Cyndi Lauper

"Lauper" redirects here. For the curler, see Erwin Lauper.

Cyndi Lauper

Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album. Lauper has released 11 albums and over 40 singles, and as of 2008 had sold more than 30 million records worldwide.

Life and career

1953–1979: Early life

The daughter of Fred and Catrine Lauper, Cyndi Lauper was born and raised in Ozone Park, in the borough of Queens in New York City. Her mother uses the stage name "Catrine Dominique" for the music videos in which she has appeared. Her father was of German and Swiss descent and her mother is Italian American (from Sicily). She has an older sister, Ellen, and a younger brother, Fred (nicknamed Butch).

After Lauper's parents divorced, her mother remarried, divorced again, and went to work as a waitress. It was during this time that Lauper began listening to artists like Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Beatles. Her mother encouraged her independence and creativity. At the age of twelve, Lauper learned how to play an acoustic guitar, which her sister had given to her, and she started to write her own lyrics. She had a great love of art and music and tried to find ways to express herself. Even at this early age, Lauper started dyeing her hair different colors and wearing radical fashions. Lauper was accepted in a special public high school for students with talent in the visual arts, but she was held back and eventually dropped out, earning her GED sometime later. At the age of seventeen, she left home, planning to study art. Her journey would take her to Canada, where she spent two weeks in the woods with her dog, Sparkle, trying to find herself. She eventually wound up in Vermont, where she took art classes at Johnson State College. She supported herself by working at various odd jobs.

In the mid 1970s, Lauper performed as a vocalist with various cover bands (such as Doc West and Flyer, who still perform under the names Gap Wilson Band and Red, White and Blues Band), in the New York metropolitan area, singing hits by bands such as Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, and Bad Company. Even though Lauper was now performing on stage, she was not happy singing cover songs. In 1977, Lauper damaged her vocal cords and took a year off. She was told by three doctors that she would never sing again. Vocal coach Katie Agresta helped Lauper regain her voice by teaching her proper vocal exercises.

1980–1981: Blue Angel

Main article: Blue Angel

In 1978, after Lauper regained her voice, she met saxophone player John Turi through her manager Ted Rosenblatt. Turi and Lauper became writing partners and formed a band called Blue Angel. They decided to put everything they had into making an album of original material. A few demos were recorded and the tape found its way over to Steve Massarsky, who was managing The Allman Brothers Band. Massarsky said the tape was horrible, but he was attracted to Lauper's voice. He saw them play live and eventually started managing the band after buying their contract out for $5,000. Many people wanted to sign Lauper only if she would sign on as a solo artist. Lauper held out, wanting the band to be included in any deal she made. Polydor Records eventually signed them as a band. In 1980, they released a self-titled album on Polydor Records. Rolling Stone magazine later included it as one of the 100 best new wave album covers (2003). Lauper hated the cover, often saying they made her look like Big Bird. Despite critical acclaim, the album sold poorly (or "went lead", as Lauper says) and the band broke up. Polydor Records had a regime change, and the label would not let the band back into the studio unless they had a hit. The members of Blue Angel had a falling out with Massarsky and fired him as their manager. He later filed an $80,000 suit against them. This suit forced Lauper into bankruptcy.

Lauper started working in retail stores such as the New York high-end thrift store Screaming Mimi's to make ends meet, and she still sang in local clubs. Her most frequent gigs were at El Sombrero. Music critics that saw Lauper perform with Blue Angel thought that she had star potential since she had a wide singing range (four octaves), perfect pitch, and a vocal style all her own. In 1981, while singing in a local New York bar, Lauper met David Wolff, who took over as her manager (and at some point became romantically involved with her) and got her signed with Portrait Records, a subsidiary of Epic Records. Wolff had been working with a band called Arc Angel.

1983–1985: She's So Unusual

Main article: She's So Unusual

On October 14, 1983, She's So Unusual was released and peaked at #4 in the US becoming a worldwide hit. With help from Rick Chertoff, Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman (of The Hooters) as her primary studio musicians, She's So Unusual's popularity spread like wildfire. At the time, Lauper became popular with teenagers and critics, in part due to her hybrid punk image. Lauper knew she could write songs, but the record company had a lot of material they wanted her to record. She altered a lot of the songs that were thrown her way, often changing the lyrics to suit her. An example is her Platinum-certified "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"; Lauper says the original lyrics of the song dealt more with a girl pleasing a man, and therefore she changed the lyrics, wanting the song to be more of an anthem as she felt the original song seemed misogynistic. Robert Hazard had originally written the song for a man to perform. The album's second single was the ballad "Time After Time". Lauper co-wrote "Time After Time" with Rob Hyman when her producer, Rick Chertoff, suggested to the band that the album could use one more song. The record label did not have much faith in Lauper as a songwriter, but they gave her the chance to prove herself. "Time After Time" hit #1 on both Billboard's Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. It earned Lauper Gold certification with sales of 500,000 from the RIAA and was one of the biggest hits of 1984. It has been covered by more than 100 artists. Lauper came up with the title for "Time After Time" while reading TV Guide—Time After Time was a 1979 science fiction movie starring Malcolm McDowell as H. G. Wells, portraying him inventing and then traveling in a time machine. She has also stated that the apartment that she shared with David in New York had a very loud alarm clock, and that's where the lyrics "I hear the clock tick and think of you" originated. "She Bop" was the album's third single release. It reached #3 on the Hot 100 and earned Cyndi another Gold certification of 500,000 from the RIAA. This was followed by "All Through the Night" which was written by Jules Shear and reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. . Jules Shear and Cyndi Lauper went on to co-write the song "Steady". She is given credit as a writer not a singer. The song reached #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985.

