Peak
1
Weeks
14
Score
3,037
Chart Year
1965
Sonny Bono was an up-and-coming record producer when he got Cher a job with Phil Spector as a session singer. They started dating and moved in to their manager's house, where Bono would write songs on a piano in the garage. He came up with "I Got You Babe" and wrote the lyrics on a piece of cardboard. Cher didn't like it at first. She recalled to Billboard magazine: "Sonny woke me up in the middle of the night to come in where the piano was, in the living room, and sing it. And I didn't like it and just said, 'OK, I'll sing it and then I'm going back to bed.'" Sonny changed the key in the bridge to fit her voice and she loved it. Depending on what side of the fence you stand, this is either a beautiful love song or pure schmaltz. To Sonny Bono, it was sincere - an earnest declaration of commitment and support. "The lyrics of my songs are very important to me," he told the New Musical Express in 1966. "I never write anything until that very moment when I feel the emotion conveyed in the words I write. I know what it is like to be kicked around because you dress differently. I know what it is like to see the girl you love hurt because a hotel refuses you admission because of your dress. I know what it is like to have that one person stand by you. There are a lot of other people who have experienced these things and I'm trying to put our feelings into words for everyone." Ahmet Ertegun, who was the boss at the duo's label Atco Records, didn't think much of this song, so he planned to issue it on the B-side of "It's Gonna Rain." Bono was sure "I Got You Babe" was the hit, but he couldn't convince Ertegun. This was an era when disc jockeys could overrule record executives when it came to airplay, so Bono brought a copy of "I Got You Babe" to the Los Angeles radio station KHJ, and made a deal with their program director, Ron Jacobs. If Jacobs played the song once an hour, he could have it exclusively. When KHJ started playing it, the song got a great reaction, leading Ertegun to issue it as the A-side. This isn't an anti-war song, but it went over well with the hippie crowd because it stuck up for guys with long hair when Cher sang, "Let them say your hair's too long, I don't care, with you I can't go wrong." In 1985, UB40 covered this with Chrissie Hynde doing the female vocals. Their version hit #1 in the UK and #28 in the US. Sonny & Cher's original version was the first record UB40's Ali Campbell ever owned. Report this ad In 1993, Cher released a new version with the cartoon characters Beavis and Butt-Head, which is as odd as it sounds. In the music video, the animated burnouts put on virtual reality headsets and offer commentary as the song plays: "It needs to be louder." "Is this like, wuss music? This sounds like Warrant." But then some guitar kicks in and Cher appears in leather, singing a (relatively) heavy rendition tailored to the twosome: "You got me and Butt-Head, I got you." At the end they all take some shots at Sonny: Butt-Head: "He's a wuss." Beavis: "He sucks." Cher: "Kinda, yeah." This version hit #35 in the UK and #109 in America. Bob Dylan's use of the word "Babe" in his 1964 song "It Ain't Me Babe" gave Sonny Bono the idea to use it in this song. In the 1993 film Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray, Murray's character is awakened to this song every morning at precisely 6:00 a.m. on the alarm clock in his hotel room. The movie grew a cult of fans that watched it every February 2, giving it a foothold in the popular culture. By association, "I Got You Babe" became part of the groundhog day tradition. In 2020, Bill Murray appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for the Jeep Gladiator where the song plays throughout. In the spot, he re-creates the film, but this time he discovers the vehicle, so every day feels different and exciting. Sonny and Cher performed this one last time when they appeared on the The David Letterman show in 1987. They didn't expect to sing, but the host cajoled them until they did the song. Sonny and Cher put their differences aside and gave a touching performance. >> Sonny Bono is the only person to perform on a #1 hit and also serve in congress. He was elected to California's 44th district in 1994, and served there until his death in 1998. David Bowie and Marianne Faithfull sang this as part of Bowie's 1973 special The 1980 Floor Show for the musical variety series The Midnight Special, with Bowie wearing an "Angel of Death" costume and Faithfull donning a nun's habit. The performance was filmed at the Marquee Club in Soho, London, and aired on the TV show a few weeks later. When Cher started her Las Vegas residency in 2017, she began performing this song as a virtual duet to a projection of Sonny Bono. Etta James recorded a funky version of "I Got You Babe" at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, alabama, where the "swampers" (keyboard player Barry Beckett, bass player David Hood, drummer Roger Hawkins) played on the track. Her version was released as a single in 1968 and made #69 in the US. In 2021, it was used in a Walmart commercial.
They say we're young and we don't know We won't find out until we grow Well, I don't know if all that's true 'Cause you got me, and baby, I got you Babe I got you, babe I got you, babe They say our love won't pay the rent Before it's earned, our money's all been spent I guess that's so, we don't have a plot But at least I'm sure of all the things we got Babe I got you, babe I got you, babe I got flowers in the spring I got you to wear my ring And when I'm sad, you're a clown And if I get scared, you're always around Don't let them say your hair's too long 'Cause I don't care, with you I can't go wrong Then put your little hand in mine There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb Babe I got you, babe I got you, babe I got you to hold my hand I got you to understand I got you to walk with me I got you to talk with me I got you to kiss goodnight I got you to hold me tight I got you, I won't let go I got you to love me so I got you, babe I got you, babe I got you, babe I got you, babe I got you, babe I got you, babe I got you, babe I got you, babe
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 10, 1965 | 88 | 38 |
| 2 | Jul 17, 1965 | 73 | 53 |
| 3 | Jul 24, 1965 | 57 | 69 |
| 4 | Jul 31, 1965 | 22 | 104 |
| 5 | Aug 7, 1965 | 5 | 121 |
| 6 | Aug 14, 1965 | 1 | 125 |
| 7 | Aug 21, 1965 | 1 | 125 |
| 8 | Aug 28, 1965 | 1 | 125 |
| 9 | Sep 4, 1965 | 6 | 120 |
| 10 | Sep 11, 1965 | 7 | 119 |
| 11 | Sep 18, 1965 | 9 | 117 |
| 12 | Sep 25, 1965 | 16 | 110 |
| 13 | Oct 2, 1965 | 30 | 96 |
| 14 | Oct 9, 1965 | 41 | 85 |