''I'd Rather Believe in You'' is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-actress

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, released in September 1976 by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. This album was a commercial failure and failed to chart.

Album information

Because ''Stars'' was such an abysmal financial failure, Cher was put back with narrative pop songs on her next album. The album garnered no attention, and as such did not chart. Producer Michael Omartian attributed this to "a lack of promotion." Cher recorded this album while she was pregnant with

Elijah Blue Allman Elijah Sky Blue Allman (born July 10, 1976), known professionally as P. Exeter Blue I (Phillips Exeter Blue), is an American musician, and the son of singer Cher and singer-songwriter Gregg Allman; he is the half-brother of Chaz Bono, Delilah A ...

, her second child. She wrote a dedication to him on the back-sleeve of the album: ''And a special thanks to Elijah for waiting until the day after I finished my album. Cher''. Only one single was released, "Long Distance Love Affair" (b/w "Borrowed Time"). It was performed twice on her TV show, but charted nowhere. "I'd Rather Believe In You" was planned as the second single from the album, but it was cancelled after the first single failed. A different version of the song, in which the lyrics are directed toward God instead of a lover, was recorded by the contemporary Christian singing group

The Imperials The Imperials is an American contemporary Christian music group that has been active for over 60 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There ...

for their 1980 album '' Priority'', which was also produced by Omartian. In 1976, Cher recorded two other songs: "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knockin' Everyday)," a duet with

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...

, and "Pirate" (from her album ''

Cherished ''Cherished'' is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on June 4, 1977 as Cher's final studio album released by Warner Bros. Records. This album, like several other predecessors, was a commercial failure and fai ...

'' which was released a year later), the latter of which starts off the album on some editions. The album has never been released on CD, and the only CD versions in circulation are bootlegs. According to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', Cher owned this album's master rights and Warner had no right to reissue. On 30 July 2021, it was announced that a restored and remastered version of the album would be available exclusively on Cher’s official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel on 6 August 2021. On September 20, 2024, the title track was released as part of Cher's '' Forever Fan'' greatest hits album.

Track listing

Personnel

*Cher -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Parks has one Grammy nomination. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los A ...

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born in 1952, in Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years l ...

- guitar *

Jay Graydon Jay Joseph Graydon (born October 8, 1949, Burbank, California) is an American songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, keyboardist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards (in the R&B category) ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

*Ben Benay - guitar, harmonica *

David Hungate David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American retired bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his ...

Lee Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. He rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coalesced into a group in its own right, The Section (band), The Section, which supported ...

, Scott Edwards - bass guitar *

Michael Omartian Michael S. Omartian (born November 26, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, keyboardist, and music producer. He produced number-one records in three consecutive decades. He has earned 11 Grammy Awards nominations and won three. H ...

- keyboards, backing vocals *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundr ...

- drums *

Steve Barri Steve Barri (born Steven Barry Lipkin; February 23, 1942, New York City) is an American songwriter and record producer. Career Early in his career, Barri was a staff writer with Dunhill Records. He produced such huge hits as " Dizzy" by Tommy R ...

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

- percussion *

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical ab ...

, Lew McCreary,

Nino Tempo Antonino LoTempio (January 6, 1935 – April 10, 2025) was an American musician, singer, and actor. He was a duet partner with his older sister April Stevens as well as the frontman for a 1970s funk band, 5th Ave. Sax. Biography Early life Anto ...

, Steve Douglas, Steve Madaio - horns *Dan Walsh, Gene Nelson, Ginger Blake, Jim Haas, Julia Tillman Waters, Kerry Chater, Maxine Tillman Waters, Michael Price, Stephanie Spring - backing vocals ;Technical *Steve Barri -

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

*Michael Omartian - record producer *Phil Kaye - sound engineer *

Ed Thrasher Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of a number of Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Al ...

- art direction *

Norman Seeff Norman Seeff (born 5 March 1939) is a South African photographer and filmmaker. Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative process. Early l ...

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1976 albums Cher albums Albums produced by Michael Omartian Warner Records albums