Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (born 22/06/53) is an icon of pop music and style of the ‘80’s. Cyndi is best known for the anthem “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” but her later work in the 1990’s and in the new millennium prove that Lauper is not the throwaway singer/songwriter she is often mistaken for. Albums like 1993’s “Hat Full of Stars,” 1997’s “Sisters of Avalon,” and 2001’s “Shine” featured stunningly arranged and composed songs using modern synth technology, as well as traditional rock paraphernalia (guitar, bass, drums, keys). Lauper herself has become an adept with the guitar, dulcimer, omnichord, bass recorder, and zither.
Born in Queens, New York to Swiss German-American Fred Lauper and Sicilian Italian-American Catrine Dominique. She began her career in a cover band, but soon began performing her own songs – though she almost quit singing altogether due to strained vocal chords in 1977). By 1980 she’d released a rockabilly album on Polydor with the band Blue Angel. Despite much critical acclaim, the album “went lead” as Lauper says, and the band split as Lauper filed for bankruptcy.
In 1983 she 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”, 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.
