Sonny Bono - Inner Views (1967)

Sonny Bono (1935 - 1998) – amerykański producent muzyczny, wokalista, aktor i polityk.

Pierwszą żoną Sonny Bono była Donna Rankin, z którą miał córkę Christine ("Christy"), urodzoną 24 czerwca, 1958 roku. Później związał się z Cher z którą miał druga córkę, Chastity Bono, urodzoną 4 marca 1969. Sześć lat później jego związek rozpadł się. W 2010 po operacji zmiany płci sąd uznał jego córkę Chastity za mężczyznę.

Według oficjalnego raportu, Bono zginął uderzając w drzewo na stoku narciarskim. Jednak zdaniem byłego agenta FBI Teda Gundersona, prowadzącego śledztwo w sprawie śmierci artysty, Bono został śmiertelnie pobity. Motywem zbrodni miał być strach przed zdemaskowaniem przez Bono prominentnych urzędników rządowych, którzy zamieszani byli w nielegalny handel bronią oraz narkotykami. (wiki)

Były agent FBI twierdzi, że słynny piosenkarz Sonny Bono nie zginął w wypadku narciarskim, ale został pobity na śmierć.

Oficer wywiadu, który od 10 lat prowadził śledztwo w sprawie zgonu amerykańskiego wokalisty i polityka, twierdzi, że powiązani z handlem bronią i narkotykami urzędnicy najwyższego szczebla zlecili zabójstwo gwiazdora w obawie, że mógłby doprowadzić do ich zdemaskowania.

Z oficjalnego raportu wynika, że były mąż Cher zginął wskutek uderzenia w drzewo na stoku narciarskim w Nevadzie w styczniu 1998 roku, jednak były agent Ted Gunderson twierdzi w wywiadzie dla magazynu "Globe", że okoliczności śmierci polityka były dużo bardziej drastyczne.

- W raporcie z autopsji nie ma najmniejszych dowodów, które potwierdzałyby tezę o zgonie w wyniku uderzenia w drzewo, natomiast można w nim znaleźć mocne dowody świadczące o tym, że Sonny Bono został zamordowany - mówi Gunderson sugerując, że gwiazdor był doświadczonym narciarzem i w tragicznym dniu został osaczony przez grupę płatnych zabójców, którzy pobili go na śmierć, a następnie upozorowali wypadek. Hipotezę byłego agenta potwierdzają biegli kryminolodzy, którzy obawiają się, że władze stanu Nevada zbyt pochopnie ustaliły przyczyny śmierci Bono. Z kolei śledczy Bob Fletcher wyjawił niedawno, że niespełna miesiąc przed wypadkiem wysłał politykowi materiały z 10-letniego dochodzenia, które wiązało prominentnych urzędników rządowych z nielegalnym handlem bronią.

- Sonny Bono zapowiedział, że ta sprawa będzie jego priorytetem. Jestem pewien, że został zamordowany przez kogoś, komu zależało na tym, aby go uciszyć - mówi Fletcher. (onet)

Na jedynym solowym albumie Sonny'ego Bono znajdziemy bardzo interesujące dwa długie psychedeliczne utwory, które nieco zaburzają obraz popowej połówki duetu Sonny & Cher. Godne polecenia.

Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American recording artist, record producer, actor, and politician whose career spanned over three decades.

Bono began his music career working at Specialty Records where his song "Things You Do to Me" was recorded by Sam Cooke, and went on to work for the legendary record producer Phil Spector in the early 1960s as a promotion man, percussionist and "gofer". One of his earliest songwriting efforts was "Needles and Pins" which he co-wrote with Jack Nitzsche, another member of Spector's production team. Later in the same decade, he achieved commercial success, along with his then-wife Cher, as part of the singing duo Sonny and Cher. Bono wrote, arranged, and produced a number of hit records with singles like "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On", although Cher received more attention as a performer. He also played a major part in Cher's early solo career with recordings such as "Bang Bang" and "You Better Sit Down Kids".

Bono also recorded as a solo artist under the name of Sonny. He had only one hit single as a solo artist, "Laugh At Me". "Laugh At Me" was released in 1965 and peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. In live concerts, Bono would sing the song with an introduction of, "I'd like to sing a medley of my hit." His only other single as a solo artist was a follow-up release, "The Revolution Kind", which reached number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 later that same year. Bono also recorded an unsuccessful Sonny album titled Inner Views in 1967.
Sonny Bono in 1966 during a performance

Sonny continued to work with Cher through the early and mid-'70s starring in a popular television variety show, The Sonny and Cher Show, which ran on CBS from 1971 to 1974. From 1976 to 1977, the couple returned to performing together on The Sonny and Cher Show despite being divorced. Their last appearance together was on Late Night with David Letterman on November 13, 1987, when they sang "I Got You Babe".

