# The Strange Magic of: Cher



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Cher! The immortal, indomitable, amazing, and so very, very durable Cher. Long before there was Madonna, or Dido or Jewel or Beyoncé or Adele or Pink or just about any other one-word-name woman in popular music--there was Cher. Female performers who not only pick themselves up by their own bootstraps but also make the boots and the straps always get my attention. I remember watching a concert of hers on the Tube years ago; she was clad in one of her myriad amazing outfits and basking in the initial ovation greeting her. She smiled her devil/angel smile and said something like, "You know, I've been doing this now for more than forty f*****g years!" An amazing and unique voice, perfect for belting out the anthemic hits that have marked her career. Here is one of her signature tunes, _I Found Someone._


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Never heard any magic in Cher's music or singing. You pick some odd choices to feature here. I thought Sonny and Cher did some good comedy on their TV show, and she's a fine actress. But for great female vocalists/performers from that era there's so many other more significant artists to listen to. Joan Baez, Joni, Sandy Denny, Judy Collins, Bobbi Gentri, Linda Ronstadt, Roberta Flack, etc...


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Two of her songs on our 32GB USB stick for the car is enough for me (Halfbreed and Dark lady).


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

starthrower said:


> Never heard any magic in Cher's music or singing. You pick some odd choices to feature here.


That's the Strange Magic of my tastes, yours, or anybody else's--each is unique. I tend to cast a wide net, looking for and finding popular musics and people and clips that please me all over the musical map, without bothering (much) about comparing and contrasting this versus that artist. You've probably noted that I tend to maintain a studied silence about innumerable composers and artists--perhaps their efforts displease me; perhaps I am ignorant of their works or their charms; perhaps I just haven't dealt with them yet. But I prefer as much as possible to state or to present what I like, and leave the rest to a perhaps mysterious, enigmatic silence..... To each, his/her own.


----------



## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

I like her contralto voice, but very little of her music.

Her duets with Gregg Allman were all wrong (love the outfit though).


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Art Rock said:


> Two of her songs on our 32GB USB stick for the car is enough for me (Halfbreed and Dark lady).


Great examples of her horrible solo material. The Beat Goes On with Sonny Bono is about the only song I enjoy.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

In response to the universal demand for even more Cher, even from her severest critics who still affirm that they actually like a song or even maybe two by her--here is the (probably) immortal creature demanding to be taken home: There is No Accounting for Taste.....


----------



## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

There's a reason why Cher can boast of sustaining a very long career in music - and that's TALENT. Other singers can boast of their super angelic and glass-shattering voices, but why cant they sustain a long career in the very fickle world that is pop music? Others would say its all about image and media hype - but if this is true, then David Cassidy and Paris Hilton should still be selling millions of albums right now. My favorite Cher songs are Strong Enough, her version of Walking In Memphis . and Dark Lady :angel:


----------



## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

starthrower said:


> Never heard any magic in Cher's music or singing. You pick some odd choices to feature here. I thought Sonny and Cher did some good comedy on their TV show, and she's a fine actress. But for great female vocalists/performers from that era there's so many other more significant artists to listen to. Joan Baez, Joni, Sandy Denny, Judy Collins, Bobbi Gentri, Linda Ronstadt, Roberta Flack, etc...


My thoughts also


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

starthrower said:


> But for great female vocalists/performers from that era there's so many other more significant artists to listen to. Joan Baez, Joni, Sandy Denny, Judy Collins, Bobbi Gentri, Linda Ronstadt, Roberta Flack, etc...


