Cher, Episode 19

Season: 2 (Cher)
Episode: 19
Guest(s): Labelle, Mac Davis
CBS Air Date: October 5, 1975
Also aired: Never re-aired

Torch Open/Opening Song: “Take Me Home Country Roads” (Video)
Cover of John Denver (1971)
Cher also sang this song in episode 8 of season one. She wears and outfit incongruous with the song, gold harem pants with a gilded gold cut-out top and tall gold boots. She does her loud clapping.

Monologue: Cher talks about letters from the TV section of the Sunday newspaper.

Guest Spot: Mac Davis sings “I Still Love You (You Still Love Me)”

Skit: Cher plays an off-camera beauty contest winner.

Guest Spot: Labelle sings “Messin’ With My Mind”

Guest Duet (Video)
Cher joins Labelle to sing “Are You Lonely” (1974)
Cher is singing backup to Patti Labelle here and it’s pretty amazing. Bob Mackie has given Cher an outfit to fit in with LaBelle and it’s fabulous. Magic TV right there.

Life with Laverne: Cher is reunited with Larry, her tacky brother played by Don Reo.

Cher Solo: “500 Miles” (Video)
Cover of Hedy West (1961)/Bobby Bare (1963)
I love this song. Sonny & Cher sang this on their debut album, Look at Us (1965). The set has Cher on a train in a leopard wrap and black slacks pensively singing the song with her delightfully large eyelashes.

Guest Duet (Audio)
Cher and Mac Davis sing a great medley of his hits:

“Stop and Smell the Roses” (1974)
“One Hell of a Woman” (1974) – Davis sings this solo
“In the Ghetto” (1969, Elvis version) – nice duet
“Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me” (1972) – love this song, even this chatty version
“I Believe in Music”(1970) – “Come on Cher!”

Macdavis

Skit: Garland Sartain does a skit about the hazards in the ordinary home.

Cher Medley Finale (Video)
Cher does a Rolling Stones medley. When I first heard audio of this I found it to be truly the most painful moment of this show so far. These songs don’t really work in this variety format, despite a hard-working Cher and I’m sure this was a labor of love for her. It’s just bad TV show material, if not a good night of Cher-eoke.

She wears a crazy, shiny red, white and black diagonally stripped pantsuit with big red arm feathers and a red feather wig. The big Cher logo drops. The full band is on stage. Cher sings from a small dais. The backup singers are made to wear Cher logo shirt. She’s full in for this thought and this is as close as she can come to getting The Rolling Stones to come be the show, which goes to show the kind of music she wanted to showcase. She seems to be enjoying those arm feathers. This grew on me a bit watching the video version.

The shots really showcase individual band players.