Album: Greatest Hits (1971)

Charted: 8 7

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Songfacts®:

• "All I Ever Need Is You" is one of Sonny & Cher's love songs, not unlike "I Got You Babe" in sentiment. By this time, they had been married for seven years and had just launched a new variety show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
• This was written by Jimmy Holiday and Eddie Reeves in 1971. It has gone on to earn over $1,500,000 in publisher and writer royalties.
  
  The song was demoed for Kenny Rogers, who turned it down. Next it was offered to Ray Charles, who was the first to record it, including it on his 1971 album The Volcanic Action of My Soul in 1971.
  
  In 1971, Cher had just had a #1 hit with "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves," and their TV show was becoming a big hit. During this time, Kapp/MCA Records executive Johnny Musso asked Eddie Reeves for a copy of Ray's album to send along to Sonny & Cher, who were about to record new material. A week later Sonny & Cher recorded their cover, which became the most popular rendition, climbing to #7 in America and earning Gold certification.
  
  Despite Kenny Rogers' earlier dismissal of the song, he and Dottie West covered it in 1979. Their version went to #1 on the Country chart.
• About the songwriters: Jimmy Holiday was a solo artist who had some R&B hits in the '60s, including "How Can I Forget" and "Baby I Love You." Eddie Reeves was in a group called Cymarron, which had a hit with "Rings." Holiday also co-wrote the Jackie DeShannon hit "Put a Little Love in Your Heart."

Comments: 4

• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn December 27th 1971, 'The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour' began its 4 and a half year regular-season run on the CBS-TV network, the duo earn a regular season slot due to their successful summer replacement show earlier in the year...
  At the time their "All I Ever Need Is You" was at #11 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart, the week before it was at #7, and that was also its peak position on the Top 100...
  And also at the time, Cher's eighth solo record, "Gypsys, Tramps, and Thieves", was at #25 on the Top 100...
  Between 1965 and 1973 the duo had eighteen Top 100 records; five made the Top 10 with one reaching #1, "I Got You Babe" for three weeks on August 8th, 1965.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn March 4th 1969, Cher gave birth to Chastity/Chaz Bono; Sonny and Cher Bono’s only child...
  At the time Sonny and Cher did not have a record on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart*; it would be a little over two years and seven months later on October 10th, 1971 before they would enter the Top 100 again; that was with "All I Need Is You" {See next post below}...
  * But a month before "All I Need Is You" had entered the Top 100, Cher entered the chart on September 12th with "Gypsys, Tramps, and Thieves", and on Halloween it peaked at #1 {for 2 weeks} and spent 16 weeks on the Top 100.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn December 19th, 1971 "All I Ever Need Is You" by Sonny & Cher peaked at #7 (for 1 week) on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; it had entered the chart on October 10th and spent 15 weeks on the Top 100...
  On November 21st, 1971 it reached #1 (for 5 weeks) on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
  It was track one of side one of their album of the same name; the album reached #14 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...
  One other song from the album also made the Top 10, "A Cowboy Work Is Never Done", it peaked at #8 and stayed on the Top 100 for 13 weeks.
• Camille from Toronto, OhHey, Sonny and Cher has some great songs to listen to, and this was one of them. The tune moves along so nicely, and the words make for a great song for two to sing. It's fun to sing along with, lots of wailing notes, and the words are strung together in such a way that it's almost like any two lovers simply talking to each other.

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