Greetings and salutations Hivers. Today let's go into another Three Tune Tuesday post.

As always, thanks to @ablaze for making this series. Lots of people participate in it! Follow the tags to find a ton of good music recommendation.

Several weeks ago I posted a few songs played by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and featuring Tuva Semmingsen. One song I didn't post was her singing Bang Bang - My Baby Shot Me Down.

I'm not sure why, but with this global market crash, that song has been in my head. Now these days this song is probably best known for the Nancy Sinatra cover that appeared in Kill Bill, but it was originally penned by Sonny Bono for his wife, Cher. Nancy's version is better than Cher's, in the same way that With a Little Help From my Friends was written for Ringo but became a Joe Cocker song after his amazing cover, but it was originally hers.

When I was a kid, Cher was kind of the Lady Gaga of the day. She was a great singer, but almost better known for her actions, antics, crazy costumes, and odd behavior.

So today I thought I'd pick out three tunes from her! I'm not really much of a Cher fan, to be honest. In fact, most of the time I would say I don't like her music. But hey, exposure to different things is good, and man, her voice was all over pop culture when I was a kid, so many of her songs still live rent-free in my head, for better or for worse, and they pop out sometimes.

Half-Breed

I'm not sure if this song would be allowed today, not necessarily for the song lyrics, but for what Cher is wearing in the video. It seems like something that people might be offended by. In fact, after writing that I looked on the Wikipedia page for the song and it says she's been criticized for the song to the point where she has said she will no longer perform it. Oh well. That said, it's still a great song.

If I Could Turn Back Time

This one is a little campy, but her voice is just so good it makes it work. I remember this being on MTV a lot back in the day (when they actually played music). I think she got in trouble for this song: her outfit too revealing and a lot of navy vets thought it was disrespectful.

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

Another song with a melody that is just is so catchy you can't get it out of your head. A bit of a folk tune at heart but sung as a pop song, this was a huge hit for her, reaching number 1 on charts in the US and Canada.

Bonus: Bang Bang - My Baby Shot Me Down

Since I mentioned it at the beginning, here is Cher's version of that song. If all you know is the Kill Bill version, the original is a bit different.

So what's your favorite?

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon.