With solo hits in Australia across five decades – not to mention her five top 20 singles as one half of Sonny & Cher – the mononymed star is one of the most successful artists of all time. From her earliest recordings in the ’60s and ’70s to her chart-topping comebacks in the ’80s and ’90s, Cher’s back catalogue is packed with massive singles like these 10 hits…

10. "Dark Lady"

Released: 1974

Peak: #17

A dramatic tale of deception, the title track of Cher’s 11th studio album relates the story of a woman who discovers her boyfriend is sleeping with the fortune teller she has visited (and who had told her to dump her lover). Result: double murder. A US number 1 single, “Dark Lady” is one of many big hits she has released that she is said not to have liked that much when she recorded them.

9. "Just Like Jesse James"

Released: 1989

Peak: #14

Here’s another track Cher was said to not be that fond of, despite it being written by top songwriters Diane Warren and Desmond Child. The song about a guy going “down in flames” like the infamous outlaw was the third single from her Heart Of Stone album and did not have an official music video made, with a montage clip created instead.

8. "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"

Released: 1966

Peak: #11

Cher’s first solo top 50 entry in Australia was written and produced by Sonny Bono for her second solo album, The Sonny Side Of Cher. The song tells the story of a woman who married a childhood friend that used to fire a toy gun at her and ends up walking out of their marriage – shooting her down again. The much covered and reinterpreted track was reworked by Cher herself in 1987 with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora contributing to the updated version.

7. "Strong Enough"

Released: 1999

Peak: #11

Riding on the wave of success that came following her 1998 comeback, Cher released this follow-up to “Believe” from her 22nd solo album. Written by Mark Taylor and Paul Barry, who’d both contributed to its predecessor, empowerment anthem “Strong Enough” has shades of “I Will Survive” in its mid-song string section. And a key change!

6. "I Found Someone"

Released: 1987

Peak: #8

Cher’s first major comeback was with this track from her self-titled 18th album, which returned her to the Australian top 10 for the first time in 14 years. Co-written and produced by Michael Bolton, “I Found Someone” had been recorded the year previously without success by Laura Branigan.

5. "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"

Released: 1971

Peak: #5

Her first top 10 single in Australia (and solo number 1 in the US), “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves” was also a comeback of sorts – returning her to the chart here and in the US after a four-year absence, but in this case, she had released music in the intervening period. The story told by this song involves the daughter of dancer in a “travelling show” who ends up following in her mother’s footsteps.

4. "Half-Breed"

Released: 1973

Peak: # 4

Another US chart-topper, this single from the album of the same name was written specifically for Cher, due to her own mixed heritage, which included Native American ancestry on her mother’s side. The song’s protagonist is a woman whose father is white and mother is Cherokee, with the lyrics describing the prejudice she faces.

3. "The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)"

Released: 1991

Peak: #4

Cher revisited the ’60s, both on film with her role in Mermaids and with her cover version of this track from 1964 for the movie’s soundtrack. Originally recorded by Merry Clayton and turned into a hit by Betty Everett, “The Shoop Shoop Song” had been remade by a number of other singers before Cher got her hands on it, taking it all the way to number 1 in the UK – her first solo chart-topper there.

2. "Believe"

Released: 1998

Peak: #1

Returning to the ARIA top 50 for the first time since 1991’s “Love and Understanding” reached number 23, Cher spent five weeks at number 1 with this foray into electronic-based music. Responsible for the proliferation in use of AutoTune effects in the years following, “Believe” has sold over 11 million copies worldwide and earned her the only Grammy Award – for Best Dance Recording – she has received during her career.

1. "If I Could Turn Back Time

Released: 1989

Peak: #1

With seven non-consecutive weeks at number 1 – it was knocked off for three weeks during its run by that pesky Jive Bunny – “If I Could Turn Back Time” is Cher’s best-performing single on the Australian chart. And true to form, it’s a song Cher didn’t think that much of when she heard the demo recording, coming around after being persuaded to record it by songwriter Diane Warren, who knew it would be a big hit. Whether Diane also envisioned Cher’s revealing outfit in the battleship-set music video is another matter.

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