Music >> Artists >> Pop
Birth Name:
Cynthia Anne Stephanie Lauper

Genre:
Pop

Years Active:
'70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s






Cyndi Lauper

Biography

Cyndi Lauper was one of the biggest stars of the early MTV era, selling five million copies of her debut album, She's So Unusual, as well as scoring a string of four Top Ten hits from the record, including the major hits "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time." Lauper's thin, girlish voice and gleefully ragtag appearance became one of the most distinctive images of the early '80s, which helped lead her not only to the top of the charts, but also to stardom. Throughout America, there were numbers of teenage girls dressing like Lauper and using "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" as an anthem, a call to arms for self-expression. At first, her music was a bright, colorful new wave fusion of a number of styles, including new wave, post-punk, reggae, pop, and funk. Both her music and her appearance helped popularize — and just as importantly, sanitize —- the image of punk and new wave for America, making it an acceptable part of the pop landscape. Lauper didn't follow through on the success of her debut, choosing to turn toward middle-of-the-road balladry and mainstream pop, but her first album remains a benchmark of the early '80s.. Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in the neighboring borough of Queens, Lauper (born June 22, 1953) dropped out of high school in her late teens, choosing to sing in a number of local cover bands instead. Eventually, her voice was so strained she turned to voice lessons from Katherine Agresta, a well-known vocal teacher in New York. In 1977, Lauper began writing her own material with keyboardist John Turi. The duo formed Blue Angel that same year. Over the next few years, the group built up a solid following in New York, culminating in the release of an eponymous debut album on Polydor in 1980. Blue Angel flopped and shortly afterward, Lauper filed for bankruptcy, which led to her group's disbandment.

Lauper subsequently sang in local clubs and restaurants. In 1983, her manager and boyfriend David Wolff managed to secure her a contract with Portrait. At the end of the year, she released her debut album, She's So Unusual. Helped by heavy MTV support of the album's first single/video "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," the album became a major hit in the spring of 1984, eventually climbing to number four on the U.S. charts; it would wind up going platinum five times, as well as becoming a hit in the U.K. and Europe. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" peaked at number two, while its follow-up, the ballad "Time After Time," reached number one; two other songs, "She Bop" and "All Through the Night," went Top Ten.

With the mainstream success under her belt, Lauper was an official star, yet she wasn't able to maintain her popularity. During 1985 she worked on her follow-up album; her only release of the year was "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough," the theme song from the children's adventure film The Goonies. Her second album, True Colors, appeared in the fall of 1986, and while it was successful — the title track went to number one, while the album peaked at number four and went platinum — its softer, adult contemporary sound lost Lauper some fans. Lauper's career continued to lose momentum, as her feature film debut in 1988's comedy Vibes bombed. A Night to Remember, her third album, was released to weak reviews in 1989, and although it spawned the Top Ten hit "I Drove All Night," it suffered from disappointing sales, peaking at number 37. The next year, she severed her relationship with Wolff and married actor David Thornton.

After taking a few years off, Lauper returned in 1993 with Hat Full of Stars, an album where she co-produced and co-wrote all of the tracks. The record stiffed, peaking at 112. The following year, the hits compilation Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some was released in the U.K.; the album reached number two, while a remixed "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" became a number one hit. Twelve Deadly Cyns was released in America the following year to less attention. Lauper released Sisters of Avalon, her first album of new material in four years, in the spring of 1997 to generally positive reviews, yet the record didn't chart. Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life! followed in late 1998.

After a long hiatus, Lauper returned to the studio in 2003 for At Last, a collection of pop standards that garnered favorable reviews and spawned a live DVD, Live...At Last. The Body Acoustic, a collection of stripped-down reinventions of previous hits, followed in 2005. In 2008, Lauper released her tenth studio album, the dance-oriented Bring Ya to the Brink. She then switched gears for 2010's Memphis Blues, which featured her versions of several classic blues songs.

