top costumes, elaborate showmanship and her hits spanning several decades.

Cher, girl you are still rocking strong. Your fans love you and you never disappoint them.

Run  to see this show before Cher's departure from the 4,300-seat Colosseum theater which will come about one month before Celine Dion returns March 15 to start her second engagement. You will never forget this Cher performance. However, you can look forward to the Prolific producer-director-writer Andy Fickman's confirmation that he's creating Cher, The Musical.  Cher does live on and on and on, forever!

Cher, thank you for being you. Thank you for all your music, films, talents, style, clothes, coolness and humor. You are eternal. There will only be one CHER!  You are and will forever be a rock and roll treasure...

Here's some Cher Bio and fun facts:

The daughter of an Armenian truck driver, John Sarkisian, and an Arkansas-born mother, Georgia Holt (the former Jackie Jean Crouch).

Cher was born May 20th 1946 in El Centro, California, USA
Name: Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPiere which was legally changed. 
Height: 5' 8½" (1.74 m)

Cher has survived for four decades. With her many talents, she has transformed herself over and over again throughout the years. This superstar entertainer, "fashionplate" singer, serious, Oscar-winning dramatic actress never ceases to deliver excellence in her own original brand and style. She seems to re-invent herself every decade keeping her the shining star that she is.

Cher is the only performer to have earned "top 10" hit singles in four consecutive decades; as an actress, she and Barbra Streisand are the only two Best Actress Oscar winners to have a #1 hit song on the Billboard charts. Having undiagnosed dyslexia, which seriously affected her studies, and frustrated, Cher quit Fresno High School at the age of 16 in search of her dream. She then met (Older by 11 years) Sonny Bono in 1962, at a coffee shop and he changed the 16-year-old's life and destiny forever... Bono was working for record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood at the time and encouraged Spector to hire Cher as a session singer. She went on to record backup on such Spector classics as, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Be My Baby". The couple's relationship eventually went from business to lovers and she and Sonny married on October 27, 1964. The changing of their real names seemed to make a difference and in 1965, they officially took on the music world as Sonny & Cher and earned instant fame.

The now 19-year-old Cher and 30-year-old Sonny became huge stars following the  their first album, 'Look at Us' (summer, 1965), which contained the hit single "I Got You Babe". With the song catapulting to #1, they re-release their earlier single "Baby Don't Go", and it also raced up the charts to #8. Hit after hit played on over the next year or two, including the huge smash hit "The Beat Goes On" (#6, 1967). Between 1965 and 1972 Sonny & Cher charted a total of six "Top 10" hits.

The hip couple became icons of the late '60s. They were as famous for their "flower power, peace and love" mod scene, sporting hippie garb and outlandish hairdos and makeup as well as for their music. However, they were cool and trendy and were loved around the world. They soon found their unique chemistry and "tit for tat" formula which became a huge factor in their live concert shows. Sonny still endeavored to promote Cher as a solo success. with such hits as,"All I Really Want to Do" (#16) and "Bang, Bang" (#2).

The network recognized potential in the duo and "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" (1971) was born and became an instant smash. Their lively, off-the-wall comedy sketch routines, keen wit, and Cher's couture Bob Mackie fashions and their adorable, edgy dialogue, were the highlights of the show. Their daughter Chastity Bono occasionally added to Sonny and Cher's loving relationship on the show. Cher's television success generated renewed interest in her as a solo recording artist and she came up with three #1 hits during this time, "Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves," "Half-Breed" and "Dark Lady". Although they remained friends the marriage ended in 1974. The public did not buy into the couple doing the show divorced so the show inevitably ended as they seperated.

In late June of 1975, Cher married rock musician Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band. They were divorced by 1977 with leaving Cher with another child, son Elijah Allman.

In 1976 Sonny and Cher attempted to "make up" again, this time for a second "The Sonny and Cher Show" (1976). Audiences, however, did not accept the "friendly" divorced couple after so much tabloid, how should I put this...nastiness.

