Cher: The Memoir: Part One

Gold Star Recording Studios was a renowned music recording studio in Los Angeles, California. The studio’s echo-chamber-like interior gave its recordings a “wall of sound” effect, changing the standards of how music was recorded. In her memoir, Cher explains that music producer Phil Spector, owner of the label Philles Records, operated out of Gold Star and helped launch her and Sonny’s careers. As Sonny’s boss, Phil gave him and Cher the opportunity to sing backup vocals on other artists’ songs, and they used Gold Star to record their own first singles.

Modulation is a musical term that means a shift in tone or key in a song. Cher requested that Sonny add more modulation to the songs he wrote for her since she felt that this helped her showcase her singing talents.

The Ed Sullivan Show was a variety show that aired for 14 seasons from 1948 to 1971 on American channel CBS. The show was significant to Cher since it was on this show that she first saw Elvis perform as a child, inspiring her love of music and performance. As a young artist herself, Cher came full circle at age 19 when she and Sonny performed on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1965.

The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour aired for four seasons from 1971-1974. Co-hosted by Sonny and Cher, the show featured comic skits with actors and musicians as guest stars. In her memoir, Cher discusses how the two were thrilled to be offered this show after they toured budget venues for months, performing songs and comedy bits. The success of this show helped them relaunch their careers and preceded their next television success, The Sonny and Cher Show. Though contracted for two more seasons, the show ended abruptly when Cher realized that she was being exploited in an unfair contract.