" I Got You, God"

[progressoid]

I Got You, God: Sonny and Cher pimp The Bible, 1970



According to my extensive and laborious research (I Googled it) this ad appeared in the November 28, 1970 issue of TV Guide.

The small print reads:

The people who make music today read the Bible. It’s that kind of book. It can make things work for you. Read the Bible. Find out where all the music is coming from.

And if you don’t have a Bible of your own, we’ll send you one for only a dollar. Hard cover and everything. Just one should do it. The Bible lasts a long time.

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/i_got_you_god_sonny_and_cher_pimp_the_bible_1970

[Warpy]

1. hey, that's about when I read my ex's KJV

cover to cover, like the anthology of tall tales it is.

Just because people have read it doesn't mean they believe a word of it. On the contrary, I know of nothing better to torpedo the woolly-headed and mawkish belief in the Sunday school god-is-love.

If you want to stay among the faithful, cherry picking is the way to go, encouraged by some pompadoured preacher.

[Mr.Bill]

4. I read it when I was in grade school.

That's precisely why I don't believe it.

[onager]

2. Yes, the Bible inspired many creative hipsters...

[Mr.Bill]

3. I guess they found time to read it

in between snorting enough coke to kill a polar bear.

They also made anti-drug films they showed us in high school in the 60s. Right before Cher went on to marry two heroin addicts, Greg Allman and Les Dudek.

Sonny was a master huckster and sold the public on an image that was far removed from reality. Such as the idea that he could sing.

[progressoid]

6. I give Cher a little slack.

I did stupid stuff at that age too (although not quite that stupid).

But Sonny was definitely a master huckster. Seems to me Sonny dabbled in Scientology too.

[defacto7]

5. It's the Jesus freaks come to haunt us.

Now that was one hell of a scam. I remember some Jesus people breaking into church services trying to take over churches. It was plain weird. I remember... Jesus people don't necessarily read the bible .. they feel it! Well, that's true of most Christians. They read what they can use to support their dogma then consign the rest to god's omniscience.. the unknowable.

[onager]

9. They sure haunted Hollywood back in the day...

You couldn't move on Sunset or Hollywood Blvd. without some Jesus Freak asshole waving a tract or Bible at you. Or the fucking Hare Krishnas beating their drums. Or Tony & Susan Alamo* trying to drag you onto their bus for a "FREE dinner!!!"

Or some desperate geek offering a free personality test. Unfortunately those geeks OWN Hollywood today. Literally. The $cientologists own huge chunks of real estate there, including their Celebrity Centre.

*Tony got out of California, probably just ahead of the statutory rape charges that eventually nailed him. When his wife Susan died, Alamo kept her corpse on display and assured his followers that she would rise from the dead after 3 days, just like Jesus - if they prayed enough. It pissed him off greatly when a local radio station kept dedicating one song to him over and over - "Wake Up Little Susie."

[defacto7]

10. Yeah for sure....

In my experience a lot of those Jesus freaks I knew grew up to be the Reagan crowd and finally teabaggers. They decided to serve the "real" Jesus (not really) and do some sort of pertinence for all the shit they did back then by becoming the standard hard core evangelicals that rave against all the stuff they were for then like free love, drugs, LGBT, etc.

They should have dumped the Jesus and kept the rest, instead they changed their Jesus and vilified the rest.

[Curmudgeoness]

7. Do we know if Sonny and Cher even endorsed that use of their photo?

I am not saying whether they did or not, but there have been plenty of times when celebrity photos have been usurped by groups with an agenda.

But we do know that Pete Seeger read at least part of the Bible, since he wrote "Turn, turn, turn". Well, I guess he didn't really write it though, did he?

[Mr.Bill]

8. I can't imagine Sonny not suing them

if they didn't have his permission.

[AlbertCat]

11. Godless hippies!

Reading the Bible doesn't mean you believe the Bible any more than reading the Ramayana makes you a Hindu or reading the Odyssey makes you a devotee of Hera.