Mostly no. Cher is celebrated as a performer and interpreter rather than a songwriter, and the vast majority of her hits, including 'Believe,' 'If I Could Turn Back Time,' and 'Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves,' were written by outside songwriters. Her gift is in the voice and the reinvention, not in the writing credits, which is common for pop vocalists of her era.
By the Numbers
11
Studio Albums
121
Tracks Credited
8%
Self-Written
over 100 million
Records Sold
61
Years Active
190
Collaborators
Authorship Breakdown 10 / 121 self-written
Who wrote the songs?
Across all 121 tracks: how many Cher wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.
Cher has a writing credit8%
8%
92%
Sole author0tracks0%
Co-written10tracks8%
Outside writers111tracks92%
Role Fingerprint how they contribute
Cher's roles across the catalogue
Share of all 121 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.
Lyricist (words)8%
Composer (music)8%
Producer0%
Performer100%
Authorship Over Time writing credit per album
Cher's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.
avg 8%
9%
9%
11%
0%
0%
0%
14%
0%
17%
27%
0%
1971Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves
1973Half-Breed
1979Take Me Home
1987Cher
1989Heart of Stone
1991Love Hurts
1995It's a Man's World
1998Believe
2001Living Proof
2013Closer to the Truth
2018Dancing Queen
Early · 7% written
Mid · 4% written
Late · 15% written
Authorship by Decade track-weighted
10%
1970s
Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves, Half-Breed +1 more
0%
1980s
Cher, Heart of Stone
6%
1990s
Love Hurts, It's a Man's World +1 more
17%
2000s
Living Proof
14%
2010s
Closer to the Truth, Dancing Queen
Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author
Where Cher sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.
Cher
Other artists on the site
Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.
Written by Desmond Child, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora
Outside writers
If I Could Turn Back Time
Heart of Stone
Written by Diane Warren
Outside writers
Just Like Jesse James
Heart of Stone
Written by Diane Warren, Desmond Child
Outside writers
Heart of Stone
Heart of Stone
Written by Andy Hill, Pete Sinfield
Outside writers
Love and Understanding
Love Hurts
Written by Diane Warren
Outside writers
Save Up All Your Tears
Love Hurts
Written by Diane Warren, Desmond Child
Outside writers
One by One
It's a Man's World
Written by Anthony Griffiths, Cher, Cherilyn Sarkisian
Co-wrote
Walking in Memphis
It's a Man's World
Written by Marc Cohn
Outside writers
Believe
Believe
Written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, Timothy Powell
Outside writers
Strong Enough
Believe
Written by Mark Taylor, Paul Barry
Outside writers
The Music's No Good Without You
Living Proof
Written by Cher, James Thomas, Mark Taylor, Paul Barry, Cherilyn Sarkisian
Co-wrote
Woman's World
Closer to the Truth
Written by Matt Morris, Paul Oakenfold, Anthony Crawford, Joshua Walker
Outside writers
I Hope You Find It
Closer to the Truth
Written by Steve Robson, Jeffrey Steele
Outside writers
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Dancing Queen
Written by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus
Outside writers
SOS
Dancing Queen
Written by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Stig Anderson
Outside writers
None of the signature songs above fall in this category.
Discography 11 albums
Cher's studio catalog is very large (roughly two dozen solo albums from 1965 to 2018), so coverage here is partial and focuses on her most significant and most-searched studio albums. Covered in full with per-track credits: Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves (1971), Half-Breed (1973), Take Me Home (1979), Cher (1987), Heart of Stone (1989), Love Hurts (1991), It's a Man's World (1995), Believe (1998), Living Proof (2001), Closer to the Truth (2013), and Dancing Queen (2018). Not yet covered: her 1960s Imperial and Liberty albums (All I Really Want to Do, The Sonny Side of Cher, Cher, With Love, Backstage, and others), the rest of her early-1970s Kapp/MCA run (Foxy Lady, Bittersweet White Light, Dark Lady), her mid-1970s Warner/Casablanca records (Stars, I'd Rather Believe in You, Cherished, Prisoner), and the 1982 album I Paralyze. These remaining studio albums across the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s are not yet in the dataset.
