Cherrelle Didn't Mean to Turn You On

Although it's the obvious nickname, no one has ever really called me Cher.  Oh, occasionally someone is lazy or in a carb coma and can't say the second syllable of my name.  I've often thought it would be sweet if a boyfriend would call me Chére, as in ma chére, but alas, I've never had a French boyfriend.  The only nickname that's ever really stuck with me, other than my childhood pet name, Sissy, is Cherrelle (pronounced Shar-RELLE, with the emphasis on the last syllable).

For those of you who may not be familiar, Cherrelle was a late 80's R&B/dance performer.  She had a couple of hits with "Where Do I Run to?" and "Saturday Love".  But the favorite of my little group of party people was "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On," which Robert Palmer later covered.  This was a favorite pre-disco song.  That is, we would dance in our various apartments to this while we got pre-drunk for going out to get more drunk and to dance some more.  Ah, the 80's...

And while we're tossing around "80's R&B for $800, Alex," an interesting fact about Cherrelle is that her cousin is Pebbles of "Girlfriend" fame.  I would be absolutely thrilled if a barista spelled my name Cherrelle or Cherelle, but alas no one has been that creative yet.