Ray Charles "A Song for You"

When more than 200 artists line up to sing a tune, you call that song an American Classic. That's exactly how Elton John described "A Song for You". Originally recorded by Leon Russell in 1970, artists such as Cher, Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson, Michael Buble, and Simply Red are some of the numerous names who've recorded the song. Ray Charles' version earned him a Grammy Award in 1994 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

Cher "We All Sleep Alone"

"It wouldn't be easy to be Mr. Cher," Cher once said and that's an understatement. Her list of boyfriends can fill an entire notebook with the likes of Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Warren Beatty, and Gene Simmons filling each respective chapter. Cher claims she could've dated Elvis, but chickened out. Ironically, Cher released "We All Sleep Alone" in 1988 -- a song she penned with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. A couple years later, Cher and Sambora hooked up and dated for a couple years.

Sonny & Cher "I Got You Babe"

Harold Ramis asked Chicago radio legend Steve Dahl to play the role of the radio disc jockey in Groundhog Day, but he passed. Instead voiceover artist Richard Henzel played the iconic role. As far as casting goes, Ramis also considered Tom Hanks and Steve Martin for the role that ultimately went to his friend Bill Murray. Unfortunately, Ramis and Murray's friendship took a dump after filming the movie. At the time, Murray was going through a divorce and seemed to bring that pain onto the set each day by being hostile and habitually late. Things got so bad, the pair didn't speak for nearly 20 years after the film wrapped. Murray finally buried the hatchet when Ramis was on his deathbed in 2014.

Cher "Living in a House Divided"

Today are the mid-term elections which, according to some folks, are the most important mid-terms of our lives. Please educate yourself today and then go vote.

Cher "Strong Enough"

Radio at the end of the 1990s featured hip-hop (Brandy, TLC, Destiny's Child), the "Latin Explosion" (Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Santana), and Cher. The ageless wonder returned to Top 40 radio with her mega-hit "Believe". That song ended 1999 as the #1 single of the year. Lost in the shuffle was her follow-up hit to "Believe" called "Strong Enough". Aside from a home on the radio, dance clubs couldn't get enough of it. With its disco-dance flavor, "Strong Enough" played like an updated version of Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park".

Cher "Believe"

My college roommate Doug asked me what I believed to be a loaded question. He said, "Todd, do you believe in life after love?" After my lengthy response, he was quiet. I took this silence as affirmative of my revealing something deep and profound. After a couple moments, he casually mentioned that those were the lyrics to "Believe" from Cher. (eye roll)

Cher "Just Like Jesse James"

I have no recollection of "Just Like Jesse James" from Cher even though the song wasn't obscure by any means: it was a Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 Charts in 1989. A quick search of the song on Wikipedia turned up this fun fact: Cher doesn't care to sing the song at concerts. Well, nothing to see here, move along....

Cher "If I Could Turn Back Time"

Nearly as famous as the song itself, the music video to "If I Could Turn Back Time" ruffled plenty of feathers back in 1989. Filmed aboard the USS Missouri while it was docked in Los Angeles, the music video featured Cher singing to an excited bunch of seamen aboard the vessel. In the video, Cher wore a short black leather jacket over a fishnet body stocking. This fashionable (?) outfit conveniently left her butt exposed which upset an on-site Navy official who kindly asked Cher to cover up--but we all know that wasn't going to happen. Seeing that it was still 1989, the music video was considered too risque and was banned by most television networks including MTV (who later agreed to air it, but only after 9pm). The result: the song went to #3 on the Hot 100 (#1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart) and helped propel Cher's comeback. Oh, it also caused the Navy to place a ban on filming music videos aboard their ships. All together now: Thanks, Cher!

Tina Turner "What's Love Got to Do With It"

When Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It" hit #1 in 1984, it made her the oldest female (at the time) to hit #1 on the Hot 100. Turner was 44. Fifteen years later, Cher broke that record when her dance anthem "Believe" topped the chart in 1999. Cher was 53.

