One of Cher’s biggest hurdles early in her career was convincing audiences she wasn’t a man, because of her deep-throated delivery, a new book on the iconic singer reveals.
The tome from British imprint Plexus also chronicles her relationships with men from David Geffen to Gregg Allman, and how, one night, Cher saved a male musician’s life with advice from her gynecologist.
Josiah Howard’s “Cher: Strong Enough,” recounts that when the future superstar broke onto the scene as a teen with her older hubby and partner, Sonny Bono, misconceptions were so prevalent that she was a man, a secretary was hired to persuade fans otherwise.
“Just three months after they hit the big time, Sonny and Cher’s . . . secretary was charged with responding to each and every inquiry, even those from fans, to refute the rumor,” the book says.
A letter dated Sept. 8, 1965, to a fan reads: “Cher, we assure you, is a girl. She is 19 years old and happily married to Sonny (who is 25) [Bono was actually 30]. As for Cher’s singing voice being too low: I think you will find that a lot of great female singers have low voices . . . Tell your mom that Cher is just a very slim, very pretty girl with a low voice. I think if you listen closer, you will find a lot of feminine quality in her voice.”
In 1974, after Cher had become a star and while she was dating Geffen, one night she found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, the book details. At a party for the Average White Band, guests passed around a drug they thought was cocaine but turned out to be heroin.
Drummer Robbie McIntosh died the following day from an overdose. However, Cher had abstained and saved band bassist Alan Gorrie’s life by bringing him home and “following the advice of her gynecologist (her personal physician was unavailable) . . . induced vomiting, applied ice packs to his body and forcibly walked him around, preventing him from losing consciousness and lapsing into a coma.”
She was later called before an LA grand jury after the party host was charged with murder.