Sonny Salvatore Bono was born in Detroit, Michigan to a butcher and his homemaker wife. At the age of 7, his family relocated to Southern California. The young Bono was a talented writer, and penned songs and poems in his spare time. The third child of Sicilian immigrants, Bono was a poor student and dropped out of high school to write music, supporting himself as a waiter, construction worker, truck driver and butcher's helper. Sonny spent years writing and trying to sell his music. He took a job with Specialty Records, writing music and directing. He pursued a solo career, using such aliases as Don Christy, Sonny Christy and Ronny Sommers, but couldn't make a go of it.
Hawking his songs to Sunset Boulevard record labels in the late 50's, Bono landed a job as an assistant to superstar record producer Phil Spector. During his tenure with Spector, Bono honed his craft as both writer and arranger. In 1964, The Searchers recorded one of his best loved songs, Needles and Pins, on Spector's label, and the name Sonny Bono was first thrust into the media spotlight. During this same time, Sonny met Cherilyn Sarkisian, then a 16 year old nightclub singer who longed to be an actress. Married already, Sonny left his wife and took up with Cher. Cher gave birth to daughter, Chelsea in 1964, and the two married shortly thereafter.
A few months after exchanging vows, the duo recorded the love song, "I Got You Babe." Cher abandoned her dreams of becoming an actress and dedicated herself to singing with her new husband. First known to the world as "Caesar and Cleo," the pair and changed their name to "Sonny and Cher." Bono wrote and recorded songs for the duo, driving them to almost instant stardom. In 1965, they had five songs ranked in the Billboard Top 100, an achievement matched at that time only by the Beatles. By the end of 1967, Sonny and Cher had sold 40 million records worldwide and had become the newest, freshest faces of rock music.
Life was looking good for Congressman Bono, now age 62. He had a happy marriage, a job he liked, and the respect of his colleagues. His relationship with ex-wife, Cher had become friendlier, and he was closer to their daughter, Chastity, a gay rights activist, than he had ever been. He was happy with what he had. Bono, his wife, and their two children, ages nine and seven, went to South Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada line. In the early afternoon of January 5, 1998, Bono left them to ski alone.
When he failed to appear after several hours, his wife called the ski patrol. He was found later that evening, having been killed in a skiing accident. He was mourned by political colleagues, family and fans. A few months after his death, Mary Bono won his congressional seat in a special election. In May of 1998, "Sonny & Cher" received a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. CBS also aired a special presentation hosted by Cher entitled "Sonny & Me--Cher Remembers," which provided a nostalgic look at Bono's career.