The album also includes a cover of The Brains' New Wave track "Money Changes Everything" which reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. In some countries, "When You Were Mine", a cover of Prince's song was released as a promotional single in 1985. Lauper spent 1984 touring and promoting She's So Unusual. By the end of the year, she was the first female to have four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 Top Five hits from one album. The LP itself stayed in the Top 200 charts for more than 65 weeks and has since sold 16 million copies worldwide. In 1985, The Women in Crystal Film Awards awarded her with the New Directions Award, given to those who are known for their creativity and originality.

The video for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" made Lauper an MTV staple. The video ran constantly on MTV and featured the late wrestler Captain Lou Albano as Lauper's father, and her real-life mother, Catrine, as her mother. Also in the video are her attorney, her manager and her brother, Butch. It won the first-ever award for Best Female Video at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards. All three of Lauper's first videos were directed by Edd Griles, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time" and "She Bop". The videos featured many of Lauper's family members and her dog, Sparkle. Lauper was on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in May 1984. The photo on the cover had been reversed to make room for the title. She also appeared on the cover of Time and Newsweek with the headline "Women In Rock". Lauper was voted by Ms. magazine one of its women of the year. During this time period, Lauper appeared on the cover of People magazine twice. The video for "Money Changes Everything" was shot during a concert at the Summit in Houston, Texas. The concert was broadcast over the radio and HBO, and fans were told to show up wearing white T-shirts. The video featured a 14 year old fan named Jennifer Payson hugging Lauper onstage.

She started 1985 by participating on USA for Africa's famine-relief fund-raising single "We Are the World", singing the climactic soprano part of the bridge. During the taping of the song, the audio engineers were having problems discovering what was causing a clicking noise in the recording. It was discovered to be coming from Lauper's jewelry. Also, in 1985, Lauper won a Grammy Award in the Best New Artist category. At the event, she appeared with WWF Superstar Hulk Hogan, who played her "bodyguard". Lauper, in return, made many appearances as herself in a number of the World Wrestling Federation's "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" events, including the inaugural WrestleMania event, where she was the manager of Wendi Richter. Their entrance music was "Girls Just Want to Have Fun".

Steven Spielberg had asked Lauper to be the musical director of his latest film The Goonies, an adventurous family film about lost treasure. Lauper had the power to choose whom she wanted on the soundtrack, so she tried to make the album very diverse. The Bangles were just one of the bands that contributed to the soundtrack. Lauper stated in a 1986 interview that she had been working 12 hour days and had gynecological problems. Lauper had a minor operation and spent some time in the hospital. Her doctors told her that she needed some rest. This was the reason she was not able to participate in the Live Aid concert. The music video for "The Goonies R Good Enough" featured many guests, including WWF Wrestlers such as the Iron Sheik, Captain Lou Albano, Roddy Piper, André the Giant, "Classy" Freddie Blassie, The Fabulous Moolah, and Nikolai Volkoff, the Goonies cast, and the Bangles. The video was split up into two acts, making Lauper the very first artist to have a two-part video. Spielberg even allowed her access to the set pieces from the film. The soundtrack album reached #73 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The song reached #10 on Billboards Hot 100 chart in 1985. Lauper received a Best Female Rock Performance Grammy nomination for the b-side song "What a Thrill". Lauper has been quoted as saying that she had long despised the song because of Richard Donner's insistence on everything being perfect for the video shoot. In behind-the-scenes footage of the video, you can see Lauper physically exhausted from the work on the video. The video was released in two parts. The first part premiered on MTV before The Goonies was released in theaters, and the second part came after the movie had opened. While the song and the movie have become 1980's cult classics, working on the soundtrack postponed Lauper's second album.

