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Author Annie Zaleski

Join us when author Annie Zaleski visits to discuss her latest book, I Got You Babe: A Celebration of Cher.

About the author:

Annie Zaleski is an award-winning writer and editor who’s contributed to NPR Music, Salon, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. She’s also the author of multiple books, including an extensive look at Duran Duran’s Rio for Bloomsbury’s prestigious 33 1/3 series, and biographies of pop stars Lady Gaga and P!nk. She interviewed Cher ahead of her 2016 Las Vegas residency and praised the icon in a career-spanning 2021 Salon piece; additionally, she wrote about the intriguing backstory of Sonny & Cher's “I Got You Babe” in Running Press’s forthcoming book We Found Love, Song by Song.

Commemorating six decades since her first #1 hit in 1965, I Got You Babe captures Cher’s one-of-a-kind life. This celebration of the fearless, down-to-earth “Goddess of Pop” explores key moments in her life and career in words and photos. Among the topics covered: 

• Her 50-year friendship with fellow diva Tina Turner, which began in 1975 when they performed “Shame, Shame, Shame” together.
• Her story of creating a “revenge dress” with designer Bob Mackie for the 1986 Oscars after being snubbed for a nomination for her performance in Mask.
• The night in 1989 she made the Navy wish it could “Turn Back Time” by arriving at the USS Missouri to film her video not wearing the coveralls they expected but a barely-there fishnet bodysuit.
• Cher’s unfiltered social media presence. From classic posts like “BREAKING NEWS: IM BEING BURIED IN MY FISHNETS” to weighing in on issues she believes in.
• When Cher learned about Kaavan, dubbed “the world’s loneliest elephant.” The creature was kept in chains in a zoo in Pakistan and forced to perform for decades. After fans brought the problem to her attention, Cher eventually helped get him moved in 2021, and her efforts were captured in a Smithsonian documentary.

Amid these moments are photo after photo of some of the most eye-popping outfits ever worn in life and on stage. As an avid clothes horse who wasn’t afraid to wear a see-through dress to the Met Gala in 1974, Cher’s many looks will be given their due in this engaging, career-spanning retrospective.

Books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Mac's Backs - Books on Coventry.