1975-1979

The Cher Show debuted as an elaborate, all-star television special on February 16, 1975 featuring Flip Wilson, Bette Midler and special guest Elton John. Cloris Leachman and Jack Albertson both won Emmy Awards for their appearances as guest stars a few weeks later, and the series received four additional Emmy nominations that year. Other guests included Pat Boone, David Bowie, Ray Charles, Dion, Patti Labelle, Cheryl Ladd, Wayne Newton, Linda Ronstadt, Lily Tomlin and Frankie Valli. The variety series' debut season ranked 22nd in the year-end Nielsen ratings.

A good deal of press was generated throughout 1975 regarding Cher's exposed navel, and the daring ensembles created by famed designer Bob Mackie. Her show featured numerous outlandish costume changes, even more than typical variety shows. The Cher show ran for two half-seasons, before a pregnant Cher pulled the plug herself, deciding instead to reunite with her ex-husband for a revamped version of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

On June 30, 1975, three days after her divorce from Sonny was final, Cher married rock musician Gregg Allman, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. They had one son, Elijah Blue Allman born July 10, 1976. Together, they released the album, Two the Hard Way, under the rubric Allman and Woman, which featured a cover of the Smokey Robinson hit You've Really Got a Hold on Me. This project was not considered a critical or commercial success. They were divorced by 1977.

From 1975 to 1978 Cher released a series of unsuccessful albums: Stars, I'd Rather Believe in You and Cherished.

On February 2, 1976 The Sonny and Cher Show debuted with a Top 10 rating and high expectations. Some of the guests who appeared on The Sonny and Cher Show included Frankie Avalon, Muhammed Ali, Raymond Burr, Ruth Buzzi, Charo, Barbara Eden, Farrah Fawcett, Terri Garr, Bob Hope, Don Knotts, Jerry Lewis, Tony Orlando, The Osmonds, Debbie Reynolds, The Smothers Brothers, Tina Turner, Twiggy, and Betty White. However, ratings soon fell, and the show was cancelled after its second season.

Their overall television success, though brief, was unique because variety programming in general was no longer attracting viewers, other than The Carol Burnett Show.

Cher continued to release numerous solo albums during this period, though none matched the critical or commercial success of her earlier 70s recordings. She made a brief return to prime time starring in the television specials Cher … Special in 1978 (for which guest star Dolly Parton was nominated for an Emmy Award) and Cher … and Other Fantasies in 1979. One highlight for her fans was a song and dance number based on the classic musical West Side Story in which Cher portrayed each of the main characters.

In 1979 she legally changed her name to Cher, with no surname or middle name. Sonny and Cher performed together for the last time on The Mike Douglas Show in the spring of 1979 (until their much-discussed 1987 Letterman appearance), singing a medley of United We Stand and Without You.

Later in 1979, Cher would capitalize on the disco craze, signing with Casablanca Records, and racking up another Top-10 single with Take Me Home (#8, 1979). Sales of the album Take Me Home may have been boosted by the image of a scantily-clad Cher in a Viking outfit on the album’s cover. The album was RIAA-certified Gold. For her second Casablanca release, Prisoner (1979), Cher appeared on the album's cover virtually naked and wrapped in chains, spurring controversy among some women's rights groups for her perceived sex