Lovin’ An Elevator

Here’s more on the Love Rocks event from noted R.E.M. fansite Murmurs.comtheir own Ethan Kaplan was at the event.

Fast forward a bit to after the show, when I had the opportunity to speak to both Michael and Cher about the song (“I’ve Got You Babe”). Stipe was saying that he didn’t know it would happen until thirty minutes before the show. Cher elaborated that she had gotten a call (arranged by Julie, the “connector”) that REM wanted to meet her backstage during soundcheck. Once she arrived, they asked her if she’d do “I’ve Got You Babe.” They explained that they had covered it frequently as a young band and told her they even had video in the vaults somewhere of them rehearsing it. Cher had reservations, as she had never done the song without Sonny Bono. The tide was turned when Bono told her of an incident when Sonny Bono and him were in an elevator together and Sonny corrected Bono on the pronunciation of his name.