The First Time

by Cher, Jeff Coplon (Contributor)

Cher. There's really no one else quite like her.
She's been a pop star, a TV star, a movie star, and a wife and mother, yet as "The New York Times" has written, she's still "a funny, gutsy woman" who is also "genuine" and "down to earth."
And now, in "The First Time, " Cher tells about the important first-time events in her life.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Music, Autobiography, Celebrity

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian, later adopted by Gilbert LaPierre) is an American pop singer, actress, songwriter, film director, record producer and author. Among her many career accomplishments in music, television and film, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards among others.

Cher first rose to prominence in 1965 as one half of the pop/rock duo Sonny & Cher. She also established herself as a solo recording artist, releasing 25 albums, contributing to numerous compilations, and tallying 34 Billboard Top 40 entries in the U.S. over her career, both solo and with Sonny. These include eighteen Top 10 singles and five number one singles. Cher has had 16 Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart between 1965 and 2003, four of which reached number one.

She became a television star in the 1970s and a film actress in the 1980s. In 1987, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the romantic comedy Moonstruck.

With a career surpassing 40 years, Cher is an enduring pop icon and one of the most popular female artists in music history. Since her debut in 1964, Cher has sold over 200 million records worldwide as a solo artist[3] and 75 million more as half of the duo Sonny and Cher.

Reviews

[Hank Stuever]

This came out 20 years ago (and I was assigned to review it at the newspaper where I was working then), but I recently re-obtained it and re-read it as research on a story I'm writing about her. It's held up really well and the structure of it (Cher recalling "the first time" she did any number of things in her life) is not only clever but an efficient way to take a very big life and make it less complicated and more human.

[Lilly]

I actually wanted to give this 4 stars because, while the format takes some getting used to and the writing is pretty basic, I put it down absolutely adoring Cher herself. I knew nothing about her going in, but the book made me like her. Talk about someone who isn't into the rules. She has so much personality, and the slices of her life allow her to tell stories without becoming too nostalgic or droning on and on. By the way, she was rocking the May-December thing long before it became an Ashton/Demi thing. Who knew?

It's interesting that it was published right before BELIEVE shoved her in the public spotlight again; as she wrote it there's no way she could have anticipated the upswing in her career for the zillionth time.

She explains her artistic choices (and her outfit choices) and tells the history of her romance with Sonny Bono. It's interesting to read an autobio by someone who was so keenly aware of how she was (is) being perceived by the public at any given time.

Oh, and the woman knew *everyone*. Anyone who was friends with Lucille Ball is alright with me.

A great light read, another win for Celebrity Trash Bio Book Club!

[Kitt-e-kat]

The First time..each chapter is everything about her life: "First time" she did this, did that. About her meeting Bono and their life together, success and after they split up. It's not juicy enough for me but more informational about her life. I've always like Cher as an actress and a singer and I like she was always a tell it like it is woman. She is like this in her book. She uses the F Bomb a few times. She is a normal person, she did not need drugs or alcohol in her life. She also talks about the first time her daughter told her she was gay..she was not happy at first. It devastated her when Bono died. It wasn't boring to read at all and a very easy read. Recommend if you are a Cher fan.

[Eden Silverfox]

The format is different than other biographies I've read, but I got used to it pretty quick. Every chapter, which is usually only a page or two long, is about the first of something that happened in Cher's life.

I would say Cher's life is pretty amazing. She has done so much in her life and it was really interesting to read about. But I feel because of the format a lot was left out, or sometimes held back.

I still think it is a good biography, there is a lot in it to learn about Cher's life and it really helped me to get to know and understand her better. I enjoyed reading the parts about Sonny. The things she said and how much his death affected her, you can tell she truly loved him.

The book really shows that although she is very honest, she is also a very sensitive person who just wants to love and be loved.

I enjoyed this. I think it'd be interesting if she'd make another biography.

[Greg]

Fourth read:
Good times! I keep this one handy and revisit often. Many laughs as the jokes continue to be relevant and there isn't a dry word to be found. This is one of my favorite biographies. I guess I am getting old cause I find some current autobiographies/memoirs trashy when they don't need to be.

First read:
"My First Allergic Reaction to Republicans" is one of many first things Cher documents about her life. So Happy Valentines to Cher, a darn good bio-writer and song-writer, a person who has been in my life for over 50 years, and a person I've loved (from afar, but I did have front row seats to a Seattle show) for half-a-century! Within this chapter, Cher writes: "Old, stupid, nerdy, bullshit-dressing, pinchy-faced, golfing, bad hair-day people." Why, Cher can even see into the future!!!

[Susie]

This is my Celebrity Trashy Autobio Bookclub's next pick. My copy just came in the mail, and it is the size/dimensions of a text book. I am about to read a text book on the subject of Cher. Be afraid.

- - -

Ok, read. It's not a good book, It's a bad book. (weird format, lots held back) But it did make me love Cher & understand her role in popular culture better (the original hippie).
For the true Cher tell-all experience, follow her Twitter account.

[Alicia]

I was looking for more of a biography when I picked up this book, not a collection of short narratives like it is. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it and felt a lot closer to Cher afterwards. I'm pretty sure we'd be friends.

[Terri]

Light, quick read. Have always liked Cher & find her interesting. Loved watching the Sonny & Cher show as a kid, especially when Chastity was on.

