Altogether, Sonny & Cher scored 19 hit singles around the globe between the years 1965 and 1973, selling over ten-million copies along the way.
After 'The Letter' and 'Love Is Strange', both released under the guise of "Caesar & Cleo" failed to chart on the US Hot 100 in 1964, the duo made their Billboard debut on its Bubbling Under Chart at #34 on 26 December 1964 with single 'Baby Don't Go'. It stalled at #12 on that chart, falling 12 places too low to provide them with a Hot 100 hit.
Netherlands-only single 'Do You Want To Dance' and California minor hit 'Just You' once again missed national charts. However, July 1965's, 'I Got You Babe' became not only a Hot 100 hit - but a Hot 100 #1 hit!
The song hit #1 in the UK and Canada too, and sold around three-million copies worldwide. The Sonny-penned duet remains one of the most-loved, most-played and most-covered songs of all-time. It even reached #19 on Billboard's R&B chart and returned to the UK singles chart in 1993 after being featured in movie 'Groundhog Day'. Rolling Stone magazine later ranked it #444 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.
Following Babe's success, a re-issue of 'Baby Don't Go' too became a US top 10 and Canadian #1 single and a re-issue of 'Just You' hit #20 on the US Hot 100 plus #5 on Canada's singles chart. The B-side of 'Just You', 'Sing C'est La Vie', became a #1 in Belgium and re-issues of 'The Letter' and 'Love Is Strange' all made appearances on Billboard charts.
The hits continued until 1973, with 1966's 'Little Man' being among the most notable - it reached #1 in four European countries and sold over a million copies worldwide. After a few-year spell of unsuccessful records, 1971's 'All I Ever Need Is You' provided the duo with a comeback hit - it reached the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic and hit #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. It made way for a further trio of hits by the duo, including final US top 10 'A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done'.
The Letter
Writers:
|
Don Harris; Dewey Terry
|
Release date:
|
February 1964
|
Label:
|
Vault
|
B-Side:
|
Spring Fever
|
Chart peak:
|
United States #75
|
Estimated sales:
|
30,000
|
Love is Strange
Writers:
|
Mickey Baker; Sylvia Vanderpool; Ethel Smith
|
Release date:
|
September 1964
|
Label:
|
Reprise
|
B-side:
|
Do You Want To Dance
|
Chart peak:
|
United States #131
|
Estimated sales:
|
2,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Baby Don't Go
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
September 1964
|
Label:
|
Reprise
|
B-side:
|
Walkin' The Quetzal
|
Chart peaks:
|
Canada #1
United States #8
United Kingdom #11
Sweden #16
Netherlands #20
|
Estimated sales:
|
950,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Do You Want To Dance
Writer:
|
Bobby Freeman
|
Release date:
|
Late 1964
|
Label:
|
Reprise
|
B-side:
|
Love Is Strange
|
Buy MP3:
|
Just You
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
February 1965
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
Sing C'est La Vie
|
Chart peaks:
|
Canada #1
United States #8
United Kingdom #11
Sweden #16
Netherlands #20
|
Estimated sales:
|
285,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
I Got You Babe
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
July 1965
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
It's Gonna Rain
|
Chart peaks:
|
Canada #1
United Kingdom #1
United States #1
Ireland #2
Rhodesia #2
Australia #3
Germany #3
Netherlands #4
South Africa #5
Austria #6
Norway #6
Spain #8
Sweden #4
Finland #11
France #11
Belgium #12
|
Estimated sales:
|
2,795,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Sing C'est La Vie
Writers:
|
Sonny Bono; Charles Greene; Bob Stone
|
Release date:
|
September 1965
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
Just You
|
Chart peaks:
|
Belgium #1
Australia #2
Rhodesia #4
France #58
|
Estimated sales:
|
80,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
But You're Mine
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
October 1965
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
Hello
|
Chart peaks:
|
Canada #8
United States #15
United Kingdom #17
Australia #82
|
Estimated sales:
|
560,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
What Now My Love
Writers:
|
Carl Sigman; Gilbert Bécaud; Pierre Delanoe
|
Release date:
|
January 1966
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
I Look For You
|
Chart peaks:
|
Canada #7
Belgium #10
United Kingdom #13
United States #14
Australia #48
|
Estimated sales:
|
685,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Let The Good Times Roll
Writers:
|
