Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Single & Video)"

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song made famous by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper four years after it was written by Robert Hazard. It was released by Portrait Records as Lauper's first major single as a solo artist and the lead single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). Lauper's version gained recognition as a feminist anthem and was promoted by a Grammy-winning music video. It has been covered, either as a studio recording or in a live performance, by over 30 other artists.

The single was Lauper's breakthrough hit, reaching No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and becoming a worldwide hit throughout late 1983 and early 1984. It is considered one of Lauper's signature songs and was a widely popular song during the 1980s. The lists "Rolling Stone and MTV: '100 Greatest Pop Songs': 1–50", "Rolling Stone: The 100 Top Music Videos" and "VH1: 100 Greatest Videos" ranked the song at No. 22, No. 39 and No. 45, respectively. The song received Grammy Award nominations for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 2013, the song was remixed by Yolanda Be Cool, taken from the 30th anniversary reissue of She's So Unusual.

The song was written by Robert Hazard, who recorded a demo of it in 1979. Hazard wrote the song from a male point of view. Lauper's version appeared on her 1983 debut solo record She's So Unusual. Lauper changed some of the lyrics at the suggestion of her producer and she also had her own suggestions about how her version should sound. The track is a synthesizer-backed anthem, from a feminist perspective, conveying the point that all women really want is to have the same experiences that men can have. Gillian G. Gaar, author of She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll (2002), described the single and corresponding video as a "strong feminist statement", an "anthem of female solidarity" and a "playful romp celebrating female camaraderie."

Cash Box said that "Robert Hazard's original male point of view is transformed into a cheerleader-like sing-along for party girls, and the Toni Basil–like beat is augmented by a hooky, ringing guitar."

The song was released in late 1983 but much of its success on the charts came during the first half of 1984. The single reached the Top 10 in over 25 countries and reached No. 1 in ten of those countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, and Norway. It also reached No. 2 in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 80 on December 17, 1983. It ultimately peaked at No. 2 on March 10, 1984, where it stayed for two weeks, behind Van Halen's "Jump". In the United Kingdom, the song entered the chart at No. 50 on January 14, 1984, and peaked at No. 2 on February 4, 1984, where it stayed for one week. In Ireland, the song entered the chart on January 29, 1984. It peaked at No. 1 for two weeks and was on the chart for a total of seven weeks. In Australia, the song debuted on the Kent Music Report Top 100 on February 27, 1984. It entered the Top 10 in only its third week on the chart and reached No. 1 on March 26, 1984. It topped the chart for two weeks and then remained at No. 2 for four weeks behind Nena's "99 Luftballons". It stayed on the chart for 21 weeks and was the 9th biggest-selling single of the year. In Belgium, the song debut at No. 38 on February 18, 1984, and peaked at No. 4 on April 7, 1984. In the Netherlands, the song entered the chart at No. 38 on February 25, 1984, and peaked at No. 4 on March 31, 1984.

In Sweden, the song entered at No. 13 on March 6, 1984, and peaked at No. 5 on April 3, 1984, charting for six weeks. In Switzerland, the song entered the chart at No. 15 on April 1, 1984, and peaked at No. 6 on April 29, 1984. In New Zealand, the song debuted at No. 21 on April 1, 1984, and peaked at No. 1 on May 6, 1984, where it stayed for three weeks. In Austria, the single entered at No. 3 on May 1, 1984, which was its peak position. In Netherland and New Zealand "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" made the year end charts for the Top 100 of 1984. On the ARC (American Radio Chart), "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" reached #1 and made the Top 40 songs of the year for 1984.

The release of the single was accompanied by a quirky music video. It cost less than $35,000 (equivalent to $103,000 in 2022), largely due to a volunteer cast and the free loan of the most sophisticated video equipment available at the time. The cast included Lauper's close friend, professional wrestler/manager "Captain" Lou Albano in the role of Lauper's father while her real mother, Catrine, played herself. Lauper later appeared in World Wrestling Federation storylines opposite Albano and guest-starred in an episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, in which Albano portrayed Mario (Albano also played himself in the episode). This collaboration was the catalyst for the "Rock 'n' Wrestling" connection that lasted for the following two years. Lauper's attorney, Elliot Hoffman, appeared as her uptight dancing partner. Also in the cast were Lauper's manager, David Wolf, her brother, Butch Lauper, fellow musician Steve Forbert, and a bevy of secretaries borrowed from Portrait/CBS, Lauper's record label. A clip of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is featured as Lauper watches it on television.

Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, another of Hoffman's clients, agreed to give Lauper free run of his brand new million-dollar digital editing equipment, with which she and her producer created several first-time-ever computer-generated images of Lauper dancing with her buttoned-up lawyer, leading the entire cast in a snake-dance through New York streets and ending up in Lauper's bedroom in her home. The bedroom scene is an homage to the famous stateroom scene in the Marx Brothers' film A Night at the Opera.

"The year 1983 makes a watershed in the history of female-address video. It is the year that certain issues and representations began to gain saliency and the textual strategies of female address began to coalesce." In the video, Lauper wanted to show in a more fun and light-hearted manner that girls want the same equality and recognition boys had in society.

Before the song starts, the beginning of her version of "He's So Unusual" plays.

The music video was directed by Edd Griles. The producer was Ken Walz while the cinematographer was Francis Kenny. The treatment for the video was co-written by Griles, Walz, and Lauper. The video was shot in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in summer 1983 and premiered on television in December 1983. The choreography was by a New York dance and music troupe called XXY featuring Mary Ellen Strom, Cyndi Lee and Pierce Turner.

The music video officially crossed one billion views on YouTube in January 2022.

Track listings

7-inch single

1. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" – 3:55 (R. Hazard)
2. "Right Track Wrong Train" – 4:40 (C. Lauper, E. Greenwich, J. Kent)

12-inch single

1. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Extended Version)" – 6:08
2. "Fun With V. Knutsn (Instrumental)" – 7:10
3. "Xtra Fun" – 5:05

Single

A CD single was issued in 2007, known as a ringle, which included bonus interactive computer material as well as a code to download a free ringtone of the title track. It featured the title track and for the first time on CD, "Right Track Wrong Train". The ringle, as well as all other issued ringles, were recalled by Sony Music due to issues with the ringtone not working correctly. They have yet to be reissued.

1. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
2. "Right Track Wrong Train"
3. Computer media

Cyndi Lauper "She's So Unusual"

She's So Unusual is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released on October 14, 1983, by Portrait Records. The album was re-released in 2014 to commemorate its 30th anniversary, and was called She's So Unusual: A 30th Anniversary Celebration. The re-release contains demos and remixes of previously released material, as well as new artwork.

In 1978, Lauper formed the band Blue Angel. The band soon signed a recording contract with Polydor Records; however, their debut album, Blue Angel, was a commercial failure. The band parted ways after firing their manager, who sued Lauper for $80,000 and forced her into bankruptcy. Lauper went on to sing in many New York night clubs, and caught the eye of David Wolff, who became her manager and subsequently got her signed to Portrait Records.

Six singles were released from the album, with "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" becoming a worldwide hit and her first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. "Time After Time" became her first number-one hit on the chart and experienced similar success worldwide. Lauper found success with the next two singles as well, with both "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" peaking in the top five. This makes Lauper the first female singer to have four top five singles on the Hot 100 from one album. She's So Unusual was promoted by the Fun Tour throughout 1983 and 1984.

The album is primarily new wave-based, with many of the songs being influenced by synthpop and pop rock. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from music critics, who noted Lauper's unique vocals. Lauper earned several awards and accolades for the album, including two Grammy Awards at the 27th Grammy Awards, one of which was for Best New Artist. She's So Unusual peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed in the chart's top forty for 65 weeks. It has sold over 6 million copies in the United States and 25 million copies worldwide. This makes it Lauper's best-selling album to date and one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s. In 2003, She's So Unusual was ranked at number 494 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and it subsequently placed at number 184 in a 2020 reboot of the list. In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

In 1978, Lauper met saxophone player John Turi and formed the band Blue Angel. They recorded a demo tape of original music. Steve Massarsky heard the tape and liked Lauper's voice. He bought out Blue Angel's contract for $5,000 and became their manager.

Lauper received many offers to go solo, but rebuffed any offer that didn't include the rest of the band. Blue Angel was eventually signed by Polydor Records and released a self-titled album on the label in 1980. Despite some positive critical attention, the album was a commercial failure. The members of Blue Angel also had a falling-out with Massarsky and fired him as their manager. He later filed an $80,000 suit against them, which forced Lauper into bankruptcy.

After Blue Angel broke up, Lauper spent time working in retail stores and singing in local clubs. In 1981, while singing in a local New York bar, Lauper met David Wolff, who took over as her manager. With his help, Lauper signed with Portrait Records, a subsidiary of Epic Records, in the spring of 1983 and soon began recording her debut album.

