1989 · Behind the Songs
“The battleship video and the comeback.”
“If I Could Turn Back Time,” written by Diane Warren and released in 1989 on the Heart of Stone album, was the centerpiece of Cher’s rock comeback. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave her a new generation of fans — but it is the video everyone remembers: Cher performing on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri, surrounded by sailors, in an outfit that made headlines on its own.
The Navy was not entirely thrilled about the shoot, and MTV initially balked at the clip — which only made it more famous. Beneath the spectacle, though, the song is classic Warren: a big, regret-soaked ballad about wishing for one more chance. Cher sings it like someone who has earned every word, and the comeback it powered carried her straight into the 1990s.