Early life:

Cyndi Lauper was born in Ozone Park, New York. Her parents are Fred Lauper and Catrine Dominique (Sicilian Italian-American). She has 2 siblings: a sister (Elen) and a brother (Frank). Cyndi started writing music at the age of 12, when she learned how to play the guitar.

Her early experiences with live performances started in the mid-seventies when she was as a vocalist for various cover bands (”Doc West” and “Flyer”) in the New York metropolitan area. In 1977, Lauper took a year off and trained with a vocal coach because her vocal cords had been damaged.

Cyndi fortunately gained her voice back and in 1978 she joined the band: Blue Angel. They released a self-titled album in 1980, on Polydor Records. Unfortunately, the album “went lead” as Cyndi says and she left the band soon afterwards. Penniless, Cyndi went to work for retail stores, especially notable is the New York thrift store “Screaming Mimi’s”. But Cyndi didn’t give up on music and she but continued to sing cover songs.

Mid 80’s and her Rise to fame:

Her metoric rise was triggered by her fateful meeting with David Wolff in 1981. David became her manager and signed her up with Portrait Records, part of Columbia Records. They started work on Cyndi’s first solo allbum which invevitably led her to instant stardom, as predicted by most music criticts who had the pleasure to see her perform live when she was with Blue Angel. Cyndi Lauper became a housesold name at the age of 30, with the worldwide success of She’s So Unusual’s formula of pop-rock, dance music, punk-edged vocals and a New Wave sound.

The smashing success of the videos of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time” on MTV propelled Cyndi to become a household name, especially with teenagers and critics. She spent 1984 touring and promoting She’s So Unusual. By the end of 1984 she became the first female artist to have 4 consecutive Billboard Hot 100 top 5 hits from one record.

In 1985 Cyndi participated in the USA for Africa’s fund-raising single “We Are the World.” Then she won a Grammy Award in the Best New Artist category.
She then made many appearances as herself in several WWF’s events, together with Wendy Richter and Captain Lou.

In the summer she released a single for the soundtrack of the Goonies movie: “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough,” which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Her second album, True Colors, was released on September 15, 1986.

Late ’80s up to mid ’90s:

1988 saw Cyndi appear in her Hollywood debut in the “Vibes” movie also starring Jeff Goldblum and Peter Falk. She played a psychic who gets conned into going to South America looking for a city of gold. The movie was not like by critics and flopped, even though it later gained a cult following especially by Cyndi fans. Cyndi wrote a song for the movie soundtrack: “Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)”.

Cyndi then goes on to release her third album: “A Night to Remember” on May 23, 1989. Though critically well-received, it was not a commercial success. Even though the single “I Drove All Night” won Cyndi another Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance the almbum did not even top the Top 40.

In 1991, Cyndi turns again toward Hollywood and co-starred with David Keith and David Thornton (her future husband ) in the action-thriller, Off and Running. In 1992, Cyndi records two tracks for the European film “Tycoon”, never released in the US.

In 1993, Cyndi appears in another movie with Michael J. Fox where she plays a short part as the secretary of Life with Mikey. Later that year Cyndi releases her critically acclaimed fourth album called “Hat Full of Stars” which touched more serious topics than her previous work. Unfortunately, the album does not make a dent in the charts because of the lack of promotion.

In 1994, 10 years after Cyndi first hit stardom, a greatest hits compilation is released worldwide: “Twelve Deadly Cyns…and Then Some”. Twelve Deadly Cyns is a success, selling over 4 million copies and kick-starting a world tour.

Late 90’s to 2004:

Cyndi’s fifth album “Sisters of Avalon” released in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997 brings moderate success. Quickly embraced by the gay community for its dance and club stylings the album led Cyndi to begin performing as a featured artist at gay pride events around the world.

On November 19, 1997 Cyndi and her husband David had their son Declan Wallace Thornton.

In 1998 Cyndi releases her last album with Epic, titled “Merry Christmas, Have a Nice Life”. A collection of Christmas standards and a few originals.

Cyndi’s seventh album “Shine” is ready to come out in 2001 but just weeks before the album’s scheduled release her label “Edel America Records” pulls out of the deal and the tracks leak to the public.

Cyndi finally re-signes with Sony/Epic Records in 2002 and begins working on an album of standards, “At Last”, which is released in 2003. This time the album makes it to the Top-40s charts in the U.S. and Australia.

One year later, Cyndi releases “Shine” in March 2004. Cyndi receives a nomination for a 2005 Grammy Award for “Best Instrumental Composition Accompanying a Vocal” for her vocals for “Unchained Melody” on the At Last album.

Present:

In 2005, Cyndi releases “The Body Acoustic”. Her latest work featuring acoustic versions of tracks from her catalog as well as two new songs.

On October 16, 2006, Cyndi was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

Cyndi is working on a new album of all-new original material that she says will be released some time this summer: a mainly dance album.

Cyndi will be leading the True Colors Tour 2007 for Human Rights through the United States in June 2007.