Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper took the world by storm with her unique brand of new wave exuberance. After playing for years in New York bands like Doc West and Flyer, she recorded an album with Blue Angel that led to solo record deal with Epic subsidiary Portrait Records.
'She's So Unusual' was recorded at Record Plant in New York and produced by Rick Chertoff and William Wittman. The sessions featured Cyndi Lauper on arrangements, vocals, background vocals, and cover art concept; Jules Shear on backing vocals; Ellie Greenwich, Krystal Davis, Diane Wilson, and Maretha Stewart on backing vocals; Eric Bazilian on bass, guitar, arrangements, saxophone, backing vocals, and hooter; Rick Chertoff on percussion and arrangements; Rick DiFonzo on guitar; Anton Fig on percussion and drums; Rob Hyman on arrangements, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals, and hooter (Melodica); Neil Jason on bass and guitar; William Wittman –on guitar; and Peter Wood on synthesizer.
The album became a huge success, staying on the Billboard 200 chart for more than 65 weeks, and going to twenty-three in Germany, twenty-two in Sweden, sixteen in the UK, eight in Switzerland, five in Austria and Japan, four in the US, three in Australia and New Zealand, and number one in Canada. Lauper won the Grammy for Best New Artist, receiving nominations for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"), and Song of the Year (for "Time After Time"). The album also won the Grammy for Best Album Package, which went to the art director, Janet Perr. 'She's So Unusual' has sold more than twenty-two million copies worldwide.
Lauper looks back on the instant fame: "You think it's redemption but it's not permanent...It was very disappointing to me, and then when everything fell apart and fell to shit, I was sitting with complete idiots [in the recording industry], who were telling me, 'Why do you have to dress like that?' I didn't want to hang. I didn't want to stay. It was a big mess. And then it took a minute for me to realize that, first of all, I wasn't going to let go of everything. There were too many people who were going to take what I did and make it mean nothing. I wasn't going to let everyone say, 'Girl just wanted to have fun -- but just didn't.' ... I've come to say something, and maybe some people don't understand what it is. Maybe they thought it was a gimmick. It wasn't. Even 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' wasn't a gimmick. I wanted to bring women together. I saw how it was unpopular for mothers and daughters to be friendly. I said to myself, maybe we should fix that and make it popular. It brought women around the world together—it was a celebration, and I think that's very important."
http://cyndilauper.com/
Girls Just Want To Have Fun
went to number six in Germany and Switzerland; five in Sweden; four in the Netherlands; three in Austria; two in France, the UK, and on the US pop chart; and number one in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and on the US dance chart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A
Time After Time
went to ten in Sweden, nine in France, eight in the Netherlands, six in Australia and Germany, five in Austria, three in New Zealand and the UK, and number one in Canada and the US. Lauper says: "'Time After Time' was sad. You always think that your truth is not worth anything, [that] it's not what people want to hear. But the truth is, you can't write what you don't know about. I've got to know what I'm saying."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdQY7BusJNU
She Bop
hit forty-six in the UK, forty-one in the Netherlands, thirty-four in France, nineteen in Germany, ten in Switzerland, six in Australia and New Zealand, five in Austria, and number three in Canada and the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFq4E9XTueY
All Through the Night
went to sixty-four in the UK, thirty-five in Germany, nineteen in New Zealand, seventeen in Australia, seven in Canada, and number five in Austria and the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiR_X4nCSeI
Money Changes Everything
found its way to fifty-four in Germany, twenty-seven in the US, nineteen in Australia, and fourteen in New Zealand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=202o_JS7E04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6uCyrnhG90
'She's So Unusual'
full album:
1. "Money Changes Everything" (Tom Gray) 5:06
2. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Robert Hazard) 3:58
3. "When You Were Mine" (Prince Rogers Nelson) 5:06
4. "Time After Time" (Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman) 4:03
5. "She Bop" (Lauper, Rick Chertoff, Gary Corbett, Stephen Broughton Lunt) 3:51
6. "All Through the Night" (Jules Shear) 4:33
7. "Witness" (Lauper, John Turi) 3:40
8. "I'll Kiss You" (Lauper, Shear) 4:12
9. "He's So Unusual" (Al Sherman, Al Lewis, Abner Silver) 0:45
10. "Yeah Yeah" (Hasse Huss, Mikael Rickfors) 3:18
No comments:
Post a Comment