Half-Breed (album)
Encyclopedia
Half-Breed is the tenth studio album by American
singer-actress Cher
, released on October 27, 1973 by MCA
. For the production of the album Cher returned with Snuff Garrett
and Al Capps. Half-Breed was the second record for MCA and also promoted on her successful "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
" show. After its release, the album faced mixed reviews from critics, and the RIAA certified it Gold on March 4, 1974. The album was her second successful album of the 1970s.
-standard style album, Bittersweet White Light
, Cher abandoned forever her husband Sonny Bono
as a producer for her albums. Snuff Garrett returned to work with Cher after the success of Cher and the minor hit Foxy Lady, recording another narrative ballad album.
The opening track of the album is the cover of the penned hit song by Paul
and Linda McCartney
"My Love", that was released in March 1973. The album contains others two covers, the Bee-Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", and The Beatles
' "The Long and Winding Road
". All the songs that Cher covered in the album were originally number one hits by the original artists on the US "Billboard 200
" in the early 70's.
David Paich contributed for the "David's Song" and for the arrangements in the album. The last song of the album, "Chastity Sun", was re-written by Cher. Originally entitled "Ruby Jean & Billy Lee" was a song by Soft rock
band Seals and Crofts
released in their 1973 album Diamond Girl
. The re-written version of Cher was a dedication to her first child Chastity Bono
.
Half-Breed received mixed reviews from music critics. Peter Fawthrop of Allmusic gave the album three and a half stars and pointed out that the title track is "the only song here which would turn up on a greatest-hits collection", and that "there are plenty of other melodic, hippie-era tunes which are tailor-made for nights around the campfire." About the album style, it read "Melancholy and bittersweet from start to finish, there are enough charms to keep it lighthearted". Rolling Stone
reviewer Paul Gambaccini
gave a negative review for the album and to the production work of Snuff Garret, but about Cher said that "Cher's amazingly powerful voice is not being used effectively, and it is frustrating to hear it squandered on rubbish."
In August 1999, the original album was combined with Dark Lady
and issued on one CD. Called Half Breed/Dark Lady, this release included all the tracks from both original albums. In contrast, several budget CDs have also been released titled Half Breed (note the lack of hyphen) by various labels. These albums use different covers, and contain only two tracks from the original album alongside selected tracks from other Cher albums, including Cher, Foxy Lady, and Dark Lady. The original Half-Breed album in its entirety remains unreleased on compact disc.
at #171 in late September. The highest position that reached was at number #28. During 1974 sales reached 500,000 copies in North America, and it was certified gold
.
The album also charted in the Canadian album chart and reached #21. In Europe it charted only in the Norway album chart, but like a number of her previous albums did not enter in the UK Albums Chart
.
"Half-Breed
" was the first single released. It was her second song that reached number one in the Billboard Hot 100
and it peaked in the Adult Contemporary chart
at #3. It reached number one in Canada
and in New Zealand
. The song was performed live in The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
, featuring Cher dressed as an Indian.
A second and final single, "Carousel Man
", was released as a promo in 1974. It was issued only to radio DJs in 1973 and managed to peak at #11 in the Billboard Airplay chart.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-actress Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, released on October 27, 1973 by MCA
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
. For the production of the album Cher returned with Snuff Garrett
Snuff Garrett
Snuff Garrett is a retired American record producer whose most famous work was during the 1960s and 1970s. His nickname is a play on Garrett's Snuff, a brand of snuff....
and Al Capps. Half-Breed was the second record for MCA and also promoted on her successful "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show based on the married couple of American pop-singer Cher and her husband, Sonny Bono. The show ran on CBS in the United States, when it premiered in August 1971...
" show. After its release, the album faced mixed reviews from critics, and the RIAA certified it Gold on March 4, 1974. The album was her second successful album of the 1970s.
Album information
The second album released by Cher in 1973 was Half-Breed. After the failure of the previous popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-standard style album, Bittersweet White Light
Bittersweet White Light
Bittersweet White Light was the ninth studio album by American singer-actress Cher. The album was released on April 1973 by MCA. It was the last solo Cher album produced by then-performing partner and husband Sonny Bono...
, Cher abandoned forever her husband Sonny Bono
Sonny Bono
Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono was an American recording artist, record producer, actor, and politician whose career spanned over three decades.-Early life:...
as a producer for her albums. Snuff Garrett returned to work with Cher after the success of Cher and the minor hit Foxy Lady, recording another narrative ballad album.