Bubble size = tracks worked on together. Showing the 150 most frequent of 190. MT Mark Taylor · SG Snuff Garrett
The Authorship Story
Data Insight
Cher is a classic interpreter, and the data shows it plainly: across her catalog she almost never holds a writing credit. The lyricist and composer columns fill with outside professionals - Sonny Bono on the early records, Snuff Garrett's stable of songwriters in the 1970s, Diane Warren and Desmond Child in the 1980s, and the Believe team at the end of the 1990s - while Cher's name sits in the performer column as lead vocalist. The handful of tracks where she does pick up a co-writing credit, scattered across Take Me Home, It's a Man's World, Living Proof, and Closer to the Truth, stand out precisely because they are the exceptions in a career built on singing other people's songs.
Quick Facts
ReinventionsA chart presence across seven decades, from 1965 to the 2020s
Signature hit'Believe' (1998), which pioneered the Auto-Tune 'Cher effect'
Chart record'Believe' was the UK's best-selling single by a female artist
Screen honorWon the Academy Award for Best Actress for Moonstruck (1987)
Records soldOver 100 million worldwide
Studio albumsOver two dozen, from the 1960s through Dancing Queen (2018)
Creative Fingerprint
A great interpreter rather than a writer: Cher built a seven-decade career singing songs supplied by outside songwriters, from Sonny Bono in the 1960s to the team behind 'Believe.'
The Story
Cher is an American singer and actress whose recording career has run from the mid-1960s into the 21st century, making her one of the longest-charting solo artists in pop history. She first reached fame as half of Sonny & Cher before launching a solo run that moved through 1960s folk-pop, 1970s pop balladry, 1980s rock, and a late-1990s dance reinvention. Across that catalog she works almost entirely as an interpreter: outside writers supply nearly all of her material, from Sonny Bono on her early records to Diane Warren, Desmond Child, the Believe production team, and Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus on her ABBA covers album. Her 1998 single 'Believe' and its pioneering vocal-effect production gave her the oldest female number-one in US chart history at the time. She holds a Grammy, an Academy Award, an Emmy, and a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Awards & Recognition
Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, 'Believe' (2000)
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2023)
Academy Award for Best Actress, Moonstruck (1988)
Frequently Asked Questions Cher
Did Cher write her own songs?
Mostly no. Cher is celebrated as a performer and interpreter rather than a songwriter, and the vast majority of her hits, including 'Believe,' 'If I Could Turn Back Time,' and 'Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves,' were written by outside songwriters. Her gift is in the voice and the reinvention, not in the writing credits, which is common for pop vocalists of her era.
Who wrote 'Believe'?
'Believe' was written by a team of British songwriters, including Brian Higgins and members of the production group Xenomania, not by Cher herself. Her 1998 recording pioneered the heavy Auto-Tune effect known as the 'Cher effect' and became a global number one.
What is the 'Cher effect'?
The 'Cher effect' is the distinctive robotic vocal sound created by pushing Auto-Tune to an extreme setting, first made famous on her 1998 hit 'Believe.' It became one of the most influential and widely copied production techniques in modern pop.
Who wrote 'If I Could Turn Back Time'?
'If I Could Turn Back Time' was written by Diane Warren, one of pop's most successful songwriters, for Cher's 1989 album Heart of Stone. It became one of Cher's signature rock-pop anthems.
How many records has Cher sold?
Cher has sold over 100 million records worldwide across a career spanning more than five decades. Her 1998 album Believe and its title track are among her biggest sellers.
Why is Cher called the Goddess of Pop?
Cher earned the nickname 'Goddess of Pop' for her decades of reinvention and her lasting influence across music, film, and television. She has scored hits in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond, a rare feat of longevity.
Has Cher won an Oscar and a Grammy?
Yes. Cher won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Moonstruck in 1988, the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for 'Believe' in 2000, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. She is one of the few artists successful in both music and film.
Who wrote 'Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves'?
'Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves' was written by Bob Stone, not by Cher. Her 1971 recording became her first solo number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the title track of that year's album.
Cher
