When singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper hit the music scene in 1983, her sound was like nothing the world had ever heard before. Born in Brooklyn, Cyndi’s experience is one that’s familiar to many artists. She comes from a broken home and her parents divorced when she was only five years old. Her mother later remarried but divorced again. Cyndi grew up listening to Judy Garland and the Beatles and she began playing an acoustic guitar, a gift from her sister, and writing songs when she was only 12. Cyndi Lauper has always been famous for how she expresses herself with eccentric clothing and hair colors. Even as a child, she was big on self-expression in this way, making her the target of bullying. She even had stones thrown at her occasionally.
Expelled from high school, Cyndi later got her GED and left home when she was 17, allegedly to escape an abusive stepfather. Her initial plan was to study art and her journey took her north to Canada. She ended up spending two weeks along in the Canadian woods with her dog, Sparkle, to try to find herself. Eventually, she traveled to Vermont and took art classes at a state college. She supported herself by working odd jobs around the town. In the early 1970s, Cyndi began performing as a vocalist for cover bands who covered artists such as Janis Joplin, Bad Company, Led Zellelin, and Jefferson Airplane. But Cyndi didn’t enjoy singing covers and after damaging her vocal cords in 1977, she took a year off from singing. Doctors told her she’d never sing again, but with the help of vocal coach Katie Agresta, Cyndi was able to regain her voice.
Cyndi’s debut album, “She’s So Unusual,” was the first debut album by a female artist to earn four top-five Billboard Hot 100 Hits. The songs on the album that hit the top five on that chart were “All Through the Night,” “She Bop,” Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” and “Time After Time.” The album also earned Cyndi the Best New Artist Grammy Award in 1985. “Time After Time” was Cyndi’s first number one U.S. hit. In the years since, this beautiful love song has been named one of the Best Love Songs of All Time by outlets that include MTV, Rolling Stone, and Nerve. “Time After Time” reached number three on Singles Charts in the U.K.
When Pink sang this classic song live on her Beautiful Trauma Tour, she performed “Time After Time” as a sing-a-long, inviting her entire audience to join in. The result was a surreal and beautiful symphony of voices. Watch the video below.