Two questions arise, given my oft-stated reasons for posting these live concert clips, and also my conviction, shared by many, that individual taste is unique and supreme: A) Who establishes the significance of artists? And B) Is the point to establish hierarchies of "quality" and "significance" among artists, composers, etc., in these discussions? If so, what are the lovers of ranking and hierarchies doing, listening to lesser musics? Are the above-named singers, all of whom have done many things I like, exactly equal in quality and significance? If so, that would be amazing. If not, please grade them for inquiring minds. I happen to prefer Ravel to Ronstadt in the overall scheme of things, but that's just me. :tiphat:


----------



## acitak 7 (Jun 26, 2016)

*cher debate*

with regard to the strange magic of cher, I think strange is the operative word as far as her music is concerned,but we all have very different ideas about what is good music. for me Mary Hopkin has made some great music beautiful voice beautiful songs .but at the end of the day BEAUTY IS IN THE EAR OF THE BEHOLDER


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

The reasons I like and posted this clip of Cher were: A) I like Cher. She's a tough yet funny survivor. B) I like the song, a classic Cher anthem. C) I like the confident, self-assured way she bestrides the stage, like Phryne Fisher on steroids, and a matchless example of the plastic surgeon's art. D) I like Cher's voice--always have. Just imagine Joan Baez up there, and you'll see how silly these comparisons are. Am I saying that Cher is better than Joan Baez? A silver dagger in the breast of anyone who thinks that.


----------



## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Recently one of the weekly tabs at a grocery check-out lane screamed, "Cher dying!" Hope it's not so. Too early.

The best body science could buy. Saw her and Sonny on-stage in the early 70's. Twas during their TV show run. 







Though they were on the outs, they were funny and entertaining. That body from the 12th row!

Yes, I lusted. As I did a few years later, when blessed with a few feet from Wonder Woman.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Vaneyes said:


> Recently one of the weekly tabs at a grocery check-out lane screamed, "Cher dying!" Hope it's not so. Too early.
> 
> The best body science could buy. Saw her and Sonny on-stage in the early 70's. Twas during their TV show run. Though they were on the outs, they were funny and entertaining. That body from the 12th row!
> 
> Yes, I lusted. As I did a few years later, when blessed with a few feet from Wonder Woman.


Great post! I make it a point to believe everything on the covers of those weeklies--I still marvel at the actual photograph that showed President George H.W. Bush walking on the deck of an aircraft carrier while conversing with an alien being. It never made the evening TV news; obviously suppressed.

Regarding Wonder Woman, a fascinating, truth-stranger-than-fiction book by Jill Lepore, _The Secret History of Wonder Woman_, recounts the creation of this first-ever comic book female hero, by an amazing ménage à trois that included a co-inventor of the lie detector. You'll love it!


----------



## acitak 7 (Jun 26, 2016)

again an opinion but joan baez is far better looking than cher, and she sings the night they drove old Dixie down, far better as well [joke]


----------



## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Strange Magic said:


> A *silver dagger* in the breast of anyone who thinks that.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I still love bell-bottom pants.


----------



## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Is that what we called soultrousers or soulpipes (in translation) over here? Just must be in your early fifties or so.:lol:
My generation hated them. I think it shows how very important your formative years are and the big role chance plays in our appreciation. You never escape from it.


----------



## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Don't like her from the musical aspect that much but I must admit she has something that grabs my attention always. Something in her personality and voice, probably her unique timbre.


----------



## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

She was a capable actress.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Casebearer said:


> Is that what we called soultrousers or soulpipes (in translation) over here? Just must be in your early fifties or so.:lol:
> My generation hated them. I think it shows how very important your formative years are and the big role chance plays in our appreciation. You never escape from it.


Bell bottoms are what made Eric Clapton so sad. And seeing how sad Clapton was, they made Cher sad also. Bell bottoms, we all love them, but they can make us sad in a sweet, sweet way....


----------



## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

I think that's a yes. It made me sad too. Can't remember the sweetness of loving them right now but who cares.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Casebearer said:


> I think that's a yes. It made me sad too. Can't remember the sweetness of loving them right now but who cares.


The memory of an attractive, long-legged woman fitted into a well-tailored pair of bell bottoms is a haunting one. I myself had a great suit with bell-bottom trousers back in the day. Should have had a photo taken. Nehru (or Mao) jackets, anyone?


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Resurrecting this thread, I fell in love with Cher all over again! A consummate performer--totally at ease before an audience; funny; killer voice with one of the most faultless vibratos in show biz, and old enough to be your grandma (but not mine). Yup, I went down again _Just Like Jesse James_. And I feel sorry for those who, through some cruelty on the part of nature, are incapable of enjoying such music .


----------