Lauper stopped performing "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough", in concert around 1987. During the Australian leg of her 2004 "At Last" tour, at the request of the crowd she performed an a cappella version of the first verse and chorus at several shows. It was at a show in Baltimore on Lauper's 2006 tour that she finally played it in full again. The crowd was chanting "Goonies" and she sang the song a cappella to an ecstatic crowd. She finally agreed to play the song again on her "True Colors" tour in 2007, and it was featured in her 2008 tour of Australia as the second number performed at each show. During the video commentary for "The Goonies", actor Sean Astin can be heard thanking Lauper for the song. He says that they all appeared tired on the set of the video because of the rigorous shooting schedule, but they really did love the song. Astin apologizes to Lauper again in footage that can be seen in the upcoming "Goonies Documentary".

1986–1988: True Colors

Lauper released her second album, True Colors, on September 15, 1986. It reached #4 on the Billboard 200. For this album, she increased her involvement both in production and songwriting. Guests on the album included Angela Clemons-Patrick, Nile Rodgers, Aimee Mann, Billy Joel, Adrian Belew, The Bangles, Ellie Greenwich, and Rick Derringer. Lauper co-wrote most of the album with Essra Mohawk, John Turi, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Although the album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor was, it contained three high-charting singles, including the title track, "True Colors" which became Cyndi's second song to hit #1 on Billboard's Hot 100, "Change of Heart" (#3) and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" (#12) followed. The album also featured an older song called "Maybe He'll Know", which was on the Blue Angel album. The album covers for both She's So Unusual and True Colors were composed by photographer Annie Leibovitz. "True Colors" was licensed to Kodak for use in its commercials. Lauper had no control over the song, which was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. The fourth single from the album, "Boy Blue", became Lauper's first solo non-top-40 single. The proceeds of the song were donated to AIDS research. The album sold 2 million copies in the United States.

In 1986, Lauper appeared on the Billy Joel album The Bridge on a song called "Code of Silence". Lauper also sang the theme song for the series "Pee-wee's Playhouse" the same year, though she was credited as "Ellen Shaw". Playhouse star Paul Reubens appeared on the True Colors album track "911" as an emergency operator. In 1987, David Wolff produced a concert film for Lauper called Cyndi: Live in Paris. The concert was broadcast on HBO that same year and received a Grammy nomination for Outstanding Long Form Music Video.

Lauper made her film debut in August 1988 in the quirky comedy Vibes, alongside Jeff Goldblum, Julian Sands, Elizabeth Peña and Peter Falk. Lauper played a psychic in search of a city of gold in South America. The film was produced by Ron Howard and David Wolff acted as the film's associate producer.

To prepare for the role, Lauper took a few classes in finger waving and hair setting at the Robert Fiance School of Beauty in New York and studied with a few Manhattan psychics. The film was poorly received by critics and commercially flopped. Lauper contributed a track called "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" but the song was not included on the soundtrack. A video was released, which was a high energy, comic action/adventure romp through a Chinese laundry. The song stalled at a disappointing #54 on the US charts, but fared better in Australia, peaking at #8 and becoming her fifth and final Top 10 single in Australia. It was performed as the opening song on her 2008 Australian tour.

1989–1992: A Night to Remember

A Night to Remember – Lauper's third album – was released in the spring of 1989. The album spawned only one big hit, the #6 single "I Drove All Night", for which Lauper received a Grammy nomination for Rock Vocal Performance. It was originally penned for and sung by Roy Orbison, although his version was not released until 1992, three years after Lauper's version and four years after his death. She also wrote and produced most of the album. Contributing writers were Desmond Child, Christina Amphlett of Divinyls, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, Diane Warren, and Frank Previte. Guest musicians include Bootsy Collins, Larry Blackmon, Batkini Khumalo, Eric Clapton, and Nile Rodgers. The video for "My First Night Without You", released in 1989, was one of the first to be closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.

The disappointing sales of the album "A Night To Remember", a canceled United States tour due to low ticket sales and the pressures of celebrity led Lauper to "retire" from her "singing." She toured South America and Japan successfully into the early stages of 1990 and then retreated into acting.

On July 21, 1990, Lauper joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in Berlin, performing "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II". She also performed on the song, "The Tide Is Turning" with Waters, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Adams, Paul Carrack and Van Morrison. Lauper wore a school girl outfit, performing to over 300,000 people. The concert was watched live by over five million people worldwide.

Lauper had become close friends with Yoko Ono. In 1990 she took part in a John Lennon tribute concert in Liverpool, performing the Beatles song "Hey Bulldog" and the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero". The concert was aired on the Disney Channel. She also took part in a project Ono and Lennon developed called "The Peace Choir". They performed a new version of Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance". The reworked "Give Peace a Chance" was written by Sean Lennon. In 1990, Lauper co-wrote the song "Paper Heart" (a song about drug addiction) with Go-Go's alumna Jane Wiedlin. The song appeared on Wiedlin's CD Tangled.

