Cyndi Lauper: Encyclopedia - Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper

Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (born June 22, 1953), better known as Cyndi Lauper, is a singer whose melodic voice and wild costumes have come to epitomize the 1980s, the decade in which she first came to fame.

Cyndi Lauper - Biography

Cyndi Lauper was born in Queens, New York to Swiss German-American Fred Lauper and Sicilian Italian-American Catrine Dominique. She began her career in a cover band, but soon began performing her own songs - though she almost quit singing altogether due to strained vocal chords in 1977. By 1980 she'd released a rockabilly album on Polydor with the band Blue Angel. Despite much critical acclaim, the album "went lead" as Lauper says, and the band split as Lauper filed for bankruptcy.

In 1983 she started dating her manager David Wolff with whom she released She's So Unusual, a worldwide hit which made Lauper a household name. A mixture of teen-friendly pop-rock and edgier, almost punky sounds, the album's biggest hit, "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", quickly established itself as a female anthem. Lauper won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards of 1984 for her work on the album. Cyndi Lauper was the first female artist to have four consecutive Hot 100 Top 5 hits from one album, She's So Unusual.

The album also included "She Bop", a paean to female masturbation, and the romantic ballad "Time After Time", an instant "standard" which has since been covered by over 70 artists (most notably Miles Davis). Lauper was popular with teenagers, in part because of her quirky image which took the popular late 1970s punk look and marketed it to a mainstream audience. At this stage of her career, it was predicted that she would surely outlast Madonna.

From 1984 to 1985, she appeared as herself in a number of WWF (now WWE) professional wrestling events, where she supposedly was the manager of Wendi Richter. This cross-promotion arranged by David Wolff and Vince McMahon also lead to a number of professional wrestlers appearing on her early videos. She later described the period as fun, but a distraction to her musical ambitions, and largely stopped her WWF appearances after 1985.

In 1986, after recording the song "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" for the 1985 film The Goonies, Lauper released her second album, True Colors. Revealing a more mature sound and sensibility, it reached number 4 on the Billboard 200. The title song went on to become her second Platinum number 1 hit. She also sang the jaunty theme song for the series, "Pee-wee's Playhouse" as well. The album sold 12 million copies worldwide.

In 1987, Cyndi traveled all the globe with the True Colors World Tour.

In 1988 she appeared as the female lead in the quirky comedy Vibes, which was poorly received by critics and a commercial flop. Her soundtrack contribution, "Hole In My Heart (All the Way to China)", also flopped.

Lauper's third album, 1989's A Night to Remember, though critically well-received, was not as commercially successful as its predecessors, spawning just one hit, "I Drove All Night", which was originally penned for Roy Orbison. Orbison's version was not released until 1992, three years after Lauper's version and four years after Orbison's death. "A Night To Remember" sold 5 million copies.

In 1990 she joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in Berlin. Her second film, Off and Running, went un-noticed, but she did meet future husband - actor David Thornton - on the set.

Lauper took a break from singing at this point, but didn't disappear from show business, and in 1993 she played Michael J. Fox's secretary in My Life With Mikey. She released the critically acclaimed album Hat Full of Stars in the same year, but once again sales were poor. With a smooth new R&B sound and production by Junior Vasquez, she tackled such topics as spousal abuse and abortion.

In 1995 Lauper won an Emmy award for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" for her portrayal of wealthy contessa Marianne Lugasso in Mad About You. She also released 12 Deadly Cyns... and Then Some, a greatest hits compilation that included two new tracks, one of which was a reworking of her first big hit, newly christened "Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun)". The album was released under a number of different titles, packaging and track listings around the world. "Twelve Deadly Cyns" sold over 10 million copies worldwide and she began a world tour to promote the album.

Her 1997 album Sisters of Avalon brought her back into the limelight. With subject matter even more adult than before, it was quickly embraced by the gay community for its dance and club stylings. The topicality of the album also contributed to its "pink" appeal: the song "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" addressed the complications of a drag queen's double life, while "You Don't Know" tackled the thorny issue of coming out. The album's singles were remixed to great acclaim, and Lauper began performing as a featured artist at gay pride events around the world.

In 1999 she co-headlined a tour alongside Cher, and contributed a cover version of The Trammps's classic "Disco Inferno" to the soundtrack of the film A Night at the Roxbury, the remixed version becoming a club hit. She also garnered critical plaudits for her roles in several independent films including The Opportunists (with Christopher Walken).

In 2001 Lauper prepared an album, Shine, which saw her returning to her early pop/rock sound without losing the "maturity" she had embraced on later records. Just weeks before the album's scheduled release, however, her label, Edel America Records, folded, and the tracks were leaked to the public. Although a five song E.P. of the same name was made available through her website and at Tower Records, the full length album concept was scrapped.

She undertook her second co-headlining tour with Cher in 2002.

In 2003, an EP of remixes from the unreleased Shine album was sold on the Edel America Records website. Additionally Lauper's former label Sony issued a new greatest hits CD entitled The Essential Cyndi Lauper. She then re-signed with Sony/Epic Records, the label that made her a star, and a new album called Naked City was in the works.

In November 2003 an album of standards was released entitled At Last (formerly Naked City), which became a top 40 hit in the US and Australia. It showed off her skills as a unique interpreter and critics agreed that Lauper's voice - always a force to be reckoned with - was even stronger at age 50 than it had been in her heyday. In March of 2004 the full length Shine album was finally released, though exclusively in Japan. She was nominated for a 2005 Grammy award for "Best Instrumental Composition Accompanying a Vocal" for her interpretation of the song "Unchained Melody" on the At Last album.

Cyndi had a guest appearance in the fifth season (2005) of Queer as Folk TV series. In November of 2005 Lauper released The Body Acoustic, an album which featured acoustic reinterpretations of tracks from her back catalog as well as two new songs. It featured guest appearances by artists such as Shaggy, Ani DiFranco and Sarah McLachlan. Lauper continues to tour the world performing live, and is noted as an energetic live performer. She maintains a devoted fanbase and lives in New York with her husband, and their child.

Cyndi will make her Broadway debut in 2005 in "The Threepenny Opera," playing the prostitute Jenny in the satirical musical about a highwayman and his sweetheart.

Cyndi Lauper - Samples

• Download sample of "Time After Time" from She's So Unusual

Cyndi Lauper - Trivia

• Married David Thornton in 1991.
• Son Declyn Wallace Thornton Lauper was born in 1997.
• Wrote "Code of Silence" with Billy Joel. It marked the first time Joel shared a songwriting credit on one of his albums.
• Was interested in recording "Voices Carry" by 'Til Tuesday but the band ultimately decided to record the song themselves for their debut album.
• In May 2004, Lauper had the unfortunate experience of having a seagull defecate in her mouth while it flew overhead during an outdoor concert . Lauper cleaned out her mouth and went on with the show.
• Before achieving musical fame, she worked at New York high-end thrift store "Screaming Mimi's".

Cyndi Lauper - Discography

Cyndi Lauper - Albums

• Blue Angel - 1980 (with Blue Angel, not solo album)
• She's So Unusual - 1983 (#4 USA)(6x Platinum) - 17 million
• True Colors - 1986 (#4 USA) (2x Platinum) - 12 million
• A Night to Remember - 1989 (Platinum) - (#37 USA)8 million
• Hat Full of Stars - 1993 - (#112 USA) 2 million
• Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some - 1994 (Gold)(#81 USA) - 12 million
• Sisters of Avalon - 1996 - (#188 USA) 4 million
• Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life - 1998 - 0.5 million
• The Essential Cyndi Lauper - 2002 - 0.9 million
• At Last - 2003 - (#38 USA) 4 million
• Shine - 2004 - 0.4 million
• Hey Now! (Remixes and Rarities) - 2005 - 0.2 million
• The Body Acoustic - 2005 (#112 USA)

