The Beat Goes On – Sonny & Cher | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#6); 1967
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In 1963, the year Salvatore Phillip Bono wed Cherilyn Sakisian LaPierre, the two also coupled up on vinyl as Caesar & Cleo. Although The Letter never reached its chart destination, Sonny was undeterred. By then he was a music biz veteran and knew he was on to something special.
He continued to work for Phil Spector – bringing Cher on board to sing backing vocals on the producer’s Wall of Sound productions – and released two more Caesar & Cleo duets with his young bride.
He finally struck gold in 1965 when a self-financed recording of the Bono-penned I Got You Babe took America by storm. Caesar & Cleo were now Sonny & Cher: the new darlings of the flower power set. An earlier Caesar & Cleo track, Baby Don’t Go, followed Babe into the Top 10.
Even though subsequent releases didn’t fare as well, they remained in the public eye and returned to the Top 10 in early 1967 with another Bono song, The Beat Goes On.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Sonny Bono
Lyrics Written by:
- Sonny Bono
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).