Cher found success with the "top 10" disco hit "Take Me Home" in 1979. At age 36, Cher made her Broadway debut in 1992 which was her first live acting role with "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean".

With film #2 came a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win for her portrayal of a lesbian toiling in a nuclear parts factory in Silkwood (1983), starring Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell. This in turn was followed by her star turn in Mask (1985) as the blunt, footloose mother of a son afflicted with a rare disease (played beautifully by Eric Stoltz). Once again and justifiably so, Cher received high praise and won the Cannes Film Festival for her poignant performance.

Finally accepted by her peers at  this time as an actress of high-regard, she jumped  into the Hollywood community. Proving that she could hold up a film outright, she was given the opportunity for three hit vehicles to star in: The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Suspect (1987), and Moonstruck (1987), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. With this newfound Hollywood celebrity status, came interest in her as a singer and recording artist again. "If I Could Turn Back Time (#3) and the Peter Cetera duet "After All" (#6) placed her back on the Billboard charts.

In January of 1998, tragically, Cher's ex-husband and life long friend and mentor, Sonny Bono, who had left his entertainment career for California politics and became a popular Republican congressman, was killed in a freak skiing accident.

That same year, the duo received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their contribution to television. In the meantime an astounding career adrenalin rush came in the form of a monstrous, disco-flavored hit single, "Believe". The song became a #1 hit and the same-titled album the biggest hit of her career. "Believe" reached #1 in 23 different countries.

In 2008 she finalized a deal with Las Vegas' Caesars Palace for the next three years to play the Colosseum. Never say never.

For you die-hard fans here are some other facts of her life:

Cher has been involved with many humanitarian groups and charity efforts over the years, particularly her work as National Chairperson and Honorary Spokesperson of the Children's Craniofacial Association, which was inspired by her work in Mask (1985).

Diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 30.

Offered the part of Thelma in Thelma & Louise (1991).

Her father was Armenian, her mother was reputedly part Cherokee, since one of Cher's great-great-grandparents is said to be Cherokee, but none of her currently-known ancestors are described as anything other than White.

Beat out Céline Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" for the best selling single of 1998 with "Believe."

Wanted to play Morticia in the The Addams Family (1991), but the part went to Anjelica Huston.

Mostly lived in London, UK, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She now lives in Malibu.

Holds the record for the the longest gap between #1 hits ("Dark Lady" 1974, "Believe" 1999).

Holds the record for oldest female artist with a #1 hit ("Believe").

Son, Elijah Allman, fronts the band Deadsy.

Suffers from fear of flying.

Wears size 8 shoes.

Cher's very first recording was novelty record "I Love You Ringo," under the name of Bonnie Jo Mason in 1963.

Her parents married and divorced 3 times.

She won a Grammy in 2000 for the song "Believe" and an Emmy in 2003 for a special on her farewell concert tour.

Spoke the eulogy at ex-husband Sonny Bono's funeral.

Ranked #43 on VH1's "100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll."

Wore braces as an adult.

Her 1999 hit single "Believe" was ranked #60 on VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs.

A 2002 Rolling Stone article estimated her wealth at over $600 million. Since then she has embarked on a hugely successful farewell tour that is still going and released a greatest hits CD that has spent weeks in the the Billboard Top 10.

Is a big Katharine Hepburn fan.

Although her music video "If I Could Turn Back Time" is often cited as the first video to be banned by MTV, this is not true. The Rolling Stones ("Neighbors"), Ramones ("Psychotherapy") and Laura Branigan all had videos banned several years beforehand.

Mother, Georgia Holt, was a fan of Lana Turner. Original birth name Cherlyn was named after Lana Turner's daughter Cheryl Crane.

Is the only certified female performer in music history to have had a U.S #1 single in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

She and Barbra Streisand are the only two female performers in the U.S. to have had a #1 hit and won an Oscar.

Has appeared solo on the cover of People magazine a near record 13 times.

In addition to her Oscar and Emmy wins, Cher won a 2000 Grammy for the song "Believe" as Best Dance Recording.

