Cher... Special

Cher... Special
Format	Music Variety Show
Starring	Cher Dolly Parton Rod Stewart The Tubes
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	1
Production
Running time	60 mins (approx.)
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original airing	April 3, 1978

Cher... Special was a one-off television special from American singer/actress Cher that aired on ABC on April 3, 1978 at 9:00 pm ET/PT and was recorded at ABC Studios.^[where?] Cher ... Special was a huge ratings success for ABC and it was ranked among the Top 10 most watched programs of the week. In the Fall of 1978, it was honored with a technical Emmy Award for "Best Achievement in Lighting Direction". It also received an Emmy nomination for "Best Art Direction for a Comedy-Variety or Musical Special" and Dolly Parton was also nominated for an Emmy in the category of "Best Supporting Actress in a Variety or Musical Special".

The show

The show featured Dolly Parton, Rod Stewart & The Tubes. As the show begins, there is a spotlight on the floor and "Georgia Holt" voice is heard calling her young daughter: "Cher? Cher? Cher, is that you? I thought I asked you not to mess up my record albums." As Cher steps into the spotlight, she is made up to look like a younger version of herself with her hair in pigtails. Taking a page from real life, the young Cher sits on the floor and tells her mother that she is upset because she is not blonde and she says that all the pretty girls have blonde hair and blue eyes. Georgia tells her daughter that she is beautiful and someday she will realize just how special she really is. Cher tells her mom that she will try to understand and explains that she got into the record albums so that she could learn the songs from "West Side Story" for school. When Georgia asks Cher what part she is going to play, Cher replies, "all of them".

Cher stands up, looks directly at the camera, and says, "Ladies & Gentlemen, for tonight’s entertainment, I am proud to present West Side Story. I will be playing all the parts. Thank you." And for the next fifteen minutes, Cher singing and dancing to a medley of well-known songs from the musical. Cher amazed the television audience by playing both the male and female characters.

Other segments of Cher...Special included guests Dolly Parton and Rod Stewart cast as neighbors in an apartment building, performing their hit songs "Two Doors Down" (Parton) and "Hot Legs" (Stewart). Cher and Dolly having a conversation by reciting lyrics from pop songs, and Cher working by day in a boring secretarial job but getting funky on the dance floor at night in the discos. Even Laverne, Cher's most famous character from the early days of "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour", stops by for a quick chat to give Cher some words of wisdom that only Laverne could deliver. The final segment was a big production number with a medley of songs performed by Cher, Dolly Parton, and The Tubes that has to be seen to be believed. Described as a "Musical Battle to Save Cher's Soul Medley". The Tubes try to lead her astray to the dark world of evil and sin while Dolly Parton and several gospel singers try to save her and show her the light.

Cher...Special concludes with Cher saying, "Momma, I'm still here. I've got the same hair, the same bumpy nose and vampire teeth. But you were right, I feel better about myself now". But some things never change...this time it's Cher's nine-year-old daughter Chastity who asks, "Mom, have you been into my records again?" Cher proves that she truly has come full circle when she says, "my children Chastity and Elijah both have blonde hair. I guess they don't have the advantages of having black hair, but nobody told them it was going to be easy." Then, she performs the song that started it all: When You Wish Upon A Star. As the final credits roll by, Cher's young son Elijah Blue Allman comes out and sits on her lap.

Show running order

• "West Side Story Medley" performed by Cher.
• "Hot Legs" performed by Rod Stewart.
• "Two Doors Down" performed by Dolly Parton.
• "Conversation in Song Lyrics", Cher, Parton.
• "Musical Battle to Save Cher's Soul Medley" performed by Cher, Parton & The Tubes. As the title would imply, the performance was a duel between the forces of good and evil to determine where Cher would spend her eternal destiny. Dolly Parton was dressed in white and, with a team of brightly clad singers, portrayed an angelic host while The Tubes, dressed in black leather battled to send Cher's soul into eternal damnation. Songs performed included "Mondo Bondage" (the Tubes), "People Get Ready" (Parton), and "My Sweet Lord" (Cher).
• "When You Wish Upon A Star" performed by Cher.

Video released

Currently it is very difficult to find the show, but in on-line stores it's easy to find the complete show with related advertising. The complete "West Side Story Medley" is now available in the DVD edition of The Farewell Tour as a special contents. A number of the special's individual segments (particularly Cher and Parton's "song lyric conversation") have appeared numerous times on YouTube.

External links

• Cher... Special at Just Plain Cher.com
• Cher... Special at the Internet Movie Database
• Cher sing the complete West Side Story Medley