Leonard Lee;Shirley Goodman
|
Release date:
|
February 1966
|
Label:
|
Reprise
|
B-side:
|
Love Is Strange
|
Buy MP3:
|
Have I Stayed Too Long
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
June 1966
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
Leave Me Be
|
Chart peaks:
|
United Kingdom #42
Canada #46
United States #49
|
Estimated sales:
|
150,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Little Man
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
September 1966
|
B-side:
|
Monday
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
Chart peaks:
|
Belgium #1
Netherlands #1
Norway #1
Sweden #1
Denmark #2
Germany #2
United Kingdom #4
France #7
Canada #14
Australia #19
United States #21
|
Estimated sales:
|
1,145,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Living For You
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
September 1966
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
Love Don't Come
Turn Around
|
Chart peaks:
|
United Kingdom #44
Canada #87
United States #87
|
Estimated sales:
|
75,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
The Beat Goes On
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
January 1967
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
Love Don't Come
|
Chart peaks:
|
Belgium #5
United States #6
Netherlands #8
Australia #14
France #17
Germany #24
United Kingdom #29
|
Estimated sales:
|
860,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
A Beautiful Story
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
April 1967
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
Podunk
|
Chart peak:
|
United States #53
|
Estimated sales:
|
80,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Plastic Man
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
June 1967
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
It's The Little Things
|
Chart peaks:
|
France #49
United States #74 |
Estimated sales:
|
45,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
It's The Little Things
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
April 1967
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
Don't Talk To Strangers
|
Chart peak:
|
United States #50
|
Estimated sales:
|
130,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Good Combination
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
December 1967
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
You and Me
|
Chart peak:
|
United States #56
|
Estimated sales:
|
100,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Circus
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
February 1968
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
I Would Marry You today
|
You Gotta Have A Thing Of Your Own
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
April 1967
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
I Got You Babe
|
You're A Friend Of Mine
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
April 1969
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
I Would Marry You Today
|
Get It Together
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
July 1970
|
Label:
|
Atco
|
B-side:
|
Hold You Tighter
|
Real People
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
June 1971
|
Label:
|
MCA
|
B-side:
|
Somebody
|
All I Ever Need Is You
Writers:
|
Jimmy Holiday; Eddie Reeves
|
Release date:
|
October 1971
|
Label:
|
MCA
|
B-side:
|
I Got You Babe (live)
|
Chart peaks:
|
Canada #5
United States #7 United Kingdom #8 Ireland #12 Belgium #20 Australia #31 |
Estimated sales:
|
1,380,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
February 1972
|
Label:
|
MCA
|
B-side:
|
Somebody
|
Chart peaks:
|
Canada #3
United States #8 Australia #13 France #48 Germany #48 |
Estimated sales:
|
990,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
When You Say Love
Writer:
|
Steve Carmen; Jerry Foster; Bill Rice
|
Release date:
|
July 1972
|
Label:
|
MCA
|
B-side:
|
Crystal Clear / Muddy Waters
|
Chart peaks:
|
Canada #16
United States #32 |
Estimated sales:
|
325,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
Mama Was A Rock & Roll Singer, Papa Used To Write All Her Songs
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
March 1973
|
Label:
|
MCA
|
B-side:
|
Mama Was A rock & Roll Singer, Papa Used To Write All Her Songs Part 2
|
Chart peaks:
|
United States #77
Canada #80 |
Estimated sales:
|
60,000
|
Buy MP3:
|
The Greatest Show On Earth
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
July 1973
|
Label:
|
MCA
|
B-side:
|
You Know Darn Well
|
You're Not Right For Me
Writer:
|
Sonny Bono
|
Release date:
|
1977
|
Label:
|
Warner Bros.
|
B-side:
|
Wrong Number
|
No comments:
Post a Comment