Laugh at Me

"Laugh At Me" was a one-hit wonder for Sonny Bono as a solo artist under the name Sonny. The song was released in 1965 and became a #1 hit for Bono in Canada on the RPM national singles chart^[1] (to be knocked off the top spot the following week his own Sonny & Cher single, "Baby Don't Go"), and a top-40 hit in the U.S., peaking at #10. The song is produced by Bono and is an attempt to capture the public's reaction to the counter-revolution of the late 1960s.

The song begins with a Sonny saying, “I never thought I'd cut a record by myself but I got somethin' I wanna say, I want to say it for Cher and I hope I say it for a lot of people”.

Although Bono would have a great deal of success with Sonny & Cher with his then-wife Cher, Bono had very little success as a solo artist with the exception of "Laugh At Me". Bono only released one other single as a solo artist, "The Revolution Kind"; however, his second single only scratched the top 100 before disappearing from the charts (reaching #70).

"Laugh At Me" has been released on the Sonny & Cher compact disc The Beat Goes On, as well as the Rhino handmade release of Sonny Bono's only solo album, Inner Views. A live version was also released on the Sonny & Cher collection, All I Ever Need: Kapp/MCA Anthology, with Sonny beginning the quip, "I'll do a medley of my hit."

"Laugh At Me" was covered by Mott the Hoople in 1969 for their first LP, Mott The Hoople, and later by Ian Hunter on Welcome to the Club.

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