Sonny & Cher's Almost Forgotten 'Delta Dawn' Performance

May 28, 2020 by apost team

Cher turned 74 last week on May 20. To celebrate her birthday, we are looking back at the old duo Sonny & Cher's performance of Delta Dawn on their CBS show Comedy Hour which aired on October 24, 1973.

Mention the song title Delta Dawn and most people who grew up in the 1970s will start humming its familiar tune. Most notably a smash hit for both Helen Reddy and Tanya Tucker, few people realize that Sonny & Cher also covered the song.

For a few years, Sonny & Cher hosted their own extremely popular variety show. Each episode would include the duo singing a popular song. Often they were tunes not released as albums for general audiences.

Delta Dawn was one of the songs performed for the show, but not really anywhere else. So this gem was lost until TV Land started re-running the series.

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This video shows Sonny & Cher standing on stage in what are obviously 1970s costumes. Sonny sports a yellow satin tuxedo with darker gold trim and Cher wows everyone in a gown also in yellow stain with crisscross bodice and form-hugging skirt.

Like consummate performers that they are, the duo rock the song. Their perfect harmony starts the initial refrain, and then Sonny takes the first stanza with his rich baritone.

The camera pans in on him, complete with his 1970s long hair and gold chains. But this blast from the past doesn't detract from the quality of the singing.

Cher looks almost the same as she does today: tall, slim, elegant, and gorgeous. Her formidable voice belts out the lyrics. Sonny joins her at the pitch-perfect moment and they continue as a duet before again splitting into solos.

They cover the song with their own special treatment of the song. Lesser singers might have been tempted to replicate the way Helen Reddy or Tanya Tucker sang the song; Sonny & Cher were confident enough in their own talents to decide how they wanted to sing it.

In some areas they emphasize different phrases; other areas feature notes held a little longer than a different version. Although they make it look absolutely effortless, no doubt there were some important decisions and rehearsal before they were ready with this flawless performance.

Warning: The song may get stuck in your head. Pass this along to your loved ones so they, too, can take a little walk down memory lane to listen to an iconic song memorialized by an iconic couple.