Lauper worked on the movie originally titled Moon Over Miami, which later became Off and Running with David Keith, Richard Belzer and David Thornton, whom she started seeing romantically. Lauper claims that Miami was a great place to fall in love. The film was released in Europe but never made it off the ground in the US market. (David Wolff was the music supervisor for the film.) On November 24, 1991 Cyndi and David Thornton were married at the Friends Meeting House in New York. Rock and Roll pioneer Little Richard, who at one time gave up Rock and Roll to become a minister performed the ceremony. Patti LaBelle sang Procol Harum's classic "A Whiter Shade of Pale", and Lauper's grandmother served as the matron of honor. Other guests included Paul Reubens, best known for his Pee-wee Herman character, and John Turturro. Lauper had threatened to dress like a lighted Christmas tree, but settled on a traditional white wedding dress.

In 1992, Lauper contributed two tracks to the European musical Tycoon, an English version of the hit French-Canadian stage show Starmania. She scored another Top 20 hit in Europe (it went to #2 in France, earning a 2x platinum certification there) with "The World Is Stone", penned by Tim Rice, Michel Berger, and Luc Plamondon. She also recorded "You Have To Learn To Live Alone". The two tracks were included on a compilation released in the U.S. in 2000. Lauper recorded "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", a duet with Frank Sinatra, which was released on the album Very Special Christmas II. Sinatra's vocals were taken from his original recording and mixed with Lauper's in the studio.

1993–1995: Hat Full of Stars/Twelve Deadly Cyns

In June 1993 Lauper released her fourth album, Hat Full of Stars, which tackled such topics as homophobia, spousal abuse, racism and abortion. Despite significant accolades – and decent sales in France and Japan – it was a sales failure (moving less than 100,000 copies) in the United States. The album peaked at #112 on the Billboard charts, largely because the album suffered from a lack of promotion. Lauper appeared on the Howard Stern Show to promote the album. Lauper said the song "Hat Full of Stars" was written as a message to David Wolff. The video for "Who Let in the Rain" features a chalk drawing of David Wolff on the sidewalk. "A Part Hate" was written collaboratively by Lauper and husband David Thornton. The video for "Sally's Pigeons" features the then unknown Julia Stiles as the young Cyndi.

Tommy Mottola, president of Sony Music, told Lauper to go out and make her own Graceland (referring to Paul Simon's album). Lauper wanted to write her own material and stop doing cover songs. She wrote some songs on the album with other people, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ailee Willis, Nicky Holland, Tom Gray, Hugh Masekela and The Hooters. The same year, Lauper recorded "Boys Will Be Boys" with The Hooters. The song "Private Emotion" was dedicated to her by The Hooters. Both songs appeared on the Hooter's CD Out of Body. Lauper also returned to acting, playing Michael J. Fox's ditzy secretary in 1993's Life with Mikey, which also starred Nathan Lane.

Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some, was released worldwide in 1994 (except in the U.S., where it was held back until the summer of 1995). The album was a greatest hits compilation that included two re-recorded tracks, "I'm Gonna be Strong", first recorded with her band Blue Angel, and a reworking of her first big hit, newly christened "Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun)". The Japanese edition of the CD includes the single "Hole In My Heart (All The Way To China)" as the final track. The album was released under a number of different titles, and had different packaging and track listings for certain countries. Twelve Deadly Cyns sold over 4 million copies worldwide and Lauper began a world tour to promote the album. It was especially popular in the UK, "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" hit number four (the single also returned Lauper to the US Hot 100, albeit briefly). The song includes special appearances by Snow and Patra. The album also included a hot reggae influenced song, "Come On Home", which was remixed by Junior Vasquez with a special appearance by Demetrius "Sir Jam" Ross.

Lauper won an Emmy Award for her role as Marianne on the sitcom Mad About You. A 12 Deadly Cyns VHS tape featuring most of Lauper's videos was released.

1997–2000: Sisters of Avalon

In 1997, Lauper announced that she was expecting a child. Declyn Wallace Thornton Lauper was born on November 17 of that year; he was named after Elvis Costello (whose first name is Declan) and William Wallace. He was born while Lauper was putting the finishing touches on her new album.

Her fifth album, Sisters of Avalon (released in Japan in 1996 and everywhere else in 1997) failed in America – spending a single week on the Billboard album chart at #188. The album was quickly embraced by the gay community for its dance and club styling. The album was written and produced with the help of Jan Pulsford (Lauper's keyboard player) and Producer Mark Saunders. Guest musicians include, Bush lead guitarist Nigel Pulsford on "You Don't Know" and "Love to Hate". The album was written and recorded in Tennessee and Connecticut and finished in an old mansion in Tuxedo Park, N.Y., where she lived and worked at that time.

