"Laugh at Me" was

Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and politician who came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republica ...

's only hit song as a solo artist under the name Sonny. The song was written and produced by Bono.

Background

"Laugh at Me' was written after Sonny Bono was refused entrance to Montoni's Restaurant in Hollywood because of his "hippie attire". The song begins with Sonny saying, "I never thought I'd cut a record by myself but I got somethin' I wanna say. I want to say it for Cher and I hope I say it for a lot of people." Although Bono would have a great deal of success with

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...

, with his then-wife

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, Bono had very little success as a solo artist with the exception of "Laugh at Me". Bono only released one other single as a solo artist, "The Revolution Kind"; however, his second single only scratched the Top 100 before disappearing from the charts (reaching #70); he also released an album in 1967, ''

Inner Views ''Inner Views'' is the only album by American singer Sonny Bono as a solo artist, released in November 1967 by ATCO Records. Album history Following the success of Sonny and Cher, Bono released his first and only solo album, ''Inner Views'', in ...

'', which failed to chart. "Laugh at Me" has been released on the

album '' The Wondrous World of Sonny & Cher'' (1966), the Sonny & Cher compact disc ''The Beat Goes On'', as well as the Rhino handmade release of Sonny Bono's only solo album, ''

''. A live version, originally from '' Sonny & Cher Live'' (1971), was also released on the Sonny & Cher collection, ''All I Ever Need: Kapp/MCA Anthology'', with Sonny beginning the quip, "I'll do a medley of my hit." "Laugh At Me" was also featured on the 1967 Sonny & Cher compilation album "The Best of Sonny & Cher". Mott the Hoople covered the song on their eponymous 1969 album. It was also covered by the Beach Boys on the "Beach Boys' Party! Uncovered and Unplugged" compilation and remix album released by Capitol Records on November 20, 2015.

Chart performance

The song was released in 1965 and reached #1 in Canada on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' national singles chart (to be knocked off the top spot the following week by his own

single, "

Baby Don't Go "Baby Don't Go" is a song written by Sonny Bono and recorded by Sonny & Cher. It was first released on Reprise Records in 1964 and was a minor regional hit. Subsequently, following the duo's big success with "I Got You Babe" in the summer of 1965 ...

"). It peaked at #10 on the U.S.

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, and at #9 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Thus, Sonny hit the Top 10 in all three countries as a solo artist before Cher.

References

{{authority control 1965 songs 1965 singles Sonny & Cher songs The Beach Boys songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Sonny Bono Atco Records singles