"Do you know what a scoop this is? I don't know why-- we should have been paid for this, Sonny, to come on Late Night for a reunion," Cher said in disbelief on November 13, 1987.

It was a spectacular moment in television at the time, and 38 years later just as heartwarming and complicated and bittersweet.

Cher, who had a rocky relationship with talk show host David Letterman, had called him an a-hole just a year prior on the program, and now she found herself being reunited with her ex-husband, who she also had issues with.

And yet there they all were: Sonny holding Cher's hand, Dave smiling and joking, awkwardly as ever, still obsessed with her tattoos as he was during their first interview.

After a few minutes of back and forth, Dave asked if they'd like to sing a little of the song that made them famous. Cher admitted she was nervous, had a sore throat, and then Paul Schaefer, bless his heart, started playing the melody of "I Got You Babe."

The tune was one of many that Sonny wrote late at night and would wake Cher up to sing. In this case he got inspiration but had no paper to write it on, so he scribbled it on the cardboard dry cleaners used to slip inside freshly pressed dress shirts.

Blearly-eyed Cher, then just 19 at the time, struggled to make out the scrawl of her 35 year-old husband's handwriting. She admitted that when she first heard it she was not blown away.

It wasn't until they got in the recording studio and saw the reaction of those who listened did she change her opinion.

The 1965 tune, which Sonny said was inspired by Bob Dylan's 1964 hit, "It Ain't Me Babe," went to #1 and stayed there for three weeks.

What other singles were on the charts when Sonny & Cher were on top? Oh little ditties like “Help!” by The Beatles, “California Girls” by The Beach Boys, and “The Tracks of My Tears” by The Miracles.

The song helped send the duo's debut LP, Look At Us, to #2 where it remained for 8 weeks because the Fab Four were having the last laugh on the album chart.

Over the decades our database shows close to 70 performers have covered the hit 536 times.

Cher, naturally, has done it the most in her solo career. UB40 had a #1 UK hit with it when added a reggae spin to it with Chrissy Hynde. They've done it over 40 times together live.

But in the end it will always be known as a Sonny & Cher tune, which is why Letterman was correct to nudge the couple into doing it on this day in '87.

Sadly it would be the last time they'd ever perform together as Sonny died in a skiing accident in 1998.

Despite their ups and downs, his controlling nature over her when they were together, and the fact that he took a far greater stake of their cut from her than most think was fair, Cher always expressed love for Sonny and reminded the world that "without Sonny, there would be no Cher," babe.

The last time audiences watched Cher perform was not that long ago. She was the special guest for Cindi Lauper's final tour stop at the Hollywood Bowl just a few months ago. And fans, like yours truly, eagerly anticipate the second part of her forthcoming autobio, Cher: The Memoir.

Check back on her website for the latest in tour and book news.