“I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher is today’s classic song of the day. Released as a single in June of 1965, this one went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and was a top ten hit all around the globe.
Sonny Bono wrote “I Got You Babe” and produced the record. Sonny made his bones gofering for legendary producer Phil Spector, and he obviously learned a few things along the way. In addition to Mr. Bono and his wife, Cher, this recording featured the considerable talents of those studio musicians now known as the Wrecking Crew, including Barney Kessel, Steve Mann, Donald Peake, and Ervan Coleman on guitars; Don Randi on piano; Michel Rubini on harpsichord; Lyle Ritz on electric bass; Clifford Hils on upright bass; Frank Capp on drums; Julius Wechter on bells; Warren Webb on oboe; and Morris Crawford on bassoon. Harold Battiste did the arrangement and the entire song was recorded in a single three-hour session at Gold Star Studios on June 7, 1965. Not bad for an afternoon’s work.
“I Got You Babe” was the song that jump-started Sonny & Cher’s recording career. They’d previously released a few singles as “Caesar & Cleo,” Cher had released a few Bono-penned tunes as solo singles (including one of my favs, 1964’s “Dream Baby“), and they’d had a #8 hit in 1964 with “Baby Don’t Go,” but “I Got You Babe” was the big one—and their only number-one hit. The couple continued performing together on record, on stage, and on TV, for another decade, racking up a bunch of other hits, including “But You’re Mine,” “What Now My Love,” “Laugh at Me,” “The Beat Goes On,” “All I Ever Need is You,” and “A Cowboy’s Work is Never Done” before divorcing in 1975. Cher, of course, had (and continues to have) a lengthy career as a solo artist; Sonny had a brief acting career, was elected to Congress, and passed away in 1998 in a tragic skiing accident.
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s Sonny & Cher performing a truncated version of “I Got You Babe” live on the September 26, 1965, episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. Looks like they were having fun.
And here’s one more for you. Back on November 13, 1987, Sonny & Cher, divorced for more than a decade, reunited to sing “I Got You Babe” on Late Night with David Letterman. This one makes me smile.
