Mark Bego - Cher: If You Believe

The author would like to thank the following people for their help, insight, and assistance:

Bart Andrews

David Andrews

Anne Bego

Catherine Bego

Mary & Bob Bego

Fred Bernstein

Cindy Birdsong

Angela Bowie

Michael Bradley

Joe Canole

Mark Chase

Cher

John Christe

Rita Coolidge

Sarah Dash

Daphne Davis

Michael Dorr

Daniel Eastman

Alf Elkington

Bob Esty

Gino Falzarano

Sasha Goodman

Randy Jones

Jan Kalajian

David Kelly

Sally Kirkland

Mark Lasswell

Walter McBride

Michael Messina

Marie Morreale

Bob Noguera at Strider Records, NYC

Jim Pinkston

Ross Plotldn

Bobby Reed

Sherry Robb

David Salidor

Frank Sanello

Shea Scullin

Barbara Shelley

Andy Skurow

Mark Sokoloff

Leor Warner

Lori Weiss

Kelly West

Mary Wilson

Mark Bego is the author of several best-selling books on rock and roll and show business, with forty books published and over ten million books in print. His biographies include some of the biggest stars of rock, soul, pop, and country music. His first Top 10 New York Times bestseller was Michael! [Jackson] (1984). Since that time he has written about the lives of Rock Hudson, Aretha Franklin, Jewel, and Madonna.

In the 1990s Bego branched out into country music books, writing Country Hunks (1994), Country Gals (1995), I Fall to Pieces: The Music and the Life of Patsy Cline (1995), Alan Jackson: Gone Country (1996), George Strait: The Story of Countrys Living Legend (1997), LeAnn Rimes (1998), and Vince Gill (2000). In 2000, his Patsy Cline biography was rated by E! Online as one of the Top 10 music bios of all times.

Bego has coauthored books with several rock stars, including Martha Reevess Dancing in the Street: Confessions of a Motown Diva, which spent five weeks on the Chicago Tribune bestseller list in 1994. He worked with Micky Dolenz of the Monkees (Im a Believer, 1993), Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night (One Is the Loneliest Number, 1991), and Mary Wilson (Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, 2000 edition).

His writing has also been featured in several record albums and compact discs. In 1982 he wrote the interior notes to the Columbia House five-record boxed set The Motown Collection. His liner notes can also be found in the CDs Mary Wilson, Walk the Line (1992) and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Lost and Found (Motown Records 2001).

In 1998 Mark wrote books about three of the hottest leading men in late 1990s cinema. His Leonardo DiCaprio: Romantic Hero spent six weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He followed it up with Matt Damon: Chasing a Dream and Will Smith: The Freshest Prince.

In 1998 Melitta Coffee launched Mark Bego: Romantic Hero blend coffee as part of their Celebrity Series. Mark divides his time between New York City, Los Angeles, and Tucson, Arizona. Visit his website at www.MarkBego.com

GRAMMY AWARDS

Best Dance Recording (1999) [Awarded in 2000] Believe

ACADEMY AWARDS

Best Actress (1987) [Awarded in 1988] Moonstruck

GOLDEN GLOBE

Best Supporting Actress (1983) Silkwood

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Best Actress (1985) Mask

1. Bronze-colored Viking outfit and headdress; red curly wig

2. Pirate hat and coat with body stocking; Louise Brooks bobbed hair

3. White sheer dress with mesh front for The Way of Love

4. Bugle-beaded dress and beaded skull cap for Take Me Home

5. Black pants; silver top

6. Nuevo Flamenco dress and train for Dov LAmore

7. Black lace pants; red hair for Strong Enough

8. Silver pants; moon boots; wig with clear plastic tubing for Believe

WARREN BEATTY, actor

dated (1962)

SONNY BONO, record producer, singer

lived with (196469)

married to (196975)

BILL HAMM, guitar player with Sonny & Cher

dated (197273)

DAVID PAICH, conductor, keyboard player with Sonny & Cher

dated (1973)

BERNIE TAUPIN, songwriter

dated (1973)

DAVID GEFFEN, record producer

dated (197375)

GREGG ALLMAN, rock star, the Allman Brothers

dated (1975)

married to (197578)

GENE SIMMONS, rock star, KISS

dated (197880)

LES DUDEK, rock & roll guitarist

dated (198082)

RON DUGUAY, hockey player

dated (1982)

JOHN HEARD, actor

dated (1982)

JOHN LOEFFLER, singer

dated (198283)

VAL KILMER, actor

dated (198284)

ERIC STOLTZ, actor

dated (1984)

JOSH DONEN, television executive

dated (198486)

TOM CRUISE, actor

dated (198586)

ROB CAMILLETTI, bagel baker, actor

dated (198689)

RICHIE SAMBORA, rock star, Bon Jovi

dated (198990)

ERIC CLAPTON, rock star

dated (1991)

It is 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 16, 1999, and it is 106 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix, Arizona. In underground parking lots automobiles are so hot that stickers and decorative chrome pieces are melting loose. Above ground, as the sun begins its descent into the western sky, one can literally see waves of heat radiating up from the pavement in the downtown area. In spite of the excruciating heat, thousands of people are walking with determination, heading down the sidewalks toward one particular block, oblivious to the temperature. No matter how hot it feels outdoors, the inside of the air-conditioned America West Arena that they are heading toward is truly the hottest place on the planet tonight. Because tonight is the night Cher opens her sold-out Believe world tour.

This evening, America West Arena is in a virtual Cher time warp. Audience members are dressed in outfits representing every era of Chers career. Several women are wearing bell-bottomed pants and sandals like the ones Cher made famous in the 1960s. One girl sports a bright purple shag wig, like the one Cher wore to Madonnas wedding in 1985. Another woman parades around with a headpiece of long strands of plastic tubing, like the one Cher wore in her Believe video. Men, women, and children of all ages have purchased and are wearing Cher Believe T-shirts. It is a gathering of Cher believers of all ages. Some are older, some are middle-aged, and some are decades too young to have even been born when the song I Got You Babe topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tonight there is an air of excitement and sheer anticipation. After the two opening acts are finished with their musical sets, the members of the standing roomonly crowd are at the edges of their seats. Tickets disappeared almost instantly at $60 and $75 apiece, and local scalpers were charging up to $600 per seat. What is she going to wear? How will she sound? Which of her hits is she going to sing? These were questions that were repeated throughout the crowd.