Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono was born on February 16, 1935in Detroit, Michigan,
Cheryl Sarkisian LaPiere was born on May 10, 1946 in El Centro, California.

Sonny met Cher in late 1962, he was involved in producing records
and she became a back-up singer on several hit recordings.
By the fall of 1965, Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” was a #1 international
chart topper that helped propel singer,
songwriter Sonny to a seat in the United States Congress and singer,
actress Cher to an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, a three time Golden Globe
winner and a super star concert performer.

Among the hits of Sonny & Cher are “Baby Don’t Go”, “What Now My Love”,
“The Beat Goes On” and “All I Ever Need Is You”.
As a solo artist, Cher topped the Hit Parade with three #1 singles,
“Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves”, “Half-Breed” and “Dark Lady”.
Other top ten hits for Cher were, “You Better Sit Down Kids”,   “The Way of Love”,
“Take Me Home”, “I Found Someone” and  “If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time”.

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour was a prime time top rated
television show in the 70’s that received multiple Emmy Award *nominations.
As a team they sold 80 million records, and as a solo performer,
Cher is credited with selling more than100 million records world-wide.

On January 5, 1998, at 62 years of age,
Sonny Bono died of injuries from a skiing accident.