The song "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" addressed the complications of a drag queen's double life. Lauper started writing the song around 1994. "Brimstone and Fire" painted a portrait of a lesbian relationship, and "You Don't Know" showed Lauper flexing more political muscle than on her previous albums. The song "Say a Prayer" was written for a friend of hers who had died from AIDS. The song "Searching'" was used in one of Baywatch's episodes. "Unhook the Stars" was used in the movie movie of the same name starring Marisa Tomei, Gerard Depardieu, Gena Rowlands and David Thornton.

Lauper's sister Ellen had come out as a lesbian and Lauper considered her to be a role model. Ellen was doing a lot of charity work for the gay community, and was working out of a clinic, helping people who were suffering from AIDS. Lauper began performing as a featured artist at gay pride events around the world (as early as 1994, she had performed at the closing ceremonies for Gay Games IV in New York City). She also served as the opening act for Tina Turner's summer tour, which was one of the highest grossing tours that year. Lauper took up the Appalachian dulcimer, taking lessons from David Schnauffer.

Lauper released her last album for Epic in late 1998. Merry Christmas...Have A Nice Life, as the title implies, was a Christmas collection of original material and standards. It is a combination of folk-rock, Cajun and Celtic music. Her version of "Silent Night" was used in a Pampers commercial. Rob Hyman co-wrote the album opener "Home on Christmas Day", and provides accordion and organ accompaniment on a number of tracks. Producer William Wittman, who has been behind a mixing board for Lauper since her debut album She's So Unusual, was once again in a co-producing and mixing role. Lauper is ably assisted by Jan Pulsford, the keyboardist who tours with Lauper and co-produced her last disc, Sisters of Avalon. The Christmas album was recorded at Lauper's home in Connecticut. Declyn was the major inspiration on Merry Christmas, "December Child" was written for him. Declyn makes his vocal debut on "First Lullaby", Jan tickled him, grabbed the mike, and the results are on tape. Lauper reprises two holiday-themed tracks for previous albums that blend seamlessly with the newer material: "Feels Like Christmas", a Cajun-spiced tune from Hat Full of Stars and "Early Christmas Morning" from Sisters of Avalon. She closes the album with a stark rendition of "Silent Night" in memory of Peter Wood, the close friend and musician to whom Lauper dedicated her hits compilation, Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some. Wood was a keyboardist who toured with the singer and performed in the studio on many of her tracks.

On January 17, 1999, Lauper appeared on The Simpsons. Lauper appeared on the show as herself singing the National Anthem. The episode was called "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken". The same year, Lauper opened for Cher's Do You Believe? Tour alongside Wild Orchid. Lauper and Cher performed "Turn Back Time" on VH1 Divas. She also garnered critical plaudits for her roles in several independent films including Mrs. Parker And The Vicious Circle, and The Opportunists.

Lauper contributed a cover version of The Trammps's classic "Disco Inferno" to the soundtrack for the film A Night at the Roxbury. The remixed version became a club hit and received a Grammy nomination that year for Best Dance Recording. The single was released as an EP, featuring several remixes. In 2000, Lauper contributed a song called "I Want a Mom That Will Last Forever" for the children's movie Rugrats in Paris. The song was written with Mark Mothersbaugh (of the new wave group Devo). Also in 2000, Lauper co-wrote a song, "If You Believe", with Faye Tozer of the British pop group Steps. It appeared on the band's third studio album, "Buzz", and was subsequently released in the US in July 2001.

2001–2003: Shine / At Last

Lauper prepared her sixth studio album in 2001, Shine, which saw her returning to her early pop/rock sound. It featured Japanese pop superstar Ryuichi Sakamoto, and George Fullan of Train. Just weeks before the album's scheduled release on September 11, 2001, her label, Edel America Records, folded, and the tracks were leaked to the public. Although a five song EP of the same name was made available through her website and at Tower Records, the full-length album concept was scrapped. The five song EP was released in June 2002. An album of Shine remixes was eventually released through Tower Records. The complete Shine album was released on April 21, 2004, exclusively in Japan. The album has become a collector's item.

On October 12, 2000, Lauper took part in a television show called Women in Rock, Girls With Guitars. The show featured Sheryl Crow, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Melissa Etheridge, Amy Grant, Wynonna Judd, and Destiny's Child. Lauper performed the Paul McCartney hit "Maybe I'm Amazed" with Ann Wilson of Heart. She also sang the R&B classic "Ooh Child" with the girl group Destiny's Child. She also performed a new song called "Water's Edge" with Ann Wilson. The song was well received and critics saw that performance as one of the highlights of the night. A CD was issued that contained the studio versions of some songs performed during the concert. The CD was exclusively released to Sears stores from September 30 to October 31, 2001 and $1.00 of each sold went to breast cancer research. In 2003 while on tour with Cher she broke her ankle.

