Tom Jones and Cher are legends in the music industry, and they collaborated for a duet that would arguably become one of the best joint performances
Cher first rose to fame as part of a singing duo with her husband Sonny Bono in the 1960s. Two decades later, she pursued acting and won an Academy Award for her performance in “Moonstruck.”
In the 1980s and 1990s, she continued to make music, releasing the dance hit “Believe.” The single also made her, 52-year-old at the time, the oldest woman to have ever had a number one song.
Tom Jones and Cher performing together in 1969. | Source: YouTube/Tom Jones
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
In 1962, Cher got introduced to the famed record producer, Phil Spector by Bono and soon acted as a background singer on hits like “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes and the Righteous Brothers smash song, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.”
During this time, in 1969, she teamed up with Tom Jones to release a single called “The Beat Goes On.” At the time, he was a host on “This Is Tom Jones,” a show that saw him perform with Cher among many others. Their different styles and vocal sounds meshed perfectly into a mind-blowing duet.
SONNY & CHER REVAMPED
While on “The Merv Griffin Show” in 1971, Cher and Sonny impressed network executives to the point where they were given their own variety show.
” ran for three years and became a huge hit that sometimes raked in 30 million viewers per week.
Cher on January 21, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada | Source: Getty Images
CHER’S CAREER
Due to the show’s popularity, Mego, the toy company, released Cher and Bono dolls which kids couldn’t wait to play with. Cher’s doll sold so well that it became the highest-selling doll of 1976, outselling even Barbie.
She was not just a successful singer, but a well-loved actress as well. She had a string of number 1 hits in 20 different countries, and starred in movies like “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!,” and “Burlesque.”
BREAKING RECORDS
But it doesn’t end there; she made history again in 2011 when she became the only artist ever to top the Billboard chart with a number one song for six consecutive decades.
While she topped the Adult Contemporary chart in the 1980s along with the Dance/Club Play Songs chart in the 2000s and 2010s, Cher topped the Hot 100 charts in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1990s.
The British singer Sir Jones rose to fame in the UK before his vocal talent reached the US and he became one of the most celebrated performers of our time.
The legend discovered his love for music when he was 12 years old and spent two years recovering from tuberculosis in bed. Influenced by the likes of Elvis Presley, Solomon Burke, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, and Brook Benton, it would still take years before his break came.
Sir Jones married Melinda Trenchard, his high school sweetheart, in March 1957. To support his family after she bore a son, he worked a variety of jobs.
HIS BIG BREAK
His singing career caught a break in 1963 after Gordon Mills spotted him at a gig. He became the lead singer of the vocal band Tommy Scott and the Senators. It was his 1966 hit “It’s Not Unusual” that made him an international star.
Now, Jones has been in the industry for over five decades. In 2006, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, and in 2012, he performed at the Queens Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace.
In 2016, he lost his best friend and wife of 59 years, Melinda, to lung cancer. It was a difficult year for the singer who was performing and touring despite grieving the painful loss.
