February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998
Salvatore “Sonny” Bono was good at a lot of things. He was a pretty good singer. He was a much better songwriter, entertainer and producer, though. This was evidenced by the massive popularity of his 1960’s and ’70’s pop duo, Sonny and Cher. While Cher may have gotten most of the attention and had an arguably better career, it was Sonny who goofily smiled and quietly wrote all of their huge hits. He was a good actor and funnyman. Sonny and Cher had their own TV shows – mostly of the variety genre – and he enjoyed post-S&C success on television and in films like Airplane II and Hairspray. He was even a decent politician. In 1988, he was elected as mayor of Palm Springs, California. Continue reading