Number 1 on the American music charts, when the duo arrived in New York City for personal appearances and publicity, they were refused admittance to the Americana Hotel in Manhattan, because of their unconventional appearance. This ended up giving them even more publicity.
In August of 1965, ATCO Records released the duo’s debut album, Look at Us . On the cover is Sonny with his now-famous bobcat vest and Cher with her flat, chest-length hair, cut into bangs at eyebrow level. Photographed between two tree trunks, in an instant frozen in time, Sonny & Cher gave the public its first image of themselves. The album features their first hit single, the impassioned “I Got You Babe.” Exploring the subject of love, unrequited love, or devoted love, Sonny & Cher covered several hits of the day, including “Unchained Melody,” “500Miles,” “Then He Kissed Me,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” and even Phil Spector’s “Why Don’t They Let Us Fall in Love.” Sonny also used the album to showcase four of his own compositions, including “Just You,” “It’s Gonna Rain,” “Sing C’est La Vie ,” and of course “I Got You Babe.”
For the sake of typeface and font trivia, on all of these first album releases, Cher spelled her name with an accent above the “e,” appearing in print as Chér. The accent mark gave her name an exotic and classy European look. However, by the mid-1970s she began dropping the accent mark, which was usually neglected by media typesetters anyway. Viva la Chér!
On August 31, 1965, Sonny & Cher flew to London for the first time, and the British Isles have never been the same. Since “the British invasion” of musical acts was taking place in the United States in 1965, Sonny & Cher and their managers decided that they would use reverse psychology and head from America to England. Well, they were noticed in London, in such a big way that they were refused admittance to the Hilton Hotel when they went to register for their room. Sonny was wearing a “cavalier” or “pirate” shirt with puffy sleeves gathered at the wrist, a pair of striped pants, his Fred Flintstone–like bobcat vest, and a pair of calf-high, fur-covered boots. Cher was clad in a Union Jack–designed red, white, and blue top and pants, and on her feet she wore red leather Capezio shoes with thread-spool heels.
When Sonny and Cher strode into the lobby of the London Hilton at nine o’clock in the morning, two photographers popped up and began flashing shot after shot of the hit-making American singing duo. They were promptly escorted out of the front door and told not to return. When the newspaper, the Daily Telegraph , came out that afternoon, there was Sonny & Cher on the cover, being thrown out of the Hilton. Before the day was over, they were instantly famous from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. Four days later they were invited to appear on the hit ITV show Ready, Steady, Go! , which immediately propelled “I Got You Babe” into the stratosphere.
Remembers Cher of the fashion sensation they created in London,
No one knew who we were, but by the first night, our picture was on the cover of every newspaper because we’d been thrown out of the Hilton [hotel] for the way we looked. I had on one of my pride-and-joy outfits. It was red, white and blue striped bell-bottoms with an industrial zipper with a big ring on it. And a top with big bell sleeves and a pair of red shoes. And Sonny had a pair of striped pants and his dress Eskimo boots, real beautiful, and he had on his bobcat vest and a big shirt. The people in England loved it. They didn’t even think we were American. You know, American rock & roll at that time was zilch. Everything was the Beatles, and Dave Clark, and the Stones (18).
Being tossed out of the Hilton Hotel was such a big publicity push for Sonny & Cher that Bono later immortalized the incident in the song “See See Rider,” which Cher recorded on her 1965 solo debut
In August of 1965, ATCO Records released the duo’s debut album, Look at Us . On the cover is Sonny with his now-famous bobcat vest and Cher with her flat, chest-length hair, cut into bangs at eyebrow level. Photographed between two tree trunks, in an instant frozen in time, Sonny & Cher gave the public its first image of themselves. The album features their first hit single, the impassioned “I Got You Babe.” Exploring the subject of love, unrequited love, or devoted love, Sonny & Cher covered several hits of the day, including “Unchained Melody,” “500Miles,” “Then He Kissed Me,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” and even Phil Spector’s “Why Don’t They Let Us Fall in Love.” Sonny also used the album to showcase four of his own compositions, including “Just You,” “It’s Gonna Rain,” “Sing C’est La Vie ,” and of course “I Got You Babe.”
For the sake of typeface and font trivia, on all of these first album releases, Cher spelled her name with an accent above the “e,” appearing in print as Chér. The accent mark gave her name an exotic and classy European look. However, by the mid-1970s she began dropping the accent mark, which was usually neglected by media typesetters anyway. Viva la Chér!
On August 31, 1965, Sonny & Cher flew to London for the first time, and the British Isles have never been the same. Since “the British invasion” of musical acts was taking place in the United States in 1965, Sonny & Cher and their managers decided that they would use reverse psychology and head from America to England. Well, they were noticed in London, in such a big way that they were refused admittance to the Hilton Hotel when they went to register for their room. Sonny was wearing a “cavalier” or “pirate” shirt with puffy sleeves gathered at the wrist, a pair of striped pants, his Fred Flintstone–like bobcat vest, and a pair of calf-high, fur-covered boots. Cher was clad in a Union Jack–designed red, white, and blue top and pants, and on her feet she wore red leather Capezio shoes with thread-spool heels.
When Sonny and Cher strode into the lobby of the London Hilton at nine o’clock in the morning, two photographers popped up and began flashing shot after shot of the hit-making American singing duo. They were promptly escorted out of the front door and told not to return. When the newspaper, the Daily Telegraph , came out that afternoon, there was Sonny & Cher on the cover, being thrown out of the Hilton. Before the day was over, they were instantly famous from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. Four days later they were invited to appear on the hit ITV show Ready, Steady, Go! , which immediately propelled “I Got You Babe” into the stratosphere.
Remembers Cher of the fashion sensation they created in London,
No one knew who we were, but by the first night, our picture was on the cover of every newspaper because we’d been thrown out of the Hilton [hotel] for the way we looked. I had on one of my pride-and-joy outfits. It was red, white and blue striped bell-bottoms with an industrial zipper with a big ring on it. And a top with big bell sleeves and a pair of red shoes. And Sonny had a pair of striped pants and his dress Eskimo boots, real beautiful, and he had on his bobcat vest and a big shirt. The people in England loved it. They didn’t even think we were American. You know, American rock & roll at that time was zilch. Everything was the Beatles, and Dave Clark, and the Stones (18).
Being tossed out of the Hilton Hotel was such a big publicity push for Sonny & Cher that Bono later immortalized the incident in the song “See See Rider,” which Cher recorded on her 1965 solo debut
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