Cyndi Lauper The Video Archives 2004-2019 Volume VII

Description

1. Sound Stage Season 2 Episode 7 08/05/04: Cyndi Lauper, the punky New York princess who just wanted to have fun in the 80’s, has matured into a woman who can add an organic honesty to classic standards, as featured on this Soundstage and in her most recent album At Last. From Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose” and “Hymn to Love,” to the playful “Makin’ Whoopee,” to somber serenades like “Unchained Melody,” “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “Walk on By,” Lauper elevates her adoring audience with a revealing candor, an impressive range and a pensive sense for interpretation. But her performance is also a celebration with Lauper’s innate sparkle shining through the fun flashbacks “Time After Time,” “True Colors,” “Money Changes Everything,” “Shine” and, of course, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.” With the audience dancing on chairs, and the artist running up the aisles and delivering anecdotal asides, Grammy-winning Lauper reveals that she’s a true performer – at ease with her identity as a modern pop powerhouse, but prepared to revel in her most recent reincarnation.

2. The Big Interview with Dan Rather Air Date 04/30/19: Recorded in Los Angeles (April 25, 2019) – GRAMMY, Tony, and Emmy-winning singer, actress, author, and advocate Cyndi Lauper sits down with Dan Rather. During the discussion, Lauper reflects on the longevity of her legendary career; describes the creative process behind some of her most enduring songs; talks about Donald Trump and opens up about her charity, True Colors United.

In this exclusive first look, Lauper recalls the first time she heard the demo for what would become one of her biggest hits and an enduring anthem for women, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” and why she almost decided to pass on it. “I listened to it and said, ‘No. I can’t do this song.’ Because a man wrote it, so imagine what it’s really about,” Lauper explains. “There was a whole bridge [that] was like, ‘Hey, dad, we are the fortunate ones.’ Nudge-nudge. ‘‘Cause girls, they want to have fun’… I’m like, how am I supposed to write this?” Encouraged to turn it into an anthem that more appropriately suited her unique personality, Lauper set out to completely make the song her own—from the lyrics to the sound of the music, itself. She continues, “I had this idea with ‘Girls’, if I sang like a trumpet, and the guitar played that Motown feel that I grew up with and I loved, and we used the electronic snare—that street sound—and [keyboardist Rob Hyman] could play it as if it were a Reggae song… So, they just played that, I sang what I was singin’, and all of a sudden we looked at each other and went, ‘Yes!’” Watch it here.

In this second clip, Lauper recounts her days on “Celebrity Apprentice” with Donald Trump and says she had no idea he’d run for president. “Maybe he doesn’t even realize that he preaches hate. I feel really bad for Americans, because instead of bringing us together, he’s pulled us apart and that doesn’t make sense.”