Cyndi Lauper: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:57, 8 September 2005

Revision as of 16:59, 8 September 2005

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== Biography ==

'''Cyndi Lauper''' was born in [[Queens]], [[New York]]. She began her career in a cover band, [[Blue Angel (band)|Blue Angel]], in the late 1970s and early 1980s (she almost quit singing altogether due to a week with strained vocal chords in [[1977]]), and in [[1983]] started dating her manager [[David Wolff]] with whom she released ''[[She's So Unusual]]'', a worldwide hit which made Lauper a household name. A mixture of teen-friendly pop-rock and edgier, almost punky sounds, the album's biggest hit, "[[Girls Just Want To Have Fun (single)|Girls Just Want To Have Fun]]", quickly established itself as a female anthem. Lauper won a [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist]] at the [[Grammy Awards of 1984]] for her work on the album. Cyndi Lauper was the first female artist to have four consecutive [[Hot 100]] Top 5 hits from one album, ''She's So Unusual''.

The album also included "[[She Bop]]", a paean to female [[masturbation]], and the romantic ballad "[[Time After Time]]", an instant "[[Jazz_standard|standard]]" which has since been covered by over 70 artists (most notably [[Miles Davis]]). Lauper was popular with [[teenager]]s, in part because of her quirky image which took the popular late [[1970s]] punk look and marketed it to a mainstream audience. At this stage of her career, she was often compared to [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]].

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In [[1995]] Lauper won an [[Emmy]] award for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" for her portrayal of wealthy contessa Marianne Lugasso in ''[[Mad About You]]''. She also released ''[[12 Deadly Cyns... and Then Some]]'', a greatest hits compilation that included two new tracks, one of which was a remix of her first big hit, newly christened "[[Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun)]]". The album was released under a number of different titles, packaging and track listings around the world.

Her [[1997]] album ''[[Sisters of Avalon]]'' brought her back into the limelight. With subject matter even more adult than before, it was quickly embraced by the [[gay community]] for its dance and [[club]] stylings. The topicality of the album also contributed to its "pink" appeal: the song "[[Ballad of Cleo and Joe]]" addressed the complications of a [[drag queen]]'s double life, while "[[You Don't Know]]" tackled the thorny issue of [[coming out]]. The album's singles were [[remix]]ed to great acclaim, and Lauper began performing as a featured artist at [[gay pride]] events around the world. Lauper has a [[lesbian]] sister. They appeared together in an advertisement for [[PFLAG]], or [[Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays]].

In [[1999]] she co-headlined a tour alongside [[Cher (entertainer)|Cher]], and contributed a cover version of [[The Trammps]]'s classic "[[Disco Inferno (The Trammps song)|Disco Inferno]]" to the [[soundtrack]] of the film ''[[A Night at the Roxbury]]''. She also garnered critical plaudits for her roles in several independent films including ''[[The Opportunists]]'' (with [[Christopher Walken]]) and ''[[Off and Running]]''.