1965 Sonny & Cher: I Got You Babe

The first time we've come across the word 'babe' on our travels? I think so - it's a very 'sixties' term after all, and Sonny Bono wrote this as part homage, part pastiche, part 'answer' to Dylan's 'It Ain't Me Babe' for his then wife Cher, just to let her know that it was him, babe. Whatever merits Sonny had as a songwriter (and there were many), his de-merits as a singer outweighed them in a ration of about 4:1, not least when his voice is put in a no place to hide boxing ring duet with Cher's booming contralto. He's game enough, but in trying to compete he strangles himself with his own tongue on most of his lines while Cher keeps herself in careful check so as not to show him up further.

But do you know what? It doesn't matter - 'I Got You Babe' is pop bubblegum to be sure, but it doesn't try to be anything other, and there's an obvious chemistry and affection between the two that gives the song a smart edge of charm ("So let them say your hair's too long, when I'm with you I know I can't go wrong") that only the hardest of hearts could take issue with. Take that 'right here, right now' spark of alchemy away and 'I Got You Babe' becomes a different proposition entirely, as UB40 & Chrissie Hynde so ably demonstrated.