Rock-and-Roll Woman by Meredith Ochs

Author:Meredith Ochs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sterling

A photo shoot for Creem magazine, 1981.

CYNDI LAUPER

BORN: Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper / June 22, 1953 / New York City

Cyndi Lauper in concert, 1984.

INFLUENCES: the Beatles, the Shangri-Las, Bette Midler, Wanda Jackson, Patsy Cline

INFLUENCED: Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga, P!nk, Hayley Williams, Karen O

DEEP CUTS: “That’s What I Think” / “Funnel of Love” / “I’m Gonna Be Strong”

After a 2013 appearance at Sirius XM, Cyndi Lauper graciously signed autographs for anyone who asked. When handed a copy of her 1993 album Hat Full of Stars, a critically acclaimed commercial flop, she paused for a moment and looked at it reflectively. “That’s a really good one,” she said in her unmistakable Queens, New York accent. She had her little black pug Gordie in tow, who all but disappeared when she cuddled him against her dark outfit. Her hair was the color of pale cotton candy; this was relatively tame for Lauper, whose look was long demarcated by electric hues.

Lauper was promoting the debut of her reality show on WE tv, Still So Unusual, a mischievous look into her private life with husband David Thornton and their teenage son Declyn. She also talked about her Kinky Boots project and its imminent arrival on Broadway. Adapted for the stage from the 2005 film of the same name, Lauper wrote the music and lyrics. Six months later, she’d become the first solo woman to take home a Tony award for Best Original Score. With her Emmy and four Grammys, the win put her an Oscar away from being an EGOT.

The way that Lauper regarded one of her lowest-selling albums with a bit of melancholy, but also with recognition of its artistic merit, was poignant. She has said there isn’t a song in her catalog she won’t sing. Perhaps that’s because her choices were never expedient, not in her music, nor her style, nor her activism. She didn’t look or sound like anyone else. She steered her music in the direction she wanted, recording albums of standards, blues, and country/rockabilly, in addition to dominating the Broadway musical. She tackled heavy subject matter such as AIDS, abortion and reproductive rights, child sexual abuse, and racism. She started out and has remained a staunch LGBTQ ally and advocate, founding the True Colors Fund to help homeless LGBTQ kids.

Beginning with her 1983 solo debut, She’s So Unusual, Lauper forged a buoyant, quirky sound, but there was substance beneath the candy-colored surface, even in her biggest hits. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” written by the late songwriter Robert Hazard, could have been vacuous, but in Lauper’s voice it was empowering. “Time After Time” is a pining ballad, but in its video Lauper gives her character an element of defiance, pushing back when her boyfriend criticizes her half-shaved head, and taking off when she wants to go. Her masturbatory masterpiece “She-Bop” was declared obscene by Tipper Gore’s PMRC (Parents Music Resource Council) but declared awesome by pop fans. The fourth single, Jules Shear’s “All Through the Night,” made her the first woman to have four hits in Billboard’s Top Five from the same album.

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