In one of the most incongruous pairings ever between two musical talents, classic rock legend Gregg Allman and pop music/TV star and actress Cher climbed into a Learjet just days after her contentious divorce from husband and musical partner Sonny Bono was finalized and flew to Las Vegas to tie the knot.
Cher soon found herself unprepared to deal with Allman’s alcoholism and heroin habit. After he allegedly pulled a knife on her during their honeymoon in Jamaica so he could go score drugs, she filed for divorce from Allman just nine days after they got hitched.
That wasn’t the end of it (even if maybe it should have been). Allman vowed to get clean, and within a month Cher stopped the divorce suit. The following year, when Cher reunited with Sonny to reprise their successful TV variety show, it was Allman who filed for divorce but then later rescinded the action after he learned that she was pregnant. (Their son, Elijah Blue, would become a rock musician and also allegedly have problems with drug addiction.)
In 1977 Allman and Cher recorded an album together, the aptly titled Two the Hard Way under the rather neanderthal monicker Allman and Woman, that was largely ignored by fans of both artists, and later rated “Worthless” in the Rolling Stone Record Guide. (You can order it here.)
After Allman nodded out face-first into a plate of spaghetti at an awards banquet, Cher again filed for divorce, which became final in 1979.
Still, Cher seems to maintain a soft spot in her heart for her ex. When Allman died, she attended his June 3, 2017, funeral, tweeting, “”2day we were with our beloved Gregory. Tomorrow we say goodbye. He was shy. He was a KIND, LOVING man. The Sadness is immeasurable 4 all.”
Afterwards, she followed up with a second tweet: “Gregory’s children are AMAZING,” the 71-year-old wrote. “We Spent hard day, Then went 2 Gregory house. We reminisced & watched [Sun]set. I’m proud of em…THEY’RE ALLMANS.”
Related: Music world mourns Gregg Allman
Is Two the Hard Way a musical disaster or an overlooked classic? Listen and decide for yourself.
Related: Our feature on Sonny & Cher’s “The Beat Goes On”