Cyndi Lauper - Singles

• "You Make Loving Fun" (1978)
• "I'm Gonna be Strong" (1980) (with band Blue Angel)
• "I Had a Love" (1980) (with band Blue Angel)
• "Late" (1980) (with band Blue Angel)
• "Fade" (1980) (with band Blue Angel)
• "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (1983) (#2 (2 weeks)USA, Platinum)
• "Time After Time" (1983) (#1 (2 weeks) USA, Gold) (Redone with Sarah McLachlan [2005])
• "She Bop" (1983) (#3 (3 weeks)USA, Gold)
• "All Through The Night" (1984) (#5 USA)
• "Money Changes Everything" (1984) (#27 USA)
• "When You Were Mine" (1985) (Only in Holland, Belgium)
• "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" (1985) (#10 USA)
• "True Colors" (1986) (#1 (2 weeks) USA, Gold)
• "Change of Heart" (1986) (#3 USA)
• "What's Going On" (1986) (#12 USA)
• "Boy Blue" (1987) (#64 USA)
• "Maybe He'll Know" (1987) (#73 USA)
• "Hole In My Heart (All The Way To China)" (1988) (#54 USA)
• "I Drove All Night" (1989) (#6 USA, Gold)
• "My First Night Without You" (1989) (#62 USA)
• "Heading West" (1989)
• "A Night To Rememeber" (1989)
• "Unconditional Love" (1991)
• "The World Is Stone" (1991)
• "Who Let In The Rain" (1993)
• "That's What I Think" (1993) (#11 Billboard Dance Charts)
• "Hat Full Of Stars" (1993)
• "Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun)" (1994) (#87 USA), (#4 UK Silver)
• "I'm Gonna be Strong" (1994)
• "Come On Home" (1995)
• "You Don't Know" (1996) (#111 USA)
• "Sister of Avalon" (1997)
• "Ballad Of Cleo And Joe" (1997) (#137 USA)
• "Early Christmas Morning" (1998)
• "Disco Inferno" (1999) (#8 Billboard Dance Charts)
• "Shine Remixes ( maxi Single )" (2003)
• "Walk on By" (2003)
• "Until You Come Back to Me" (2004)
• "Stay" (2004)
• "Silent Night" (2005)
• "Time After Time" featuring Sarah McLachlan(2005) (#14 Adult contemporary) chart date 1/14/2006

Cyndi Lauper - Other artist's singles on which Lauper appears

• "We Are the World" (various artists) (1985) (#1 (4 weeks) USA)
• "Steady (single)" by Jules Shear (1985)
• "Land of 1,000 Dances?!!?" (various artists) (1985)
• "Another Brick in the Wall Part II" (various artists) (1990)
• "Give Peace a Chance" (Peace Choir) (1991)
• "Boys Will be Boys" (The Hooters) (1993)
• "Twilight Eyes" (David Schnaufer) (2000)
• "Zero Landmine (No More Landmines)" (various artists) (2001)
• "Love Me All Over" (J-Friends) (2002)

Cyndi Lauper - EPs

• The Best Remixes - 1989
• Wanna Have Fun - 1998
• Shine EP - 2002
• Shine Remixes - 2003

Cyndi Lauper - Soundtracks and other albums

• What's In a Name? (Henry Gross) - 1981 (Backing Vocals)
• The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 1985
• USA For Africa - 1985
• Confrontation (Face to Face) - 1985 (Backing Vocals, billed as "Kindy Lipkey")
• The Wrestling Album (Various Artists) - 1985 (Backing Vocals, billed as "Mona Flambe")
• Cyndi Lauper & Friends (Compilation with songs by others) - 1985 (Brazil Only)
• The Bridge (Billy Joel) - 1986 (Duets on "Code of Silence")
• The Wall: Live in Berlin (Roger Waters) - 1990 (On several songs recorded live)
• Music Speaks Louder Than Words (Various Artists) - 1990 (Contributes track "Cold")
• Tycoon (Various Artists) - 1992 (Contributes 2 tracks)
• A Very Special Christmas 2 (Various Artists) - 1992 (Duets with Frank Sinatra)
• Put on Your Green Shoes (Various Artists) - 1993 (Performs title track, billed as part of "3 Cats 'n Jammers")
• Out of Body (The Hooters) - 1993 (Lead vocals on "Boys Will be Boys")
• Largo (Various Artists) - 1998 (Contributes 2 tracks)
• A Night at the Roxbury: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 1998 (Contributes track)
• Southie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Various Artists) - 1999 (Vocals on Wild Colonials track "If By Chance")
• Rugrats in Paris - the Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Various Artists) - 200 (Contributes track)
• Blowback (Tricky) - 2000 (Vocals on "Five Days")
• Sincerely...Mariya Takeuchi Songbook (Various Artists) - 2003 (Vocals on "Winter Lovers")
• Wig in a Box: Songs From & Inspired by Hedwig (Various Artists) - 2003 (Vocals on "Midnight Radio")

Cyndi Lauper - Filmography

• 1985 The Goonies (Cameo)
• 1988 Vibes
• 1991 Off and Running
• 1993 Life With Mikey
• 1994 Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (Cameo)
• 1999 The Opportunists
• 2005 The Naked Brothers Band (currently in post-production)

See also

• List of best-selling music artists
• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (US)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Cyndi Lauper", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki