Sonny and Cher Kept the Beat in Encino in 1966

Sonny and Cher first hit it big on the pop charts in 1965 with the smash "I Got You Babe," the featured single from their first album Look at Us. At the time, they were married and sharing a hilltop pad in the Hollywood Hills near Laurel Canyon. With their newfound success in 1966, the pair moved into new digs in the Royal Hills section of Encino, high above Hayvenhurst Avenue.

The Bonos' modern concrete-brick home was on a corner lot at Ballina Canyon and Academia drives, directly across the street from the home of TV game show host Dennis James. Other neighbors included pop idol Bobby Sherman, and singers Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. of the Fifth Dimension.

Cher was known by many of her neighbors for parading around in the backyard in her hot pink bikinis, and Sonny used their living room view of the Valley as inspiration to write some of the duo's biggest hits, including "The Beat Goes On" and "It's the Little Things," a song featured in Sonny and Cher's 1967 movie Good Times, which had scenes filmed at the house in Encino.

The front gates on the house had large initials "C" and "S," and that very gate has been preserved in the backyard of the home, now owned by architect Kenneth Lee, who completely remodeled the house in tribute style to Sonny and Cher's original mid-century decor with a modern update. There's now a koi pond in the front entryway and there are several pieces of Sonny and Cher memorabilia in the house, including stage outfits worn by the duo.

Sonny and Cher lived in their hilltop Encino home for nearly four years before relocating in 1970 to nearby Bel Air. The two were regulars at Gelson's market down the hill from their house, Monty's Steak House across from Encino Park, and Babe's Steak Shack (actually a hamburger stand) near the Ram's Horn Car Wash on Petit Avenue and Ventura Boulevard.

Their album The Wondrous World of Sonny and Cher was recorded while they were living in Encino, and a video clip of their pop rendition of "What Now, My Love" is linked here—as is "It's the Little Things," which is indicative of the love and affection Sonny and Cher had for one another in this phase of their lives.

Kustom Kar giant George Barris, himself an Encino resident, had two customized Mustangs for Sonny and Cher delivered to the home in Encino in 1966.

During the mid-'60s you could spot Sonny and Cher picking up their clothes at Encino Cleaners (still there across from Encino Park) and eating barbecued beef sandwiches at Love's Barbeque on Woodley Avenue and Ventura, which is set back from the street in a house-like setting.

In her very moving speech at Sonny Bono's funeral (which you can view on YouTube) Cher credits Sonny with being the secret behind all their success. "He never took no for an answer and always found a way to make things happen for us," said a teary Cher. Sonny Bono was born poor, never knew how to play an instrument, wasn't a great singer, wasn't a leading man, but still found a way to be successful at everything he did, including becoming a U.S. congressman. It's clear from watching this tribute that Sonny was the love of Cher's life.

It's great to know that some of their happiest and most productive professional years together were spent right here in the hills of Encino.