I Got You Babe: Rolling Stones #444 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2004)

I Got You, Babe

Artists: Sonny & Cher

Album: Look at Us

B-side: It's Gonna Rain

Released: July 9, 1965

Recorded: 1965

Songwriter: Sonny Bono

"I Got You Babe" was the first single from Sonny & Cher's debut album Look at Us. In August 1965, it spent three weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Gold. 

In 2011, Billboard and Rolling Stone magazines named the song one of the greatest duets. In 2004, it ranked #444 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Cher Didn't Like It

When Sonny Bono wrote "I Got You, Babe," Cher didn't like it. She recalled to Billboard magazine: "Sonny woke me up in the middle of the night to come in where the piano was, in the living room, and sing it. And I didn't like it and just said, 'OK, I'll sing it, and then I'm going back to bed.'" Sonny changed the key in the bridge to fit her voice, and she loved it.

Their Boss Didn't Like It

Ahmet Ertegun, the boss at the duo's label Atco Records, didn't think much of the song either. He planned to issue it on the B-side of "It's Gonna Rain." Bono was sure "I Got You Babe" was the hit.

Sonny & Cher

This era was when disc jockeys could overrule record executives regarding airplay. Bono brought a copy to the Los Angeles radio station KHJ and made a deal with their program director, Ron Jacobs. If Jacobs played the song once an hour, he could have it exclusively. The song got a great reaction. It was issued as the A-side.

Beavis & Butt-Head Liked It

In 1994, Cher re-recorded this with the cartoon characters Beavis & Butt-Head. This version hit number 35 in the UK.

Bill Murray, Not So Much

In the 1993 film Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray, Murray's character is awakened to this song every morning at precisely 6:00 a.m. on the alarm clock in his hotel room. The movie grew a cult of fans who watched it every February 2, giving it a foothold in popular culture. By association, "I Got You Babe" became part of the Groundhog Day tradition.