Agnetha Faltskog & Peter Cetera - "I Wasn't The One (Who Said Goodbye)"

I had the opportunity to meet Peter Cetera twice within about a month of each other in 2003.  Cetera couldn't have been more friendly or accommodating during our first meeting, but things fell apart during his second visit.  Musicians and celebrities don't just stop by radio stations -- in this case, Cetera stopped to chat with the morning show to promote an upcoming concert.  Among other things discussed during the interview, the host marveled at the number of duets Cetera recorded.  He mentioned Cher, Amy Grant, Chaka Khan, Crystal Bernard, and even Agnetha Faltskog (who?) as duet partners for Cetera.  The following is a loose transcript of what happened next:

Host: "Who else would you really like to record a duet with?"
Cetera: "(makes a sound effect of him snoring)"
Host: "No really. your list of duet partners is impressive.  Who else would you like to sing a sing with?"
Cetera: "(continues to make snoring sound effects)..."

Real classy, Cetera.

Cher - "I Found Someone"

Michael Bolton co-wrote "I Found Someone" for Laura Branigan, but it was Cher would turned it into a huge radio hit in another case of "I Did What Laura Branigan Didn't".  In 1986, Branigan took "I Found Someone" to #90 on the Hot 100 -- a year later, Cher put her spin on the song and turned it into a Top 10 song.  Perhaps Cher's success was fueled by the music video that featured her wearing what amounted to a fishnet body stocking?

Tiffany - "Could've Been"

The 1980s was the decade that gave the pop music world female artists with one name such as Madonna, Cher, and Tiffany.  Tiffany's debut album Tiffany gave us the #1 hits "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Could've Been".  At just 16 years old, Tiffany became the youngest artist to have back-to-back #1 songs.  What were you doing at age 16?

Cher - "One By One"

I was an intern at the radio station when my boss (the station's Music Director and midday host) said that she wanted to play me a song.  She asked me to listen to the song and then tell me who I thought was singing.  I listened to the first verse and then shrugged my shoulders.  "It's Cher!" she exclaimed.  She admitted that she wasn't a fan of Cher, but that the song was an entirely different sound for her that she liked.  A few years later, Cher would capitalize on that new sound with "Believe"--one of the first commercial songs to introduce auto-tune.

Cher - "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)"

Surprisingly, Cher's first #1 single as a solo artist happened in 1990 with the remake of "The Shoop Shoop Song".

Blondie - "Maria"

Along with Cher, Blondie made a comeback bid in 1999.  Cher first introduced us to auto-tune while Blondie introduced us to "Maria".  It was Blondie's first single since 1982.  Debbie Harry was out of breath after performing "Maria" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno which prompted Jay to ask her if she was all right.

Cher - "Love & Understanding"

During the taping of one of VH-1's Behind The Music series, Cher said that after a nuclear holocaust the only things that would remain would be cockroaches and Cher.  It's hard to believe that in 1991, Cher was releasing her 20th album.  Her "Love Hurts" album gave us the hits "Save Up All Your Years", "The Shoop Shoop Song", and "Love & Understanding."  The latter sounded like it came from the soundtrack of an epic Hollywood blockbuster with its heavy melodies and strings.  The song climbed to #3 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Chart, but now only gets played on Cher's numerous farewell tours.

Peter Cetera & Cher - "After All"

How can two divas record a song together, yet never record it together?  I don't know, but you should ask Peter Cetera and Cher.  Their 1989 hit "After All" became a #1 hit, yet the two never were in the same room when the song was recorded or performed.  Each musician recorded their vocal tracks separately, and a producer mixed the song.  "After All" was part of the soundtrack to "Chances Are" and even got nominated for "Best Original Song" at the 1990 Oscar Awards.  Did Cher and Cetera show up to perform the song together?  Nope.  Peabo Bryson and Melissa Manchester performed the song instead.  Divas.