Background and Composition
Sonny Bono, a songwriter and record producer for Phil Spector, wrote the lyrics to and composed the music of the song for himself and his then-wife, Cher, late at night in their basement. Session drummer Hal Blaine performed the drums for the song. Bono was inspired to write the song to capitalize on the popularity of the term "babe," as heard in Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" which was a hit for The Turtles.
Upon recording and releasing the song, "I Got You Babe" became the duo's biggest single, their signature song, and a defining recording of the early hippie countercultural movement. In August 1965, the single spent three weeks at the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and #19 on the R&B charts in the United States where it sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Gold. The duo's single also hit #1 in the United Kingdom where it sold 780.000 copies and was subsequently included on their debut album, Look at Us.
The song placed at #444 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of all time.
Read more about this topic: I Got You Babe
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—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
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