Born on June 22: Cyndi Lauper, the true colors of a sassy girl

Born in New York in 1953, the American singer turns 72 today and, like Springsteen, continues her fight against President Trump, whom she considers a threat to freedom.

Since 1983, she has released eleven albums, but it’s not inaccurate to say that she’s now living off a glorious past. Because, without making a big deal of it, between 1983 and 1986, she outshone all other female singers. Even Madonna! She placed four songs from the album She’s So Unusual in the top four spots on the Billboard, the American music chart: “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “All Through The Night,” and “She Bop.” It was the first time a female artist achieved this feat. Today, the music industry has taken on a completely different perspective since the advent of streaming and the phenomenal success of Taylor Swift, the new queen of all records!

With her shrill voice (irritating, some might say, despite her four-octave range), her perpetually teenage-like mannerisms, her eccentric wardrobe, and her endlessly varied, always colorful hairstyles, she regularly treats us to new versions of her greatest hits such as “Time After Time” or sometimes questionable covers like “What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye) or more convincing ones such as “Iko Iko,” the New Orleans classic.

But Cyndi Lauper has other achievements to her credit, such as writing the musical “Kinky Boots” and an excellent 2010 album titled “Memphis Blues” featuring legends of the genre, from harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite to B.B. King, as well as Allen Toussaint and Ann Peebles.

Without leaving it to anyone else to write her own humorous memoirs in 2012, Cyndi Lauper continues to tirelessly remind us that “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” was, above all, a feminist anthem. A staunch advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, she notably wrote “Above The Clouds” in memory of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man beaten to death in Wyoming in 1998.

In the wake of “Let The Canary Sing,” the documentary about her set to premiere in May 2024, the singer announced that she’s heading out on tour one last time to thank her fans “while she still has enough energy.” Titled “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour,” this concert series will conclude at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on August 30, 2025.

Photo: Cyndi Lauper on stage at Forest-National in Brussels on February 22, 1987, during the only concert she has ever given in Belgium