Lauper's former label Sony issued a new best-of CD entitled The Essential Cyndi Lauper. She re-signed with Sony/Epic Records and a cover album entitled At Last (formerly Naked City), was released in 2003. Lauper received a Grammy nomination in 2005 for the category, "Best Instrumental Composition Accompanying a Vocal." Lauper took part in VH1 Divas Live with Patti LaBelle, Jessica Simpson, Debbie Harry, Ashanti, Sheila E., and the Pussycat Dolls.

2005–2007: The Body Acoustic

Under a new contract with Sony Music, Lauper released The Body Acoustic, an album that featured acoustic reinterpretations of tracks from her back catalog. Two new tracks were also written and recorded, one of which is "Above the Clouds". Guests on the album included Shaggy, Ani DiFranco, Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday, Jeff Beck, Puffy AmiYumi, Sarah McLachlan,and Vivian Green. "Time After Time" with Sarah McLachlan charted on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

Though she had not released an album of new material since 1997's Sisters of Avalon, Lauper remained busy through the years. She made appearances on Showtime's hit show Queer As Folk in 2005, making her Broadway debut in The Threepenny Opera in 2006 and directing a commercial for Totally 80's edition of the board game Trivial Pursuit. Lauper appeared on a VH1 Classics special called Decades Rock Live. The show featured Lauper performing with many artists such as Shaggy, Scott Weiland of Velvet Revolver/Stone Temple Pilots, Pat Monahan of Train, Ani di Franco, and the Hooters.

On October 16, 2006, she was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2007, she sang "Beecharmer" with Nellie McKay on McKay's Pretty Little Head album, and "Letters To Michael" with Dionne Warwick.

Lauper headlined the True Colors Tour for Human Rights through the United States and Canada, in June 2007. The tour also included Deborah Harry, Erasure, The Dresden Dolls, and Gossip, with Margaret Cho as MC and special guests in different cities. The tour, sponsored by Logo, the MTV Networks channel targeting gay audiences, provided information to fans who attended, as well as purple wristbands with the slogan "Erase Hate" from The Matthew Shepard Foundation. A dollar from every ticket sold was earmarked for the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Lauper was also a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

2008–2009: Bring Ya to the Brink

Cyndi Lauper performing on GMA show

Lauper took a role and wrote a song for the Serbian movie Here and There, which stars her husband, David Thornton, in one of the main roles.

Lauper recorded an album of all new material during 2007. The working title given to the project was Savoir-faire, but she announced at her Perth, Australia concert in February 2008 that the name of the album was Bring Ya to the Brink and that it would be released in the spring. In preparation for the album, Lauper visited England and France during summer 2007 to write for the album and wrote songs with dance artists like Axwell, The Scumfrog, Basement Jaxx, Digital Dog, Dragonette, Kleerup and others. She described it as a mainly dance album with good rhythm. Most of the album was recorded in Sweden. The first single released in Japan was "Set Your Heart" which gained significant airplay there and was used in the advertising campaign for the 2008 Toyota Car Model (Mark X ZIO) starring actor and singer Takeshi Kaneshiro. Lauper embarked on an Australian tour playing at the Kings Park Botanic Gardens in Perth, supported by Katie Noonan and Kate Miller-Heidke on February 22, 2008, and she was the headline and final act at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Party, on March 2, 2008. She sang "Same Ol' Story" followed by a newly remixed version of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". "Same Ol' Story" was released as the album's first worldwide single and was released as a download only on May 6, 2008. Several remixes of the track were released to DJs. The album was released on May 27, 2008 in the United States.

The True Colors Tour 2008 debuted on May 31, 2008. Joining Lauper at various venues were Rosie O'Donnell, The B-52's, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Cliks, Indigo Girls, Kat Deluna, Joan Armatrading, Regina Spektor, Tegan and Sara, Nona Hendryx, Deborah Cox, Wanda Sykes, among others. The MC was Carson Kressley from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Sarah McLachlan was also featured at the Burnaby, British Columbia show.

In August 2008, Lauper contributed an article titled "Hope" to The Huffington Post which encouraged Americans to vote for Barack Obama in the upcoming United States presidential election. Lauper also performed alongside Thelma Houston, Melissa Etheridge and Rufus Wainwright at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

David Byrne stated in his blog that he has collaborated with Lauper on a track for his upcoming Here Lies Love. He described her performance as "amazingly fine-tuned" and "very impressive." Lauper recorded a special Christmas duet with Swedish band The Hives, entitled "A Christmas Duel", on CDsingle and 7" vinyl, in Sweden only, on November 19, 2008. It reached number 4 in the Swedish charts.

In December 2008, Bring Ya to the Brink was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Lauper also signed a book deal for an autobiography that is scheduled to come out at the end of 2009 or early 2010. Lauper also performed on the "Girls Night Out", headlining it with Rosie O'Donnell in the US.