The opening track of the album is the cover of the penned hit song by Paul
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
"My Love", that was released in March 1973. The album contains others two covers, the Bee-Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "The Long and Winding Road
The Long and Winding Road
"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' 20th and last number-one song in the United States on 23 May 1970, and was the last single released by the quartet...
". All the songs that Cher covered in the album were originally number one hits by the original artists on the US "Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
" in the early 70's.
David Paich contributed for the "David's Song" and for the arrangements in the album. The last song of the album, "Chastity Sun", was re-written by Cher. Originally entitled "Ruby Jean & Billy Lee" was a song by Soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
band Seals and Crofts
Seals and Crofts
Seals and Crofts is a band made up of Jim Seals and Dash Crofts . The soft rock duo was one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s. They are best known for their hits "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl"...
released in their 1973 album Diamond Girl
Diamond Girl (album)
Diamond Girl is the pop/folk duo Seals and Crofts' fifth studio album, and was one of the best sellers of 1973. The title track reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the summer...
. The re-written version of Cher was a dedication to her first child Chastity Bono
Chastity Bono
Chaz Salvatore Bono is an American transgender advocate, writer, actor, and musician. Bono is the only child of American entertainers Sonny and Cher, though each had children from other relationships...
.
Half-Breed received mixed reviews from music critics. Peter Fawthrop of Allmusic gave the album three and a half stars and pointed out that the title track is "the only song here which would turn up on a greatest-hits collection", and that "there are plenty of other melodic, hippie-era tunes which are tailor-made for nights around the campfire." About the album style, it read "Melancholy and bittersweet from start to finish, there are enough charms to keep it lighthearted". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
reviewer Paul Gambaccini
Paul Gambaccini
Paul Matthew Gambaccini is a radio and television presenter in the United Kingdom...
gave a negative review for the album and to the production work of Snuff Garret, but about Cher said that "Cher's amazingly powerful voice is not being used effectively, and it is frustrating to hear it squandered on rubbish."
In August 1999, the original album was combined with Dark Lady
Dark Lady (album)
- Personnel :* Cher - lead vocals* Snuff Garrett - record producer* Lennie Roberts - sound engineer* Al Capps - arrangement assistance* Richard Avedon - photography* Calvin Klein - dress- Chart positions :...
and issued on one CD. Called Half Breed/Dark Lady, this release included all the tracks from both original albums. In contrast, several budget CDs have also been released titled Half Breed (note the lack of hyphen) by various labels. These albums use different covers, and contain only two tracks from the original album alongside selected tracks from other Cher albums, including Cher, Foxy Lady, and Dark Lady. The original Half-Breed album in its entirety remains unreleased on compact disc.
Chart performance
Half-Breed debuted on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #171 in late September. The highest position that reached was at number #28. During 1974 sales reached 500,000 copies in North America, and it was certified gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
The album also charted in the Canadian album chart and reached #21. In Europe it charted only in the Norway album chart, but like a number of her previous albums did not enter in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
.
Singles
Like her previous successful albums Cher and Foxy Lady, only two singles were released."Half-Breed
Half-Breed (song)
"Half-Breed" is a song recorded by Cher and released as a single in 1973. On October 6, 1973, it became Cher's second U.S. number one hit as a solo artist, similarly becoming her second solo single to hit the top spot in Canada on the same date....
" was the first single released. It was her second song that reached number one in the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and it peaked in the Adult Contemporary chart
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
at #3. It reached number one in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The song was performed live in The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show based on the married couple of American pop-singer Cher and her husband, Sonny Bono. The show ran on CBS in the United States, when it premiered in August 1971...
, featuring Cher dressed as an Indian.
A second and final single, "Carousel Man
Carousel Man
"Carousel Man" is a U.S. promo single recorded by Cher, from the album Half-Breed. It was issued only to radio DJs in 1973....
", was released as a promo in 1974. It was issued only to radio DJs in 1973 and managed to peak at #11 in the Billboard Airplay chart.
Track listing
Credits
- Cher - lead vocals
- Snuff Garrett - record producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Al Capps - arrangement assistance
- David PaichDavid PaichDavid Frank Paich is a session musician, keyboard player, recording producer, arranger, vocalist and main composer of the Los Angeles-based rock/pop band Toto. David is the son of the late jazz composer, musician, and arranger Marty Paich...
- arrangement assistance - Lenne Roberts - sound engineer
- Richard Grant - album art concept
- Gene Trindl - cover photo
- J. Engstead - liner photos
Chart positions
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
21 |
| Norway Album Chart | 18 |
| United States Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
28 |