Bono continued his acting career, doing bit roles in such shows as Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. He played the part of mad bomber Joe Selucci in Airplane II: The Sequel and the part of Franklin Von Tussle in John Waters' Hairspray. In the film Men In Black, Bono is one of several oddball celebrities seen on a wall of video screens that monitor extraterrestrials living among us. In 1986 he also appeared in the horror movie Troll. He also appeared in several episodes of P.S. I Luv U starring Connie Sellecca and Greg Evigan during the 1991-92 TV season as the Mayor of Palm Springs. His last acting role was in the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (Season 1, Episode 9, originally aired on November 21, 1993), in which he played the Mayor Frank Berkowitz. He also made a minor appearance as himself in the 1996 film First Kid.

Sonny poked a little fun at himself when he guest-starred on The Golden Girls, in the episode "Mrs. George Devereaux", aired November 17, 1990, as himself vying with Lyle Waggoner for Dorothy's (Beatrice Arthur) affection in a dream, where Blanche (Rue McClanahan) dreams her husband is still alive. In the dream, Sonny uses his power as mayor of Palm Springs, California to have Waggoner falsely arrested just so he can have Dorothy to himself. Later on, after Blanche awakens from the dream, Dorothy is thrilled to learn she picked Sonny this time.

Bono entered politics after experiencing great frustration with local government bureaucracy in trying to open a restaurant in Palm Springs, California. With conservative talk radio host Marshall Gilbert as his campaign manager, Bono placed a successful bid to become the new mayor of Palm Springs. He served four years (1988 to 1992). He was instrumental in making the city more business-friendly and in spearheading the creation of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which is now held each year in Bono's memory.

Bono ran for the Republican nomination for United States Senate in 1992, but the nomination went to the more conservative Bruce Herschensohn, and the election to the Democrat Barbara Boxer. Bono and Herschensohn became close friends after the campaign. Bono was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1994 to represent California's 44th congressional district. He was one of twelve co-sponsors of a House bill extending copyright. Although that bill was never voted on in the Senate, a similar Senate bill was passed after his death and named the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act in his memory.

He championed the restoration of the Salton Sea, bringing the giant lake's plight to national attention. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich made a public appearance and speech at the shore of the lake on Bono's behalf.

In their book Tell Newt to Shut Up, David Maraniss and Michael Weisskopf credit Bono with being the first person to recognize Gingrich's public relations problems in 1995. Drawing on his long experience as a celebrity and entertainment producer, Bono (according to Maraniss and Weisskopf) recognized that Gingrich's status had changed from politician to celebrity, and that Gingrich was not making allowances for that change:

You're a celebrity now, ... The rules are different for celebrities. I know it. I've been there. I've been a celebrity. I used to be a bigger celebrity. But let me tell you, you're not being handled right. This is not political news coverage. This is celebrity status. You need handlers. You need to understand what you're doing. You need to understand the attitude of the media toward celebrities.

Bono remains the only member of Congress to have scored a #1 pop single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Bono married his first wife, Donna Rankin, on November 3, 1954 and they had a daughter, Christine ("Christy"), born on June 24, 1958, before divorcing in 1962. Following that, Bono married Cher, a singer and entertainer in 1964; Bono and Cher had a daughter, Chastity (now legally named Chaz after gender transition), on March 4, 1969. Six years later, in 1975, the couple divorced. Bono then married Susie Coelho, but divorced her in 1984. He married again in 1986 to the much younger Mary Whitaker. They had two children, Chesare Elan Bono (a son, born April 25, 1988) and Chianna Marie Bono (a daughter, born February 2, 1991). He became a Scientologist, partly because of the influence of Mimi Rogers, but stated that he was a Roman Catholic on all official documents, campaign materials, web sites, etc. Mary Bono also took Scientology courses.

Bono was a champion of the Salton Sea in southeastern California, where a park was named in his honor. The 2005 documentary film Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea (narrated by John Waters) features Bono and documented the lives of the inhabitants of Bombay Beach, Niland, and Salton City, as well as the ecological issues associated with the Sea.

Bono died on January 5, 1998, at the age of 62, of injuries sustained when he struck a tree while skiing on the Nevada side of Heavenly Ski Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California. His death came just a little less than a week after Michael Kennedy, a son of Robert F. Kennedy, died in a similar skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado. After Bono's death, Mary told an interviewer from TV Guide that Sonny had been addicted to and was seriously abusing prescription drugs, mainly Vicodin and Valium. Though Mary claimed that Sonny's drug use caused the accident, though the autopsy performed by the Douglas County Coroner showed no indication of any substances or alcohol.

Bono was survived by his widow Mary Bono, daughters Christy, Chastity and Chianna, son Chesare. His mother Jean Bono, who also survived him, died on January 15, 2005 at the age of 90. At Mary Bono's request, Cher gave a eulogy at Sonny's funeral. His final resting place is Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California. The epitaph on Bono's headstone reads: "And the Beat Goes On."

Bono's wife, Mary, was elected to fill the remainder of his Congressional term. Over 10 years after his death, she continues to champion many of Sonny's causes, including the ongoing fight to save the Salton Sea.

link in comments