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Women who Rock Cyndi Lauper See additional teacher resources at http://rockhall.com/education

ESSAY

Cyndi Lauper is one of the most iconic and recognizable pop stars of the last thirty years. Born in 1953 in Queens, New York, she burst onto the scene with her debut album, She’s So Unusual (1983), which earned her a GRAMMY award for Best New Artist and made her the first female artist in history to have four consecutive top ten singles from one album. Lauper’s musical influences are vast and dominated by powerful women musicians, including Big Mama Thornton (blues), Wanda Jackson (rockabilly), Joni Mitchell (singer-songwriter), Darlene Love and Ronnie Spector (rock and roll), Mavis Staples (gospel/soul), Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart (hard rock), and Debbie Harry of Blondie (punk/new wave). This diversity of taste has been echoed in her recording career, which has produced releases in a wide range of styles, including pop (“Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” 1983), adult contemporary (“Time After Time,” 1984), rock (“I Drove All Night,” 1989), jazz (At Last, 2003), acoustic (The Body Acoustic, 2005), dance (“Into the Nightlife,” 2008), and blues (Memphis Blues, 2010). Throughout her career, Lauper has worked tirelessly to inspire and motivate people worldwide. An unwavering advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality since the start of her career, Lauper founded the True Colors Fund in 2008. The non-profit seeks to inspire and engage everyone, particularly the straight community, to become involved in the advancement of LGBT equality. In appreciation for her work, Lauper has been honored by many organizations including the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN and PFLAG. Most recently, Lauper has joined Lady Gaga as a spokeswoman for the 2010 MAC Viva Glam Campaign, which aims to educate woman about HIV/AIDS around the world. She also continues to participate in efforts advocating for organizations like AMFAR, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

Cyndi Lauper has never compromised her distinct musical identity or sense of style. She has helped redefine standards of femininity and has continually challenged the expectation of what it means to be a female musician, both on and offstage. Never someone to shy away from revealing her true feelings, Lauper has embraced her unusual moniker. That word “unusual” can be used to describe something odd or strange but it can also be described as something we haven’t seen before. Here she describes the frequent expectations placed on female performers and discusses how women have broken the mold through their actions, their songwriting, and their creative use of symbolism.