1966 Cher – Chér
Chér is the third studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on September 5, 1966 by Imperial. Cher collaborates again with Sonny Bono, with Harold Battiste and with Stan Ross. The album is by-and-large a covers album and contains only one song written by Bono. This album was a moderate commercial success, charted #59 on the Billboard Chart.
Chér was released in 1966, produced by Sonny Bono and issued by the Liberty Records subsidiary, Imperial Records.
The album again follows the same formula of the two previous albums, with rearranged covers and new songs written by Bono exclusively for her. There’s more French influence in the record and more folk. The only hit in Europe generated from this album was her version of Burt Bacharach’s “Alfie” from the Michael Caine movie. Although her version was on the film’s soundtrack, it didn’t fare nearly as well as the Dionne Warwick version—now considered definitive.
Despite the lack of impact it had on the market there were three singles released: the ballad “Alfie”, “I Feel Something in the Air” and “Sunny”. In this year Cher recorded also three other songs: “She’s No Better Than Me” released on the b-side of the “Alfie” single, “Ma Piano (Per Non Svegliarmi)” and “Nel Mio Cielo Ci Sei Tu”, an Italian version of “I Feel Something in the Air” released on the b-side of “Ma Piano (Per Non Svegliarmi)”. Though not as successful as the two records preceding it, Chér did manage to score a European top ten hit with “Sunny”. “Alfie” and “I Feel Like Something’s In The Air” also charted, but only peaked at #26 in Canada, #32 in the United States; and 43 in the United Kingdom respectively.
In December 2005, this album and Cher’s next album With Love, Chér were reissued on one CD called Chér/With Love which featured all the tracks from both.
Tracks
1 Sunny (Bobby Hebb) 03:11
2 Twelfth Of Never (Jerry Livingston; Paul Francis Webster) 02:17
3 You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me (Pino Donaggio; Simon Napier-Bell; Vicki Wickham) 02:48
4 Magic In The Air (Sonny Bono) 03:51
5 Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Carole King; Gerry Goffin) 03:00
6 Until It’s Time For You To Go (Buffy Sainte-Marie) 02:46
7 Cruel War (Noel Paul Stookey; Peter Yarrow) 03:20
8 Catch The Wind (Donovan) 02:18
9 Pied Piper (Artie Kornfeld; Steve Duboff) 02:19
10 Homeward Bound (Paul Simon) 02:27
11 I Want You (Bob Dylan) 02:50
12 Alfie (Burt Bacharach; Hal David) 02:51
Biography
Musicians
Bass | Lyle Ritz |
Upright Bass | Cliff Hils |
Drums | Frank Capp |
Guitar | Carol Kaye |
Guitar | Don Peake |
Guitar | Mac Rebennack |
12 String Guitar | David Cohen |
12 String Guitar | Mike Post |
Harpsichord | Michel Rubini |
Piano | Gabriel Mekler |
Flute | George Poole |
Violin | George Poole |
Vocals | Cher |
Liner Notes
Producer – Cher, Sonny Bono
Arranged By – Harold Battiste
Conductor – Harold Battiste
Engineer – Stan Ross
Art Direction – Woody Woodward
Photography – Raphael
Copyright Liberty