“She Hated It”: The No. 1 Hit Cher Had To Be Begged To Sing (On Hands and Knees)

Musicians, and monstrous ones at that, typically get a bad reputation for being dramatic, stubborn, and diva-like. Sometimes that title is warranted, but often, it can be unfair because these attitudes are merely the musician in question trying to protect their art and image. And that is exactly why Cher almost never recorded her hit song, “If I Could Turn Back Time.”

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Released in 1989, Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” is one of her biggest singles of all time behind “Believe” and “After All”. Following its release, the song charted at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a no. 1 hit in Australia. However, if it wasn’t for the song’s writer, Diane Warren, this song would not have belonged to Cher at all.

The Problematic Origins of Cher’s No. 1 Hit

Diane Warren sits in the credits of some of the world’s greatest-known songs. She has written for Aerosmith, Taylor Swift, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston. Despite her decorated songwriting discography, working with Cher was not a walk in the park. She recalled the experience in an interview with Rolling Stone years ago.

After she’d finished the song, Warren believed Cher was the perfect fit for it. However, her opinion wasn’t enough to win Cher over.

“I thought was was a great song for her and she hated it,” Warren told the publication. “So I went to the studio when she was recording another song of mine. And literally, when [Cher] was in the lounge, I got on my hands and knees and held her leg down until she said she’d try it out.”

Even though Warren’s persistence might seem charismatic and complimentary to some, it was not to Cher. According to Warren, Cher said, “I hate that f*cking song. I hate it.”

Desperate and determined, Warren was willing to pay for the song’s recording herself. “I go, ‘Look, I’ll pay for the tracks,’” she told Rolling Stone. “‘If it doesn’t work, then it’s all my cost.’”

Warren said that Cher reluctantly did it. Frankly, if Cher hadn’t taken Warren’s offer, her career could have ended up entirely different. Upon the song’s release, Cher’s music had taken a backseat to her acting career. Consequently, she wasn’t viewed as the commercially powerful force she used to be years ago. Thanks to Warren’s dedication to her taste and vision, it all went up for Cher. And the numbers prove it all.

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