Happy Throwback Thursday! Today we’re featuring the year 1988. That’s the year Sonny Bono made the jump from music to politics when he became mayor of Palm Springs. Bono was inspired to enter politics after he had a frustrating experience with bureaucracy while trying to open a restaurant there in Palm Springs. He served as mayor until 1992, and during that time he spearheaded the creation of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which is held in his honor every year.
He then served as the U.S. representative for California’s 44th district from 1995 until his death in 1998. He’s the only member of Congress to have a number 1 pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. During his time in Congress, Bono was one of the sponsors of a bill extending copyright. It was never voted on, but years later, after his death, a similar bill was passed and named the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act in his memory.
Bono began writing songs as a teenager and dropped out of highschool to pursue his music career. He started out as a songwriter at Specialty Records and went on to work for producer Phil Spector. He met Cher in 1962. They shared an interest in music and began recording together. They had their first major hit in 1965 with “I Got You Babe”, which was written by Bono. It sold more than a million copies and skyrocketed the duo to fame. That was followed by another huge hit, “The Beat Goes On”, also written by Bono.
Sonny and Cher’s popularity waned by the end of the 1960s. They started a nightclub act, where they’d sing and have witty banter. These performances led to their TV variety show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. It debuted in 1971 and was a top-20 hit in the ratings for its entire run. The show ended in 1974 when Sonny and Cher separated. Their divorce was finalized in 1975. Their last appearance together was on Late Night with David Letterman in 1987, on which they sang “I Got You Babe”.
Bono died on January 5, 1998 after a skiing accident in South Lake Tahoe. He was 62 years old. His then-wife Mary requested Cher give a eulogy at Bono’s funeral. The epitaph on his headstone reads “And The Beat Goes On”.
In the decade they spent together, Sonny and Cher sold more than 40 million records worldwide and were nominated for 2 Grammy Awards.
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