The front cover of She's So Unusual was photographed on Henderson Walk in Coney Island, New York in the summer of 1983 by Annie Leibovitz. Lauper is depicted wearing a vintage red prom-style dress that she purchased at the vintage clothing shop where she used to work, Screaming Mimi's. She is also seen holding a bouquet of flowers which were purchased from a vendor on the boardwalk at the time of the shoot. Lauper has heavy costume jewelry on her ears, arms, neck and her right ankle. She is barefoot, with the exception of the fishnet stockings, and her red high-heels appear to have been taken off in front of her as they lay on their sides at the bottom of the photo. The cover shot was captured in front of the wax museum, The World In Wax Musee. It can be seen behind Lauper that the museum had been closed for some time and at the time of closure was featuring a wax statue of Puerto Rican baseball great Roberto Clemente. The wooden awning above the doorway with the two blue panels read the name of the museum. The first panel read "The World" and second panel read "In Wax". This was airbrushed out of the photograph.

The cover won Janet Perr the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package in 1985.

The lead single from the album was "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", released on September 6, 1983. This single achieved massive success in the United States with its music video playing in heavy rotation on several stations, and eventually peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It received Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 2,000,000 copies. The single was a success internationally, reaching the top ten in 19 countries and number one in 10 countries, including; Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Brazil and Norway. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" received nominations at the 1985 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and won Best Female Video at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, among several nominations. In the year end Top 100 of 1984 in New Zealand, the single was included on the top spots.

"Time After Time" was the second single released from the album, and was released in April 1984. It repeated the success of the previous single and spent two consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lauper's first number one hit on the Hot 100 and eventually spending a total of 20 weeks on the chart and receiving Gold certification from the RIAA for 1,000,000 copies sold. Like the previous single, "Time After Time" was an international success and reached the top ten in 15 countries. The song received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. In the year end Top 100 of 1984 in New Zealand, the single was included on the top spots.

The third single from the album was "She Bop", released on July 2, 1984. This single reached number three on the Hot 100, becoming her third consecutive top five hit, and spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart. With sales of over 1,000,000 copies, the song was certified Gold by the RIAA. The single proved to be another international success for Lauper, reaching the top ten in 8 countries. "She Bop" was controversial upon release and placed at number 15 on the PMRC's "Filthy Fifteen".

"All Through the Night" was single number four, released in September 1984. Like Lauper's previous three singles, "All Through The Night" reached the top five of the Hot 100 with a peak of number five. It was written by, and originally recorded by Jules Shear, who provided backup vocals as well. The song was a moderate international success, reaching the top ten in 6 countries, and received Gold certification in Canada. In the year end Top 100 of 1985 in New Zealand, the single was included on the list.

Single number five was "Money Changes Everything", released in December 1984. It was a moderate success and reached number #27 on the Hot 100, Lauper's first single to not reach the top ten. It also did moderately well in Australia, reaching #19 on its chart.

The sixth and final single from the album was a cover of the Prince song, "When You Were Mine", released on January 31, 1985, in Canada and Japan only. It achieved little success, reaching number #62 on the Canadian Singles Chart.

She's So Unusual and its singles earned Lauper six Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year and ultimately winning the awards for Best Recording Package and Best New Artist. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and "Time After Time" was nominated for Song of the Year. Lauper earned ten MTV Video Music Award nominations. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" received six nominations including Video of the Year, and won for Best Female Video. "Time After Time" received three nominations and "She Bop" received one nomination.

She's So Unusual was ranked at number 494 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003, rising to number 487 in a 2012 update of the list, then to number 184 in a 2020 update. Rolling Stone also placed She's So Unusual at number 41 on its 2002 list of 50 essential albums by women in rock, and the record retained the placement on a similar list published by the magazine a decade later. In 2012, Slant Magazine listed it as the 22nd best album of the 1980s, calling it an "absolutely peerless collection of profound pop jewels". In 2019, the Library of Congress selected She's So Unusual for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Track listing

