I’m sure that it is pure coincidence, but you know I had to take advantage of the fact that Movie Music Monday falls on Groundhog Day. I bet you I don’t even have to tell you what song is featured today, because it has kind of become a Groundhog Day tradition.
I don’t know very many people who have not seen Groundhog Day. If you are not familiar with it, Bill Murray is in Pennsylvania for the annual Groundhog Day festivities. Murray’s character is awakened to “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher every morning at precisely 6:00 a.m. on the alarm clock in his hotel room. He relives the day over and over again. The movie grew a cult of fans that watched it every February 2, giving it a foothold in the popular culture
From Songfacts:
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.
Fun Fact: 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.
They last performed this together in 1987 on David Letterman’s show. They didn’t expect to sing, but Dave kept encouraging them until they did the song. Sonny and Cher put their differences aside and gave a touching performance. That was the last time they performed it together live, however, when Cher started her Las Vegas residency in 2017, she began performing this song as a virtual duet to a projection of Sonny.
1987 on Letterman
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 