Top Albums


1. She's So Unu..
The Essential Cyndi Lauper, Cyndi Lauper
2. The Essentia..
Memphis Blues, Cyndi Lauper
3. Memphis Blue..
The Body Acoustic, Cyndi Lauper
4. The Body Aco..
At Last, Cyndi Lauper
5. At Last
True Colors, Cyndi Lauper
6. True Colors
True Colors Live 2008 - EP, Cyndi Lauper
7. True Colors ..
A Night to Remember, Cyndi Lauper
8. A Night to R..
She's So Unusual: A 30th Anniversary Celebration, Cyndi Lauper
9. She's So Unu..
Bring Ya to the Brink, Cyndi Lauper
10. Bring Ya to ..
To Memphis With Love (Live), Cyndi Lauper
11. To Memphis W..
Bring Ya to the Brink, Cyndi Lauper
12. Bring Ya to ..
Shine Remixes, Cyndi Lauper
13. Shine Remixe..
Shine - EP, Cyndi Lauper
14. Shine - EP
Discover Cyndi Lauper - EP, Cyndi Lauper
15. Discover Cyn..
Same Ol' Story (Remixes), Cyndi Lauper
16. Same Ol' Sto..
Sisters of Avalon, Cyndi Lauper
17. Sisters of A..
Disco Inferno - EP, Cyndi Lauper
18. Disco Infern..
Disco Inferno - EP, Cyndi Lauper
19. Disco Infern..
Sex Is in the Heel (The Remixes), Cyndi Lauper
20. Sex Is in th..

Top Songs

NameAlbumTimePrice
1.
Girls Just Want to Have FunEssential Cyndi Lauper3:55$1.29
2.
Time After TimeShe's So Unusual: A 30t..4:03$1.29
3.
True ColorsEssential Cyndi Lauper3:46$1.29
4.
All Through the NightEssential Cyndi Lauper4:29$1.29
5.
Time After Time (Una y Otra Vez)Essential Cyndi Lauper4:01$1.29
6.
Goonies 'R' Good Enough (Sin..Essential Cyndi Lauper3:38$1.29
7.
Girls Just Want to Have FunNow That's What I Call ..3:48$1.29
8.
She BopEssential Cyndi Lauper3:48$1.29
9.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun80's Pop Hits3:47$1.29
10.
Time After TimeRarities, B-Sides and Other..4:19$1.29
11.
I Drove All NightEssential Cyndi Lauper4:10$1.29
12.
Time After Time (feat. Sarah McLachl..Body Acoustic4:16$1.29
13.
Time After TimeTwelve Deadly Cyns...And Th..3:59$1.29
14.
Time After Time (The Lord Warddd Rem..She's So Unusual (Remix..4:47$1.29
15.
True ColorsTrue Colors3:46$1.29
16.
When You Were MineEssential Cyndi Lauper5:03$0.99
17.
Change of HeartEssential Cyndi Lauper4:23$0.99
18.
All Through the NightShe's So Unusual: A 30t..4:32$1.29
19.
Goonies 'R' Good EnoughGoonies (Original Motion Pi..3:38$1.29
20.
At LastAt Last2:42$0.99
21.
She BopShe's So Unusual: A 30t..3:52$1.29
22.
Girls Just Want to Have FunShe's So Unusual: A 30t..3:58$1.29
23.
All Through the NightTwelve Deadly Cyns...And Th..4:29$1.29
24.
Home for the HolidaysHome for the Holidays - Sin..3:04$0.69
25.
Girls Just Want to Have FunTwelve Deadly Cyns...And Th..3:54$1.29

Top Music Videos

Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper
1. Time After Ti...
True Colors, Cyndi Lauper
2. True Colors
Into the Nightlife, Cyndi Lauper
3. Into the Nigh...
Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun), Cyndi Lauper
4. Hey Now (Girl...
She Bop, Cyndi Lauper
5. She Bop
The Goonies 'R' Good Enough, Cyndi Lauper
6. The Goonies '...
Hole in My Heart, Cyndi Lauper
7. Hole in My He...
At Last, Cyndi Lauper
8. At Last
Boy Blue, Cyndi Lauper
9. Boy Blue
What's Going On (feat. Chuck D), Cyndi Lauper
10. What's Going ...
Who Let In The Rain, Cyndi Lauper
11. Who Let In Th...
Sisters Of Avalon, Cyndi Lauper
12. Sisters Of Av...
My First Night Without You, Cyndi Lauper
13. My First Nigh...
A Night to Remember, Cyndi Lauper
14. A Night to Re...
Eleven Days (feat. Cyndi Lauper), David Byrne & Fatboy Slim
15. Eleven Days (...
You Don't Know, Cyndi Lauper
16. You Don't Kno...
I'm Gonna Be Strong, Cyndi Lauper
17. I'm Gonna Be ...
Ballad of Cleo & Joe, Cyndi Lauper
18. Ballad of Cle...
Sally's Pigeons, Cyndi Lauper
19. Sally's Pigeo...
Heading West, Cyndi Lauper
20. Heading West


Comments



US iTunes, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store
US iTunes, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store

Become a fan of the Show Up Music on Facebook for exclusive offers, the inside scoop on latest and most exclusive music albums, singles and videos.