Original release

1. "Money Changes Everything" Tom Gray Gray Matter Music/ATV Music Corp. 5:06
2. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" Robert Hazard Heroic Music 3:58
3. "When You Were Mine" Prince Ecnirp Music 5:06
4. "Time After Time" Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman Dub Notes, Rella Music 4:01
5. "She Bop" Lauper, Rick Chertoff, Gary Corbett, Stephen Broughton Lunt Rellla Music Co., Noyb Music Co., Wall to Wall Music Co. & Hobbler Music 3:47
6. "All Through the Night" Jules Shear Funzalo Music/Juters Music Co. 4:33
7. "Witness" Lauper, John Turi Turalaura Music and Turi Music 3:40
8. "I'll Kiss You" Lauper, Shear Rellla Music Co., Funzalo Music / Juters Music Co. 4:12
9. "He's So Unusual" Al Sherman, Al Lewis, Abner Silver Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. Inc 0:45
10. "Yeah Yeah" Hasse Huss, Mikael Rickfors Stainless Music Corp. 3:18

Rick Chertoff – producer

William Wittman – associate producer, engineer

Lennie Petze – executive producer

John Jansen – additional engineer

Rod O'Brien – additional engineer

John Agnello – assistant engineer

Dan Beck – product manager

Amy Linden – liner notes

Janet Perr – art direction, design, cover art concept

Cyndi Lauper – cover art concept

Ralph Scibelli – hair design

Justin Ware – hair design

Laura Wells – stylist

Annie Leibovitz – photography

David Wolff – management

Joseph Zynczak – management

Cyndi Lauper "Twelve Deadly Cyns...And Then Some"

Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some is a 1994 greatest hits album by American recording artist Cyndi Lauper. The album sold over 6 million copies worldwide. The album has sold 565,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In the United States the album has 14 tracks. 11 are previously released hits; "I'm Gonna Be Strong" is a Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil track Lauper re-recorded, having previously performed it on her debut album Blue Angel. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a re-recording of one of her biggest hits; it has been completely reworked to incorporate a reggae feel based on Redbone's 1974 hit "Come and Get Your Love" (for which Redbone member Lolly Vegas received a songwriting credit). A music video featuring drag queens was shot to accompany this single and it aired heavily on television. It was also featured in the film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. The track "Come on Home" was also new; two versions were recorded, one running 4:33 (the US version) and one running 4:36 (the international version). Internationally the album has 16 tracks (17 in Japan).

There was some issue with the division of royalties due to the wide array of co-writers on the various tracks that prevented Lauper from releasing the longer version in the United States. Conceptually the album was originally called "13 Deadly Cyns" and in fact a promotional cassette with this title (and an alternate track listing) was pressed and distributed in the United Kingdom in June 1992.

Track listing

1. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" (new recording) Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil All 3:52
2. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (from She's So Unusual, 1983) Robert Hazard All 3:54
3. "Money Changes Everything" (from She's So Unusual, 1983) Tom Gray All 5:04
4. "Time After Time" (from She's So Unusual, 1983) Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman All 4:04
5. "She Bop (7" Single Remix)" (from She's So Unusual, 1983) Cyndi Lauper, Gary Corbett, Rick Chertoff, Stephen Broughton Lunt All 3:46
6. "All Through the Night" (from She's So Unusual, 1983) Jules Shear All 4:29
7. "Change of Heart" (from True Colors, 1986) Cyndi Lauper, Essra Mohawk All 4:25
8. "True Colors" (from True Colors, 1986) Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly All 3:47
9. "What's Going On (7" Single Remix)" (from True Colors, 1986) Marvin Gaye, Al Cleveland, Renaldo Benson All 3:54
10. "I Drove All Night" (from A Night to Remember, 1989) Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly All 4:12
11. "The World Is Stone" (from Starmania/Tycoon (Soundtrack), 1992) Luc Plamondon, Michel Berger, Tim Rice International, Japan 4:25
12. "Who Let in the Rain" (from Hat Full of Stars, 1993) Cyndi Lauper, Allee Willis International, Japan 4:37
13. "That's What I Think (Single Edit)" (from Hat Full of Stars, 1993) Cyndi Lauper, Allee Willis, Eric Bazilian, Rob Hyman All 4:23
14. "Sally's Pigeons" (from Hat Full of Stars, 1993) Cyndi Lauper, Mary Chapin Carpenter All 3:46
15. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (new recording) Lolly Vegas, Robert Hazard All 3:54
16. "Come on Home" (new recording; US version released in 1995 (instead of 1994 as the rest of the world) contains unique alternate mix) Cyndi Lauper, Jan Pulsford All 4:33
17. "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" (from Vibes (soundtrack), 1988) Richard Orange Japan 4:03

Despite reaching the Top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, Lauper omitted "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" from Twelve Deadly Cyns... because, as stated in an interview with Matthew Rettenmund, she despised the song.