Recorded - June 7, 1965
Released - July 9, 1965
#1 for weeks of August 14, 21, and 28, 1965.
It's the summer of '65, the sounds of folk music now proudly ring out on pop music stations. Bob Dylan is a household name, and everybody wants to cover his songs now. And one innocent husband and wife duo make a declaration of their love for each other and the folk scene itself via song. And years later, a host of internet critics and cynics proceed to do whatever they can to make fun of this duo. Then, in a small town in New England, one critic, tries to set things right. He is... Dr. Rock.
"I Got You Babe", oh boy. When you hear just the name of that song, you either smile with glee, or reach for the nearest cotton balls to shove in your ears. Now, take the cotton out for a second as I'm sure you only know a little bit about this duo. Sonny Bono and Cherilyn Sarkisian started out as a humble folk loving duo who recorded several unsuccessful singles in 1964. Sonny, for a time, worked with Phil Spector, and Cher had tried, then unsuccessfully, to be a pop star under the name Bonnie Jo Mason.
In 1965, the duo caused some controversy when they recorded a version of Bob Dylan's "All I Really Wanna Do". The Byrds had already done a successful cover much in the style of "Mr. Tambourine Man". By comparison, Sonny & Cher's version was a bit more Brill Building Pop influenced. It's not a bad version in my opinion, but Bob Dylan certainly was a bit disappointed that a pop duo had a hit with the song before him.
Then, they recorded a song which mixed the folk sound and occasional lyrics of Dylan, with the Wall Of Sound production style that Sonny had been trained under. The result was "I Got You Babe". The song is certainly far removed from folk music, and comes across more as a pure pop song. On the surface, it's easy to see why some may dislike this song. Much of its lyrics are very sugary and lovey dovey. They'd probably also assume that the duo were nothing more than a pre-fabricated romance created by a big name record label.
However, it's easy to forget that Sonny & Cher were a genuine couple and were almost proto-hippies, mainly in the way they dressed. Nobody in 1965 was wearing the threads they were. Also, musically, this song is actually quite a bit more complex than you might think. Tune out the sugary lyrics for a bit and pay attention only to the music. There's quite a bit happening, be it the chiming guitars, the opening bassoons, or the oboe in the chorus. Also, the song gradually builds up as is goes on, so by the time the song is over, there's even more complexity going on.
So, if "I Got You Babe" isn't your cup of tea, maybe find an instrumental mix of the song and you can perhaps appreciate the complex arrangement. Me, I've found myself able to appreciate that, underneath all the sugar, you had a couple who genuinely cared about each other. Unfortunately, their sound and image would inspire a bunch of husband/wife singing duos in the 1970's which range from harmless to pretty awful. We'll surely come across some of those groups once we hit the next decade.
Final Verdict - "I Got You Babe" certainly isn't as bad as its current reputation leads it up to be. Sure, it's lyrically the equivalent of eating a whole cup of sugar for breakfast, but musically, it's rich and complex. It may not be one of the best songs of 1965, but you can't mention the year in pop music without the song or the duo coming up.
Coming Up Next - "Help!" by The Beatles.
Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock and I got you -
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