Chér (eventually reissued under the title Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves) is the self titled seventh studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released in September 1971 by Kapp Records. For this album, Cher left her husband Sonny Bono to produce the album, and for the first time she collaborated with Snuff Garrett and with Al Capps for the arrangements. The album was retitled after the success of the single of the same name. It received positive reviews from critics, and the RIAA certified it Gold on July 2, 1972. The album was her first and most successful album of the '70s. Two singles were released from the album, "The Way of Love" and "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves", both reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Background and production After the failures of the previous albums, Cher signed a contract with Kapp-MCA Records in 1971. Kapp and MCA were the labels with which Cher had more success in the seventies and she remained with them until 1974. Johnny Musso of Kapp Records thought that Garrett and Cher would work well together and decided to team them up. This time Garrett was introduced to redesign the Cher sound for her first comeback. The album was initially released under the name of Chér in September, and later re-released and retitled as Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves due to the success of the first single. Its success followed the debut of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which premiered on CBS in August 1971 as a summer series. This was also due to Cher's new image, as she dropped her hippie attire and began being dressed by fashion designer Bob Mackie, who emphasized her exotic looks and made her one of the most fashionable and glamorous women of the '70s. Composition and recording The opening track of the album is "The Way of Love", a cover song originally by Kathy Kirby. Other covers are "Fire and Rain" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". The rest of the album includes narrative ballads. During the recording session, three other songs were recorded, "Classified 1-A", "Don't Put It On Me" and "Gentle Foe". The first two were added in the UK version of the album, and later released as a single in the US. "Don't Put It On Me" was added as a bonus track on the official 8-track tape of this album that closed