
Although Lauper was performing on stage, she was not happy singing cover songs. In the early-1970s, Lauper performed as a vocalist with various cover bands in the New York metropolitan area (such as Doc West and Flyer), singing hits by bands including Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, and Bad Company. She eventually wound up in Vermont, where she took art classes at Johnson State College and supported herself by working odd jobs. Her journey took her to Canada, where she spent two weeks in the woods with her dog Sparkle, trying to find herself.
At the age of seventeen, she left home, planning to study art. Lauper was accepted in a special public high school for students with talent in the visual arts, but eventually dropped out, and later earned her GED.
Even when she was young, Lauper expressed herself by dyeing her hair different colors and wearing radical fashions. At age twelve, she began writing her own songs and playing an acoustic guitar given to her by her sister. Her mother subsequently remarried and divorced again.Īs a child, Lauper listened to artists including Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Beatles. Lauper's parents divorced when she was five years old. She has an older sister, Ellen, and a younger brother, Fred (nicknamed Butch). Her father was of German and Swiss descent, and her mother is Italian American (from Sicily). Life and career 1953–79: Early life Ĭyndi Lauper was raised in Ozone Park, Queens, in New York City. 1.11 2010–present: The Celebrity Apprentice, Memphis Blues, Memoir, Kinky Boots and New Pop/Dance Album.
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1.6 1993–95: Hat Full of Stars / Twelve Deadly Cyns. 2.11 2010–present: The Celebrity Apprentice, Memphis Blues, Memoir, Kinky Boots and New Pop/Dance Album. 2.6 1993–95: Hat Full of Stars / Twelve Deadly Cyns. Her charitable efforts were recognized in 2013, when the singer was invited as a special guest to attend President Barack Obama's second-term inaugural ceremony. Lauper has been celebrated for her ongoing humanitarian work over the last thirty years, particularly as an advocate for gay and transgender rights in the U.S. Lauper is also one of only twenty artists to achieve "GET" status by winning competitive Grammy, Emmy, and Tony awards. In 1999, VH1 ranked Lauper No. 58 of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll. Lauper has won Grammy, Emmy, Tony, MTV VMA, Billboard, and AMA awards. She is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum's Women Who Rock exhibit, which illustrates the important roles that women have played in rock and roll history. Over the course of her career, Lauper has released over 40 singles and (as of 2011) has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. In 2013, she became the first artist in over 25 years to top the dance charts with a Broadway single. The musical also won Best Score, making Lauper the first woman to win the composing category solo. In 2013, Lauper completed writing both the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, which led the 2013 Tony Awards with 13 nominations and six awards including Best Musical. In 2011, Lauper released an autobiography detailing her battle with child abuse and depression the book became a New York Times Best Seller. Her most recent album, the Grammy-nominated Memphis Blues, became Billboard's most successful blues album of the year, remaining at number one on the "Billboard" blues charts for 13 consecutive weeks. Since 1989, Lauper has released nine studio albums to varying critical acclaim, and has participated in several other projects. Her success continued with her second record, True Colors (1986), which included the number one hit of the same name, and " Change of Heart," which peaked at number 3 and earned Lauper two nominations at the 29th Grammy Awards in 1987. The album was the first debut female album to chart four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100-" Girls Just Want to Have Fun," " Time After Time," " She Bop," and " All Through the Night," earning Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985. Her debut solo album She's So Unusual (1983) was an instant commercial success. Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and LGBT rights activist whose career has spanned over four decades.