[Alexandra]

No great work of literature, but a must read for Cher fans. It's written in 1-2 page anecdotes from Cher's life, in chronological order, starting with her first memory and ending with giving Sonny's eulogy. It's an entertaining, enjoyable, quick read (and it's great for dr,'s office waiting room reading or other short spaces of time, due to it's short "chapters").

[Chris]

An interesting easy read, by Cher. I didn't realize that they bombed in the U.S., and had to go to England to become famous. As a child she never fit in, because she looked different than her mother and sister. Each chapter was 1 or 2 pages about her "first", as in her first kiss, her first memories, etc. There was quite a bit with Sonny and how he really shaped her life.

[Tamara]

I got this years after she wrote it, and I really enjoyed reading it. She has had such an incredible life and I love the format of the book. I didn't know the nitty gritty details of her life, and the flow was slightly hard to follow in the first time format. Overall, very enjoyable and fun to read. Love love love Cher!

[cj]

I loved this book, and I am not ashamed. Set up in small chapters like "the first time I had sex" and "the first time my mom kicked someone's ass for me" (or something like that), the book is hysterical. sad, but hysterical.

[Shelley]

if you like cher you'll love it.

[Kevin]

During more than three decades in the spotlight, Cher has continuously re-created herself in an industry that likes labels and doesn't think singers should act. As she evolved from hippie chanteuse to TV star, Las Vegas headliner, Academy Award-winning actress, pop star and film director, Cher's talent, determination and perfectionism have always been evident, which is why this slapdash autobiography comes as such a shock. In page-long, one-topic chapters describing a series of firsts in her life (My First Role Model, My First Affair with a Married Man, My First Plastic Surgery, etc.), Cher, working with Coplon (who coauthored My Story, by Sarah, Duchess of York), recounts certain milestones: moving in with music PR man Sonny Bono at age 16, recording ""I Got You Babe"" in 1965 (the disk sold three million copies) and marrying Southern rock god Gregg Alman in the mid-'70s. But the narrative is so breezy that it resembles an outline rather than a complete book. (""In '88 I had a medical procedure that laid me out for months. It was really intricate, and then dealing with my doctor got traumatic. By the end of the year, I had a complete nervous breakdown."") It's not that Cher pretends there has been no drama in her life: she simply fails to delve into it. There's little introspection here, and no details about major stretches of her life, from her mysterious illness to her musical comeback or her relationship with Gene Simmons of Kiss.

[Angie]

Yes, big Cher fan right here!

[Cynthia Cardarelli]

I got you babe.

[LaVenna]

Cher is great, and I loved reading her book of firsts:) She had some really really funny stories about her life with Sonny.

[Angela]

Great for anyone who's a fan.

[Jenne]

Cher, I like you so much, but I wanted more details! Why did you break up with Sonny? Why did you ever, ever find him attractive?

[Chelsey]

This book was everything I wanted it to be.

[Amy]

I liked the format of the book, even if it was devised that way based on how she told it to the author. I wish Cher would have divulged more about her show or the movies she was in. It felt like she was leaving things out or skimming over key or juicy details. She definitely talked a lot about Sonny (Son as she called it). She talked about directors, her upbringing, and some famous people. I definitely enjoyed looking at all the photos throughout the book, both color and black and white. Since this was published in 1998, this is calling for a follow up (maybe an insert that covers the present). It's an easy read which makes it a fast one as well. C'mon, Cher - give up the juice!

[Anna]

I love biographies, especially of celebrities. I didn't really know much about Cher before and it was a cool format--the "firsts" of her life in little snippets with pictures scattered throughout. I felt like she cussed a little too liberally without much purpose except to come off sounding angrier than she probably meant. Still, a fairly good read.

[JB]

Truly the best Cher book out there. Cher shares stories from her life that span from embarrassing down to sorrow. Although these are Cher's words at the time (published in 1998), dedicated fans will notice that some of the stories printed in this book are slightly different than accounts she's shared over the years in other interviews

[Jeanne (love2cook)]

I was always curious about Cher. This was a account of her life before Sonny, with Sonny and after Sonny. Her life is interesting. She came from nothing and yet with Sonny learned a lot and was able to make a life for herself without him. I don't know what her life would have been without Sonny but they sure were good together.

[Lisa Proulx]

I have always loved Cher and I enjoyed reading this book! I was a little disappointed in some of the things she revealed, but I guess we put celebrities on a pedastal and forget that they are human. Still, it bothered me.

But I love celebrity books, esp when they write them themselves! :)

[Sasha Saunders]

I really enjoyed this book! I was up until the wee hours finishing it! Cher is such an amazing & unique person. She has been a role model to me since I was about 5, my first tape was Cher "Heart of stone" I spent HOURS pretending to be Cher when I was a kid!

[Beverly 'seale' staton]

It was ok, should of realized by the name it wasn't a complete Bio to me just about the firsts of different stuff. I almost didn't want to finish it but I did and I am glad I did but just was expecting more of a complete Bio.

[Rachel]

Love this book!!! I've been wanting to read it again. I bought it when I was 13 I think. Cher rocks!

[Gail]

I would have really enjoyed this book and my rating would have been at least a 4 except for the really bad language in some parts of it.

[Krooker]

i really love cher! she is an amazing performer, i saw her in 2008. i haven't read the entire book though