US-born Cher is the most famous Hollywood personality of Armenian ethnicity. Acclaimed USSR-born filmmaker Sergei Parajanov is the most famous non-Hollywood Armenian cinema personality.

In a recent poll, A&E's Biography Magazine ranked her as people's Number 3 favorite actress of all time behind her two Hollywood idols, Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn.

Was offered the role in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) on the morning of her 40th birthday.

Her Oscar-winning part in Moonstruck (1987) was originally offered to Sally Field, who turned it down. BIG MISTAKE SALLY... BIG... HUGE!

She has had rhinoplasty and other cosmetic surgeries. SO WHAT!

From 2002-2005, she has had an immense success with her "Living Proof Farewell Tour", spanning the globe, making her the world's top diva. She also holds the record for longest-running tour and most money grossed than any female artist in history.

Is one of only six actors/actresses to have both a number one single and an Oscar for acting. The others are Frank Sinatra (1954), Barbra Streisand (1968), Judy Garland (Honorary Oscar) (1940), Jamie Foxx (2005), and Bing Crosby (1945).

All of her Emmy nominations have been for variety series or music programs with her name in the title.

Ranked #26 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.

Good friends with Meryl Streep.

Auditioned for the role of Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

Sonny & Cher's film Good Times (1967) was such a flop, that Columbia pictures immediately sold rights to their intended follow-up film, Speedway (1968) to MGM as a vehicle for Elvis Presley.

Was in consideration for the part of Lilly Dillon in The Grifters (1990) but Anjelica Huston, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

Born at 7:25 AM (PST).

In her 1974 divorce from Sonny Bono, he was ordered to pay her $25,000 per month for 6 months, $1,500 per month child support and ordered to pay $41,000 for her attorney's fees. Their liquid assets were otherwise split 50/50. She received their Bel Air mansion, Bono received an Aspen Condo, Palm Springs house and another Los Angeles dwelling.

Birth Card is the Queen of Clubs.

Daughter Chastity Bono underwent gender reassignment surgery to become a man in 2009. He changed his name legally to Chaz Salvatore Bono in April 2010.

Personal Quotes

I don't like my voice that much. I think I'm a much better actress than singer. Singing is like going to a party at someone else's house. Acting is like having the party at your own house. When you go to someone else's house for a party, it's not your responsibility at all, but when you have the party at your own house, there's a lot of responsibility. Everyone has to have a good time. So for me, acting is deeper.

In this business you have to be tough, and if someone pushes me really far, I can certainly be impossible. I've always said, "If you're nice they walk over you and if you stand up for yourself they call you a bitch."

I'm not a role model, nor have I ever tried to be a role model. The only thing about me as a role model is I've managed to stay here and be working and survive. For 40 years.

I'm like a bumper car. When I did an infomercial I was fodder for every TV comedy show. I couldn't get a job. People said I was a huge joke. I've been a joke so many times. I've been on my way out since I started, but I'm strong-willed. My mother is so much tougher than I am and my grandmother is so much tougher than my mother.

I haven't a clue why I've lasted so long. There's no reason. There are many people more talented than me. I think it's luck.

[People magazine, 9/1/85] I was a shy ugly kid who led a big fantasy life. I thought I was an angel sent from heaven, to cure polio. When Dr. Salk [Jonas Salk] did that I was really pissed off.

The trouble with some women, they get all excited about nothing - and then they marry him.

The only grounds for divorce in California are marriage.

On friendship: I can trust my friends...these people force me to examine myself, encourage me to grow.

On truth: Honesty makes me feel powerful in a difficult world.

On spirit: Women, unlike most men, are able to accept mystery, accept whatever comes to them -- even if it's not logical.

[On Meryl Streep] She's an acting machine in the same sense that a shark is a killing machine. That's what she was born to be.

I think men are fun and nice, but I don't think they're necessary to live. Chastity has a nice father, I think Sonny is a decent father. Elijah's father is absolutely useless. He's not worthwhile at all. He hasn't called Elijah in two years.

