Cher's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Speech

Cher was presented by Zendaya at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland Ohio.

Cher's induction speech at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, this speech is going to be such a crapshoot. I’m not kidding you, because I wrote it the other day and then I rewrote it tonight, and I’m dyslexic, so what the fuck. I don’t know what’s going to happen. Okay.

It was easier getting divorced from two men than it was to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You know? And I want to thank—he’s not here tonight—but I want to thank my guardian, David Geffen. Because, yeah, he wrote a letter and sent it to the directors, and so here I am. So anyway, thank you, David. Thank you for caring so much about me.

I want to tell you some stories about my life. I hope to make them small. When I was four years old, I saw Cinderella. That’s when I knew what I wanted to be. I wanted to sing, I wanted to make people happy, I wanted to have fun, and I wanted to be famous. I’m not sure how a child knows about being famous, but I knew.

I had a crazy, amazing mother. She said to me, “You might not be the prettiest, you might not be the smartest, you might not be the most talented—but you’re special.” My mom kept instilling that into me because it was hard. I didn’t do well in school. I couldn’t get it. I couldn’t read. I couldn’t do any of that stuff. But she said, “If you’re down and you’re out, you get up again.”

In my life, I have been down. I’ve been so down that you cannot—as my mother would say—“lower than a snake’s belly.” That’s how down I’ve been. People told me I was finished, that I was through. And the one thing I think I got from my mom is that I never gave up. You go down, you come up.

When Sonny and I split, I had no money. Nothing. I had a car and my clothes. I had to go to Vegas. At that point, Vegas was the elephant’s graveyard. If you went there, you had nothing. Now it’s cool—everybody has a residency. But back then? No.

One night, Francis Ford Coppola came to one of my shows. He came backstage and said, “You should be an actress.” I went, “Okay.” He said, “Go to New York.” So I went to New York. By accident, I got a play. And from the play, I got a movie with Meryl Streep.

And honestly, I believe what my mom said—but I’m also lucky. I’ve had really bad things happen. I was dropped by four labels. And then when it was completely over, I believed—and it was like, yes. I have just been really lucky.

I have had number ones for seven decades, which surprises me. Right? Because I’m a good singer. I’m a good singer—I’m not a great singer. But you know what? I’ll take it.

And also “Believe”—I changed the sound of music forever. “Believe” really changed the sound of music. It was an accident, because my producer and I were having a fight. He said,

“Cher, do it better.” And “Believe” was kind of a bitch in the beginning. It wasn’t that good. So he said, “Do it better, do it better.” I said, “Dude, if you want it better, get another singer, because I can’t do it better.”

Later that afternoon he called me. He said, “Cher, I’ve been playing around with the pitch machine, and I think I got something.” So I went back, sat down, and he started to play it. I thought, “Oh, Jesus.” But I stayed calm. When it was over, we both jumped up and high-fived each other. It was so great. It was a moment.

Then the head of my record company—who I adore—said, “We can’t do that because no one will know that it’s you.” And I said, “Yes. That’s the deal. That’s the great part. That’s the great part.”

My life has been a roller coaster. The one thing I have never done is I never give up. I never give up.

And I’m talking to the women. I’m talking to the women, okay? You guys are on your own.

We’ve been down and out, and we keep striving and we keep going and we keep building. And we are somebody. We are special. As my mom would say, we’re special.

So I want to thank my family: Chaz, Elijah, my sister back home, my brother-in-law Evar, and my little friend Baby Slash 4K, and Alexander.

So good night, and thank you so much.

Zendaya Presenting Cher at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

Wow.

Where do I even begin?

There is not one person in this room, in this country, and pretty much the whole world who doesn’t know the name of the artist I’m here to honor tonight. Her name is just as legendary as her legacy. So iconic, she only needs one name: Cher.

It’s impossible to measure the influence that Cher has had and continues to have on every one of us. As you can see, her impact spans generations. And no matter when you were born, you have heard, seen, or experienced Cher’s work in some form or another. Cher is a constant inspiration and reference point.

You want dance floor innovation? Listen to Believe. You want a lesson on living in the spotlight and keeping your sanity? Look to Cher. Want to make 27 albums and win an Oscar? Cher did it.

You want longevity? I mean, come on. She does it all. And might I add—really, really [__] well.

But listen, it’s not just the effortless charm, the acting chops, and the stunning Bob Mackie dresses that get you into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For that, you need to bring the musical goods. And Cher has got the goods.

She’s the only solo artist to have a number one hit in each of the last seven decades.

She has sold over 140 million records worldwide. When Sonny and Cher came onto the scene back in 1964, Cher became an instant sensation. The world fell in love with her and sang along to their smash hits “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On.”

Cher’s rise as a solo artist was even more explosive, shattering so many stereotypes of what female vocalists were supposed to sound like, and instead creating something new, something innovative, and distinctively her own. Her voice is so singular that any song she sings becomes a Cher song.

She’s navigated a multitude of musical genres, defined new ones, and reinvented others.

Her music touches your heart, your spirit, makes you dance, makes you rock, and has stood the test of time. Right now, Believe, I Got You Babe, or Strong Enough is playing on a radio station somewhere in America. And there are drag performers all over the world currently in a makeup chair putting on their best Cher face.

She may be imitated, but she can never be replicated. She is an absolutely brilliant and captivating performer who is fearless in her presentation. Oh, and she can still rock a sheer, butt-revealing bodysuit.

She’s been an influence and an inspiration for every female artist that has come after her, including myself. She has never acknowledged or accepted that there were things that women were not supposed to do. She just did exactly what she wanted—her way.

This fierce woman is a hero, a true artist, and just about as authentically rock and roll as you can get. So thank you, Cher. Thank you for being an advocate, for being an ally, for paving the way for so many humans of all kinds to live in and speak their truth, and to have the courage to be as daring and as openhearted as you.

Cher once said, “You should never be inhibited by what people expect you to do.” And those are words I hope we can all learn to live by.