When Sonny & Cher reunited to perform 'I Got You Babe' for the very last time
8 January 2021, 17:19 | Updated: 22 February 2023, 16:20
Sonny and Cher were appearing on Late Night with David Letterman in 1987 when the duo sang 'I Got You Babe' in what would become the last ever performance between the pair.
It was November 13, 1987 and the a television studio in California were about to be treated to a surprise performance they'd never forget.
Sonny & Cher were guests on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman and after a short interview the pair agreed to sing 'I Got You Babe' for a delighted audience.
Clearly extremely comfortable with one another, the divorced pair happily sang together and couldn't hide their glee and they smiled broadly to one another during the entirely of the song.
The performance was to be the last time the pair would ever sing together in their lifetimes, occurring ten years before Sonny Bono was tragically killed in an accident whilst skiing with his family in Lake Tahoe, California on January 5, 1998, aged 62.
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Sonny & Cher (full names Cherilyn Sarkisian and Salvatore Bono) met when she was 16 and he was 27 and the pair became fast friends and eventually lovers.
The pair achieved worldwide fame with two hits songs in 1965 'I Got You Babe' and 'Baby Don't Go', releasing three albums in the late '60s and two more in 1972, the same year they had their only child, Chaz Bono.
The couple's stars were on the rise and were soon spotted by TV executives who offered them their own wildly-successful TV shows, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Show, in the 1970's.
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Sonny & Cher reunite for the last time to sing 'I Got You Babe' on Letterman (1987)
Cher won a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance By an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour in 1974, but by 1975 the pair's marriage was on the rocks.
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Despite being nominated for two Grammy Awards and selling over 40 million records worldwide, after a decade together the couple's very public divorce was finalised on June 26, 1975.
Sonny Bono became a politician and entered the U.S House of Representatives, whereas Cher had a hugely successful solo career and became an Oscar-winning actress.
Sonny & Cher stayed on very good terms for the rest of their lives and twice made impromptu appearances together, the first in 1979 and the second and final time, as described, with David Letterman in 1989.
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In front of millions of people at his live televised funeral in 1998, Cher gave the eulogy and said her ex-husband was "the most unforgettable character I've ever met".
Sonny & Cher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998, which saw Sonny's wife, Mary Bono, and Cher accepted the award together, and the singer later said in a CBS special that losing her ex-husband was "something I never plan to get over".
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Cher released her album Believe in 1998 and dedicated it to her ex-husband, with an inscription in its booklet reading "In memory of Son".
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