Cher made her Broadway debut in Robert Altman's Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean in 1982.  She went on to appear in thirteen movies. She was  cast alongside Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell in the critically hailed drama Silkwood (1983). Cher then appeared in the drama Mask (1985) directed by Peter Bogdanovich. In 1987, she starred in three films: the thriller Suspect,The fantasy film The Witches of Eastwick, and the romantic comedy Moonstruck.  Cher refused many roles, like The War of the Roses, Thelma & Louise and The Addams Family. She starred in Richard Benjamin's, Mermaids. Cher made cameo appearances in the Robert Altman films The Player (1992) and Prêt-à-Porter (1994). She starred in the film Faithful (1996) with Ryan O'Neal and Chazz Palminteri. Then, later in 1999, Cher co-starred in the well-received Franco Zeffirelli film Tea With Mussolini  She was also seen, in the Farrelly Brothers comedy Stuck on You (2003) with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. In the film, she interprets herself and Honey, a character of a TV series. She also spoofed her own image, appearing in bed with a high school boyfriend (Frankie Muniz).

Cher has received several awards and nominations for her work in films. She was nominated five times for the Golden Globe Awards but won two times, in 1983 for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for her role in Silkwood and in 1987 for Best Actress in a Comedy for her role in Moonstruck. She was also nominated twice for the Academy Award but she won only one time in 1987 for Best Actress in a Comedy for her role in Moonstruck.

Cher and Christina Aguilera star in a musical called Burlesque, in which Aguilera plays an ambitious small-town Iowa girl with a big voice who comes of age in a neo-burlesque club on Sunset Boulevard run by Tess (Cher), a former dancer who struggles to keep the club open and gives the young girl a chance to shine. The movie is directed by Steven Antin and will be out in movie theaters shortly.

Some of Cher's hits include:

"I Got You Babe" (1965) , "Classified 1A," "I Hate To Sleep Alone," "When You Find Out Where," "The Way Of Love," "Chastity Sun," "Make The Man Love Me," "Rescue Me," "All I Really Want To Do," "Where Do You Go," "Alfie," "Don't Hide Your Love," "Train Of Thought," "Hell On Wheels," "Skin Deep," "We All Sleep Alone," "Heart Of Stone," "Save Up All Your Tears," "When Lovers Become Strangers," "Paradise Is Here," "All Or Nothing," "Dov'è l'Amore," "Strong Enough," "The Music's No Good Without You," "Song For The Lonely," "A Different Kind Of Love Song," "The Music's No Good Without You," "When The Money's Gone", "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" (1971),"Living In A House Divided","The Way Of Love" (1972), "Half-Breed" (1973),"Dark Lady" (1974),"I Saw A Man And He Danced With His Wife" (1974),
"The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" {1990}, "Love And Understanding" (1991),"One By One" (1996),"Believe" (1998),"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" (1966),"You Better Sit Down Kids" (1967),"Take Me Home" (1979),"If I Could Turn Back Time" (1989) ,"Just Like Jesse James" (1989) and "After A Day" (1989).

Other important recordings:

"All I Ever Need Is You" (1971) , "Baby Don't Go" (1965), "Laugh At Me" (1965), "The Beat Goes On" (1967), "All I Ever Need Is You" (1971), "A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done" (1972), "Just You," "Sing C'Est La Vie," "Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love," "The Revolution Kind," "What Now, My Love?," "Have I Stayed Too Long," "Leave Me Be," "Little Man," "Living For You," "Love Don't Come," "Beautiful Story," "It's The Little Things," "My Best Friend's Girl Is Out," "Good Combination," "Hello," "Real People," "Somebody," "Crystal Clear/Muddy Waters," "United We Stand," "By Love, I Mean," "Mama Was A Rock And Roll Singer," "The Greatest Show" On Earth" and "Once in a Lifetime/More Today". 

We are all waiting for your future hits Cher!!! We know they are coming!