She appeared on many TV shows in 2009 including the American soap opera, As the World Turns, supporting gay rights, and promoting her True Colors tour and album, Bring Ya to the Brink. She performed "Into the Nightlife" and dedicated a rendition of "True Colors" to one of the show's characters; Luke Snyder. She appeared on the live finale of the eighth season of American Idol on May 20, 2009, performing a duet of "Time After Time" with top-13 finalist Allison Iraheta, accompanying the song on Appalachian dulcimer. She appeared on the 2009 TV Land Awards on April 19 dressed as the "Emperess of Evil" to perform the theme song for Electra Woman and Dyna Girl as part of a musical tribute to Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft. Lauper performed a duet with Leona Lewis on VH1 Divas on September 19, 2009 singing "True Colors" and also appeared along side hip hop artist Eminem for a comedy skit at the MTV VMA's in September 2009. In addition, Lauper played herself alongside Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Michael McDonald, and Mary J. Blige on 30 Rock's third season finale. She also played Avalon Harmonia, a psychic on the Season 5 premiere of Bones.

Cyndi Lauper was also one of the celebrities who designed a T-shirt for the second Fashion Against Aids campaign in 2009, a collaboration between H&M and Designers Against Aids to raise HIV/AIDS awareness worldwide, particularly amongst youngsters.

On November 17, 2009, Lauper performed a collaborative work with Wyclef Jean called "Slumdog Millionaire" and performed it live on The Late Show with David Letterman. The collaborative effort stems from Jean's latest album: Toussaint St. Jean: From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion.

On October 13, 2009, Lauper started filming The Celebrity Apprentice along with other celebrities such as Sharon Osbourne and Bret Michaels, donating her winnings to her own True Colors Fund. It began airing in March 2010. On the May 9, 2010 episode, Donald Trump fired her, leaving her in sixth place.

2010–present: The Apprentice and Memphis Blues

In January 2010, American toy company Mattel released a Cyndi Lauper Barbie doll as part of their "Ladies of the 80's" series.

On April 1, 2010, Lauper launched the Give a Damn campaign to bring a wider awareness of discrimination of the GLBT community as part of her True Colors Fund. The campaign is to bring straight people to stand up with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered community and stop the discrimination. Other names included in the campaign are Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Mraz, Elton John, Judith Light, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Kardashian, Clay Aiken, Ricky Martin, Sharon Osbourne and Kelly Osbourne. Anna Paquin is also part of the campaign and came out as bisexual. This news clogged the Give A Damn website.

Lauper appears on the 22-track, 2-disc collaboration, Here Lies Love, Talking Heads' David Byrne and Fatboy Slim. On the album, she sings the song Eleven Days, as well as the duet Why Don't You Love Me with Tori Amos.

On June 22, 2010, Memphis Blues was released. It debuted on the Billboard Blues Album Chart at #1, and it debuted on Billboard's Top 200 Albums Chart at #26. The album remained #1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart for 14 consecutive weeks; Memphis Blues fell to #2 on October 16, 2010 and then to #3 on October 23, 2010. Memphis Blues is Lauper's eleventh album.

In August 2010, she licensed her song and performance of It's Hard to Be Me, from her album Shine, to be used as the theme song for the new TV Pilot, and potentially the series, Hard to Be Me.

In July 2010, she signed a deal with Mark Burnett to produce a reality show that will focus on her career and her everyday life with her husband David Thornton and their son Declyn.

In December 2010, Memphis Blues was ranked Billboard's #1 Blues Album of The Year. Memphis Blues was nominated in December 2010 for Best Traditional Blues Album Grammy Award.

Personal life

Lauper has been married to David Thornton since 1991. They have one son, Declyn Wallace Thornton, born November 19, 1997.

Discography

Main articles: Cyndi Lauper discography and List of Cyndi Lauper songs

• She's So Unusual (1983)
• True Colors (1986)
• A Night to Remember (1989)
• Hat Full of Stars (1993)
• Sisters of Avalon (1996)
• Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life (1998)
• At Last (2003)
• Shine (2004)
• The Body Acoustic (2005)
• Bring Ya to the Brink (2008)
• Memphis Blues (2010)

Tours

• 1984—1985: The Fun Tour
• 1986—1987: True Colors World Tour
• 1989: A Night to Remember World Tour
• 1993—1994: Hat Full of Stars Tour
• 1994—1995: Twelve Deadly Cyns World Tour
• 1996—1997: Sisters of Avalon Tour
• 1997: Wildest Dreams Tour (North America Leg) (supporting Tina Turner)
• 1999: Do You Believe? Tour (supporting Cher)

