Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 22, 1953. She dropped out of high school and replaced the school desk with the mike as she started singing on a number of local bands. She performed so often and heavily that eventually damaged her vocal cords. Doctors predicted she would never sing again, but through hard practice she managed to prove them wrong. Lauper wrote her first songs along with the keyboardist John Turi. They formed the Blue Angel duet in 1977. After several years of performing, they released the debut album with the same title. This studio work flopped, which pushed Cyndi to dire straits and forced her to disband Blue Angel.

Cyndi continued her musical career giving singing at clubs and restaurants. With the help of her manager and boyfriend, David Wolff, Lauper signed a contract with Portrait. Her debut solo album, She's So Unusual, was released in 1983. Massively promoted by MTV playing constantly the video for the first single Girls Just Want to Have Fun, this studio work became the main sensation in the spring of 1984. In the end, it ran fourth in the USA best albums chart, became five times platinum and found recognition in the UK. Following Girls Just Want to Have Fun, the second single Time After Time topped the national charts. Overall, four songs from this album entered To 10, which made Cyndi the first singer in the history of showbiz to make this outstanding achievement. She's So Unusual earned Cyndi tremendous popularity she failed to maintain. Her second album, True Colors (1986), featured a softer and more contemporary sound, than the audacious debut CD, which did not please a significant part of Lauper’s audience. Her career entered the stage of the fall. The singer’s acting debut in Vibes crashed, while the next album, A Night to Remember (1989), had poor sales and did not climb high in charts.

In 1993, Cyndi released her fresh LP, Hat Full of Stars. She was one of its authors and producers, which did not save this album from flopping. The situation was slightly improved by the hit collection Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some, released in the UK to praiseful reviews. However, it did not draw much attention in the USA. Lauper’s new studio work, Sisters of Avalon was delivered to stores in 1997. Compared to the preceding failures, this one looked much more respectable and gained good press, but was a poor seller. As late as in 1998, Cyndi released Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life! It was an experiment with rock and folk music. The interesting fact was her son Declyn’s voice recorded on one of the tracks. Lauper restored her pop-rock style on the following album, Shine (2001). In two years, she released At Last to be warmly received by the public. The promotional tour for this release became the basis for the live DVD, Live...At Last. It was followed by The Body Acoustic (2005), a compilation of acoustic versions of Cyndi’s best songs. The spring of 2008 saw Lauper’s new album, Bring Ya to the Brink, appear. Cyndi continues hard touring and remains a rigid human rights activist. She is regularly invited to events dedicated to protection of sexual minorities’ interests. In 2010 the artist’s discography was enlarged by the traditionally strong album Memphis Blues. Its content perfectly fits its title – the record is definitely bluesy, which turned out to be a nice surprise for singer’s numerous listeners. Moreover, Memphis Blues in no time managed to attract attention both of music lovers and experts, who noted the highest level of performance.