A Brief History
On January 5, 1998, former rock and roll star and current Congressman from California, Salvatore “Sonny” Bono, died when he skied into a tree at a Nevada ski resort. Sonny, former member of rock duo Sonny and Cher, was 62 years old when he died.
Digging Deeper
Born in Detroit to a Sicilian family, Sonny moved to California at the age of 7. Bono’s first foray into the music business was as a songwriter, with the hit song “Needles and Pins” to his credit (#13 in US and #1 in the UK in 1964 by The Searchers). Bono married his second wife, Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian) in 1964 and the pair became a rock and roll mainstay as the duo, Sonny and Cher until their divorce in 1975, although they did sometimes perform together after the divorce. Sonny also was a television host and film actor.
