Exclusive: Cher Remembers the Late Aretha Franklin, 'My Wig Flew Off'

During an exclusive interview with OUT magazine, Cher remembers Aretha Franklin, and the quite literal wig-snatching moment that happened when Franklin came to see Cher perform.

When first asked if they ever performed together, Cher answers, "No, no."

"But I had something so terrible happen to me, and it was worse because it was her, I think it would have been horrible if it were anybody else, but it was catastrophic because it was her," she reveals. "I was in Detroit, and she actually came to see my show. I didn't know it then, thank God, but my wig fell off. And one of my dancers dipped me, and my wig fell right on the floor, and then later I was told that she was in the audience, and I was banging my head against the wall going, 'Oh my God, how could she have seen me do that? This is the most embarrassing moment of my life.'"

After Cher recounts the embarrasing moment, she remembers a time when she first heard Franklin sing, and was just moved by the power of her voice. She adds to her hilarious story, "But also, we were on the same label, and I remember Arif Mardin doing a string line for her song, and I keep trying to remember the song."

Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick, Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, and Franklin. He produced her albums Through the Storm and Amazing Grace.

"And I just froze because it was so mesmerizing when I heard it, and she is someone that was always larger than life," Cher remembers. "Just because of the power of her voice, and just because of her presence. It's like Tina [Turner]. They're just larger than life women."

Look for the full interview with Cher in the October issue of OUT magazine.