Editing Sonny Bono (section)

== Early life ==
Bono was born in [[Detroit]], the son of Zena "Jean" (née DiMercurio) and Santo Bono.<ref name=Larocque>{{cite book |last=Larocque |first=Jason |date=2013 |title=Cher: You Haven't Seen The Last of Me |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYfUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA35 |location=Charlotte, NC |publisher=Baker & Taylor |page=35 |isbn=978-1-300-88858-1}}</ref> His father was born in [[Montelepre]], [[Palermo]], Italy; his mother was also of Italian descent. His mother called him "Sono" as a term of endearment, which evolved over time into "Sonny".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800057596/bio |title=Sonny Bono Biography |publisher=Yahoo! Movies |access-date=October 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217050528/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800057596/bio |archive-date=February 17, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ilovepalmsprings.us/2016/02/palm-springs-remembers-sonny-bono.html |title=Palm Springs Remembers Sonny Bono – February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998 |last=Kephart |first=Robert |date=February 16, 2016 |website=I Love Palm Springs! |publisher=Palm Springs Guru |location=Palm Springs, CA |access-date=January 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213083315/http://www.ilovepalmsprings.us/2016/02/palm-springs-remembers-sonny-bono.html |url-status=usurped}}</ref> Sonny was the youngest of three siblings; he had two sisters, Fran and Betty.<ref name="Larocque" /> The family moved to [[Inglewood, California]], when he was seven, and his parents divorced soon afterwards.<ref name="Larocque" /> Bono decided early in life to become part of the music business, and began writing songs as a teenager.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Morris |first1=Chris |last2=Holland |first2=Bill |date=January 17, 1998 |title=Bono Recalled as Politician and Performer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rg0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |location=New York, NY |page=16}}</ref> "Koko Joe", a song he wrote at age 16, was recorded by [[Don and Dewey]] in 1958, and later covered by several other artists, including [[the Righteous Brothers]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hodenfield |first=Chris |date=May 24, 1973 |title=As Bare As You Dare With Sonny and Cher |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/as-bare-as-you-dare-with-sonny-and-cher-177349/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |location=New York, NY}}</ref> Bono attended [[Inglewood High School (California)|Inglewood High School]], but did not graduate, opting to drop out so he could begin to pursue a career as a songwriter and performer.<ref name="Larocque" /><ref name=chronology>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jan-07-mn-5814-story.html |title=Sonny Bono, a Chronology |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=January 7, 1998 |access-date=October 8, 2009 |first=Nona |last=Yates}}</ref> He worked at a variety of jobs while trying to break into the music business, including waiter, truck driver, construction laborer, and butcher's helper.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bego |first=Mark |date=2001 |title=Cher: If You Believe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zH6rkKoFLWkC&pg=PA21 |location=Lanham, MD |publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing |page=21 |isbn=978-1-58979-135-0 |author-link=Mark Bego}}</ref>