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50th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Backstage and Audience© GettyImages

Cher says Tina Turner gave her a special gift during their last visit

They are rock legends


Jovita Trujillo
Jovita Trujillo - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
OCTOBER 16, 2023 8:50 PM EDT

Cher and Tina Turner are two musical legends and were lifelong friends. The singers first met in 1975 when they performed together on Cher’s solo show. Their friendship withstood the test of time and fame, and Cher recently opened up about their last memories together before Turner passed away.

Tina Turner Hugs Cher At The MTV Awards Party© GettyImages

Turner passed away on May 24, 2023, after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich. During Cher’s last visit to Switzerland, she told PEOPLE, that Turner gave her a pair of her high heels. “I’m not going to wear them,” Cher told the outlet, adding that they are safe in her closet.

Reflecting on a different visit, she said their moments together were full of laughter. “She was lying on the chaise and said, ‘I’m tired.’ Then for two hours we were running around the house, and she was laughing hysterically,” she recalled. “She just needed to talk and yell. That’s the Tina that I loved. We had the best time and talked about the old times,” she added.

The first time Turner and Cher performed together, they wore amazing matching dresses and sang “Shame Shame Shame.” Their energy was infectious, and they both shined in their own ways, vibing off each other’s energy.

Cher - Shame Shame Shame (with Tina Turner) (The Cher Show, 04/27/1975)

Cher told Oprah Winfrey about their first time working together, “She came into the studio, and I was expecting, you know, Tina Turner, but she comes in wearing a little silk shirt and trousers and high heels.” “Then we started talking, and I have a sailor’s mouth, and Tina is so genteel—she talks like such a lady,” Cher said.

The “Believe” singer known for her own dance moves added, “I remember I thought, ‘I’m going to have to dance with Tina Turner,’” Cher says. “Do you know what that feels like? It’s like dancing with a hurricane.”

Tina was also in awe by Cher. “Cher was so free,” she said in the same interview. “She was in control of her career, and her life, and what was in the studio.”

Their remarkable and enduring friendship transcended decades as they cemented themselves as iconic figures in the music industry with their powerful voices and electrifying stage presence. They were also there for each other’s highs, and lows, after Tina and Ike Turner divorced in 1976, her first solo performance was with Cher in 1977, singing “Makin‘ Music is My Business.”

Cher & Tina Turner - Makin' Music Is My Business (Live, 1977)