Short Biography

Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (February 16, 1935 — January 5, 1998) was an American record producer, singer, actor, and politician whose career spanned over three decades. Born in Detroit, Michigan, to Italian immigrants Jean and Santo, Sonny had two older sisters, Fran and Betty. Sonny was the youngest and had no brothers. Bono attended Inglewood High School in Inglewood, California, but did not graduate. Bono began his music career working at Specialty Records where his song "Things You Do to Me" was recorded by Sam Cooke, and went on to work for the legendary record producer Phil Spector in the early 1960s as a promotion man, percussionist and "gofer." One of his earliest songwriting efforts was "Needles and Pins." Later in the same decade, he achieved commercial success, along with his then-wife Cher, as part of the singing duo Sonny and Cher. Bono wrote, arranged, and produced a number of hit records with singles like "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On," although Cher received more attention. He did also play a major part in Cher`s solo career with recordings such as "Bang Bang" and "You Better Sit Down Kids". Bono entered politics after experiencing great frustration with local government bureaucracy in trying to open a restaurant in Palm Springs, California. With conservative talk radio host Marshall Gilbert as his campaign manager (and later as the godfather of his two children by his wife, Mary), Bono placed a successful bid to become the new mayor of Palm Springs. He served from 1988 to 1992.

On January 5, 1998, Bono died of injuries after striking a tree while skiing on the Nevada side of the Heavenly Ski Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California. Bono`s death came just days after Michael Kennedy, a son of Robert F. Kennedy, died in a similar skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado. Bono`s widow, Mary, was elected to fill the remainder of the Congressional term. Over 10 years after his death, she continues to champion many of Sonny`s causes, including the ongoing fight to save the Salton Sea.

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