• 2001: The Shine Tour
• 2002: Living Proof: The Farewell Tour (supporting Cher)
• 2003—2004: The At Last World Tour
• 2005—2006: The Body Acoustic Tour
• June 2007: True Colors Tour
• February—March 2008: Australian Tour
• June 2008: True Colors Tour
• 2008: Bring Ya To The Brink World Tour
• Summer 2009: Girls Night Out!
• 2010: Memphis Blues Tour

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1984	Prime Cuts	Herself	appearance
1985	The Goonies	Herself	Music video appearance
1988	Vibes	Sylvia Pickel	Main Role
1990	Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme	Mary (Had a Little Lamb)	made for television (Disney Channel)
	The Wall – Live in Berlin	Young Pink	made for television (Tribute)
1991	Off and Running	Cyd Morse	Main Role
1993	Life with Mikey	Geena Briganti	Main Role
1994	Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle	Picnic Guest	uncredited
1996	Sesame Street Elmocize	Herself	Direct-to-video
1999	The Happy Prince	Pidge	made for television (HBO)
2000	The Opportunists	Sally Mahon	appearance
	Christmas Dream	TBA	appearance
2009	Here and There	Rose	Main Role
	Section B	Betty	Main Role

Television

Television guest appearances
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!	Herself	"Captain Lou Is Missing" (Episode 26, Season 2)
1993	Mad About You	Marianne Lugasso	"A Pair of Hearts" (episode 9, season 2) Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series
1995			"Money Changes Everything" (episode 20, season 3) Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series
1999			"Stealing Burt's Car" (episode 18, season 7)
			"The Final Frontier" (episode 21, season 7)
	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Pidge	"The Happy Prince" (episode 5, season 6)
2004	Higglytown Heroes	Operator Hero	"Smooth Operator/Stinky Situation" (episode 6, season 1)
2005	That's So Raven	Miss Petuto	"Art Breaker" (episode 13, season 3)
	Queer as Folk	Herself	(episode 10, season 5)
2007	The Backyardigans	Herself	Performed the song "The Lady in Pink" in the double-length episode "International Super Spy"
2008	Gossip Girl	Herself	"Bonfire of the Vanity" (episode 10, season 2)
	As The World Turns	Herself
2009	30 Rock	Herself	"Kidney Now" (Episode 22, Season 3)
	Bones	Avalon Harmonia	"Harbingers in the Fountain" (Episode 1, Season 5)
2010	The Celebrity Apprentice	Herself	"Playing for Charity – True Colors of Stonewall Community Foundation"

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Lauper won one award from 13 nominations. Janet Perr won the Grammy for Best Recording Package 1985.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1985	Cyndi Lauper	Best New Artist	Won
	She's So Unusual	Album of the Year	Nominated
	"Time After Time"	Song of the Year	Nominated
	"Girls Just Want To Have Fun"	Record of the Year	Nominated
		Best Female Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
1986	"What A Thrill"	Best Female Rock Vocal Performance	Nominated
1987	"True Colors"	Best Female Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
	"911"	Best Female Rock Vocal Performance	Nominated
1990	"I Drove All Night"	Best Female Rock Vocal Performance	Nominated
1999	"Disco Inferno"	Best Dance Recording	Nominated
2005	"Unchained Melody"	Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)	Nominated
2008	"Bring Ya To The Brink"	Best Electronic/Dance Album	Nominated
2010	Memphis Blues	Best Traditional Blues Album	Nominated

MTV Video Music Award

• 1984 – Video of the Year for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (Nominated)
• 1984 – Best New Artist for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (Nominated)
• 1984 – Best New Artist for "Time After Time" (Nominated)
• 1984 – Best Female Video for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (Won)
• 1984 – Best Female Video for "Time After Time" (Nominated)
• 1984 – Best Concept Video for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (Nominated)
• 1984 – Viewer's Choice for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (Nominated)
• 1984 – Best Overall Performance for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (Nominated)
• 1984 – Best Direction for "Time After Time" (Nominated)
• 1985 – Best Female Video for "She Bop" (Nominated)
• 1987 – Best Female Video for "True Colors" (Nominated)
• 1987 – Best Cinematography for "What's Going On" (Nominated)

American Music Awards

• 1985 – Favorite Pop/Rock Female Video Artist (Won)
• 1985 – Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist (Won)

Rolling Stone Awards

• 1985 – Best New Artist (Won)
• 1985 – Best Female Video Artist (Won)

Emmy Award

• 1994 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for "Mad About You" (Nominated)
• 1995 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for "Mad About You" (Won)

Women in Film Crystal Awards

• 1985 – New Directions Award (Won)

See also

• 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)

External links

• Official website
• Paul Burston, Cyndi Lauper is Back, and the Girl still wants to Have Fun (interview), The Times, 2 August 2008
• Cyndi Lauper at IMDb
• NYTimes feature, 2010

RAWR!