I Got You Babe

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"I Got You Babe"

Single by Sonny and Cher
from the album Look At Us
Released	1965
Format	7" single
Recorded	1965
Genre	Rock
Length	3:11
Label	Atlantic
Writer(s)	Sonny Bono
Producer(s)	Sonny Bono
Certification	Gold
Chart positions
#1 #1 #3 #4
Sonny and Cher singles chronology
"Love Is Strange" 1964	"I Got You Babe" 1965	"The Letter" 1965

"I Got You Babe" is a 1965 number-one hit single by American rock music duo Sonny and Cher.

[edit] Song

Sonny Bono, a songwriter and record producer for Phil Spector, wrote the song for himself and his wife, Cher, late at night in their basement. Noted session drummer Hal Blaine performed the drums for the song. Bono was inspired to write the song to capitalize on the popularity of the term "babe," as heard in Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" which was a hit for The Turtles.

Upon recording and releasing the song, "I Got You Babe" became the duo's biggest single, their signature song, and a defining recording of the early hippie countercultural movement. In August of 1965, the single reached the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States for three weeks, and reached number-one in the United Kingdom for one week.

The song has been frequently covered and featured in film and television, including Sonny and Cher's own The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. "I Got You Babe" made a bit of a comeback when it was heavily featured as Bill Murray's wake-up call in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day. Upon this re-release, the single re-charted in the UK, reaching number sixty-six.

The song was later covered by Cher in a music video that featured Beavis and Butthead as a rapt audience to Cher's performance. In the video, Cher refers to her former husband Bono as a dork and a wuss.

Sonny and Cher last performed the song together during an impromptu reunion on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman in 1987.

[edit] Selected list of recorded versions

1965 Sonny and Cher on the album Look At Us
1980 David Bowie on the album Dollars In Drag or The 1980 Floorshow
1985 UB40 (with Chrissie Hynde) on the album Baggariddim ; also appears on The Pretenders 1987 album The Singles
1993 Cher (with Beavis & Butt-Head) on the album The Beavis & Butt-Head Experience
1998 Merrill Bainbridge feat. Shaggy on the album Woop Woop Soundtrack
2005 Capitol Steps on the album "Four More Years in the Bush Leagues," the parody "Sunni and Cher" is based on the song.
2006 Bradley Joseph, an instrumental arrangement on the album Piano Love Songs.

[edit] Charts

Chart (1965)	Peak position
USA single chart	1
UK single chart	1
Irish single chart	2
German single chart	3
Canada single chart	4
Netherlands single chart	4
Sweden single chart	4
Europe single chart	4
France single chart	5
Japan singles chart	6
Norway single chart	6
Belgian single chart	12
world wide sales	5,000,000

Preceded by: "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" by Herman's Hermits	Billboard Hot 100 number one single August 14, 1965	Succeeded by: "Help!" by The Beatles
Preceded by: "Help!" by The Beatles	UK number one single (Sonny & Cher version) August 26, 1965	Succeeded by: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones
Preceded by: "Into The Groove" by Madonna	UK number one single (UB40 & Chrissie Hynde version) August 25, 1985	Succeeded by: "Dancing In The Street" by David Bowie & Mick Jagger