| 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 She's So Unusual, 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, NY, 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. The Blue Angel record flopped and shortly afterward, Lauper filed for bankruptcy, which led to the disbandment of Blue Angel.
Following the breakup of the group, Lauper 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," She's So Unusual 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 success of She's So Unusual 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 career 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. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide.
Most people will remember her hits such as “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Time After Time.” Not only is Miss Lauper a singer/songwriter but she has also appeared in movies, TV shows and Broadway. She is well known for her unique, sometime sharp-edged observations of the world and is very active in Human Rights.
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| Hit After Hit |
It was the year 1986 when she proved that she was a genuine artist by giving world another super hit. It achieved the top position in almost every pop chart of the world. This hit really gave boost to her career and she started to get offers from film producers also. And, finally in the year 1988, she made her debut in the film. The film also ran across the world. It showed that the people accepted her as an actress also. But she didn’t stop there. Her success in the films evoked her to come up with some new plans and she did it. In the year 1989 she came with her first video album and with the continuation her second try was in the year 1993 when she released her second video. Also in the same year she debut herself as a TV actress. Expanding her to diversify, she also tried in a comedy series in the year 1995.This was also a good try to increase the TRP of the channel on which it was telecasted. It seems that the life of everybody is mixed with ups and downs. But it depends on the person how he/she overcomes the situation whether he/she takes positive from the situation or takes negative from it.
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VITAL STATS Cyndi Lauper Information: |
| Name: | Cyndi Lauper | | Date of Birth: | 22 June 1953 | | Place of Birth: | Ozone Park, Queens New York< USA | | Birth name: | Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper | Height:
| 5' 3 | | Nickname(s): | Cyn | | Religion: | Born-Again Christian |
Trade Mark:
| Known for her Queens, NY accent. Wild hair that changes colors often. Her offbeat fashion sense
Even as a teenager, Cyndi experimented with coloring her hair different shades and sporting offbeat fashions. As for her trademark creamy skin, she credits her youthful glow to a long-time beauty regimen. "I’ve been putting moisturizing creams on my face since I was 9, |
Education: | - University: Vermont College
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Family: | - Mother: Catrine Dominique
- Sister: Elen Lauper (acupuncturist)
- Brother: Fred Lauper ("Butch")
- Husband: David Thornton (m. 24-Nov-1991)
- Son: Declyn Wallace Thornton Lauper (b. 19-Nov-1997)
| | Origin | Queens, New York, U.S. |
Genres | | | Occupations | | | Personal interests/hobbies: |
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Instruments | | | Associated acts | Blue Angel |
Labels | - Portrait / Epic (1982-1986)
- Daylight / Epic (2003-present)
| | Years active | 1977—present | | Charity |
Cyndi Lauper created the True Colors Tour, an annual music tour that tour benefits the Human Rights Campaign and other organizations that provide support to the LGBT community and to the straight friends and family who love them, including PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and the Matthew Shepard Foundation, as well as local organizations in cities where the concerts were held.
Cyndi Lauper was also one of the celebrities who designed a T-shirt for the second Fashion Fashion Against Aids campaign in 2009, a collaboration between H&M and Designers Against Aids to raise HIV/AIDS awareness worldwide, particularly amongst youngsters. ther artists and celebritites as Moby, Katherine Hamnett, NERD, Yoko Ono, Tokio Hotel, Dita Von Teese, Yelle, Katy Perry, Dangerous Muse, Roisin Murphy, Estelle and Robyn also supported the campaign in 2009, whilst others like Rihanna, Good Charlotte and Timbaland were part of the 2008 campaign.
Causes Supported
| Charities Supported
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Gay/Lesbian Support |
Human Rights Campaign |
| Cyndi Lauper And True Colors Fund Hold Charity Auction |
Cyndi Lauper and the True Colors Fund are teaming up once again to offer an online charity auction to help benefit the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community.
The auction will feature lots of items including handwritten and autographed lyrics by musicians, autographed television and movie scripts, special celebrity experiences, television or movie non-speaking walk-on roles or set visits, VIP concert tickets and meet and greets, lunch with a celebrity and once in a lifetime travel experiences.
In 2008, the foundation's auction raised over $53,000. They hope to double the amount for this year's auction. The auction will be held on charitybuzz.com from June 4 to June 25, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the charity.
The mission of the auction and foundation is to help strengthen the GLBT communities by increasing the number of volunteers and donors to the non-profit organizations working on their behalf at the national, state and local levels.
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| Fan Mail Address: |
Cyndi Lauper
So What Arts Management and Media, Inc.
890 West End Avenue
Suite 1A
New York, NY 10025-3520
USA |
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