October 14, 2023

20,000 vinyl LPs 337: Cyndi Lauper ~ She's So Unusual @ 40

 ~  

vinyl LP front cover 
cover photo by Annie Liebovitz  
photo of album cover by Styrous®


It seems incrdible that it's been forty years since Portrait Records released She's So Unusual, the debut studio album, by Cyndi Lauper, on October 14, 1983.          
 
 
Cyndi Lauper ~ She's So Unusual
vinyl LP back cover 
back cover photo by Annie Liebovitz  
photo of album backcover by Styrous®
 
   
Six singles were released from the album, with Girls Just Want to Have Fun becoming a worldwide hit and her first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Time After Time became her first number-one hit on the chart and experienced similar success worldwide. Lauper found success with the next two singles as well, with both She Bop and All Through the Night peaking in the top five. This makes Lauper the first female singer to have four top five singles on the Hot 100 from one album.             
 
 
Cyndi Lauper ~ She's So Unusual
vinyl LP record sleeve
photo by Styrous®  
 
 
I love every song on the album but, as usual I have a favorite or two, one is the wonderfully exuberant, She Bop. What a fantastic song to just let yourself go with and dance your head off.       
 
 
 Cyndi Lauper ~ She's So Unusual
article page
photo by Styrous® 
 
 
My other favorite song was written by Prince; it is When You Were Mine. Lauper's cover is slower and not as frantic sounding. All Through the Night written by Jules Shear is a beautiful breath of fresh air. Time After Time is a sweet and romantic melody.      
           
The album is primarily new wave-based, with many of the songs being influenced by synthpop and pop rock. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from music critics, who noted Lauper's unique vocals. Lauper earned several awards and accolades for the album, including two Grammy Awards at the 27th Grammy Awards, one of which was for Best New Artist.         
        


 
 
 

 
She's So Unusual peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed in the chart's top forty for 65 weeks. It has sold over 6 million copies in the United States and 25 million copies worldwide. This makes it Lauper's best-selling album to date and one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s. In 2003, The album was ranked at number 494 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and it subsequently placed at number 184 in a 2020 reboot of the list. In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".           

      






 
 
She's So Unusual peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed in the chart's top forty for 65 weeks. It has sold over 6 million copies in the United States and 25 million copies worldwide. This makes it Lauper's best-selling album to date and one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s. In 2003, The album was ranked at number 494 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and it subsequently placed at number 184 in a 2020 reboot of the list. In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".              




   
Tracklist:
       
Side 1:
        
A1 - Money Changes Everything, written by  Tom Gray - 5:02

A2 - Girls Just Want To Have Fun, written by  Robert Hazard - 3:55

A3 - When You Were Mine, Arranged By William Wittman, written by Prince - 5:07

A4 - Time After Time, written by  C. Lauper*, R. Hyman* - 3:59
       
Side 2:
       
B1 - She Bop, written by  C. Lauper*, G. Corbett*, R. Chertoff*, S. Lunt* - 3:43

B2 - All Through The Night, written by – Jules Shear - 4:29

B3 - Witness, written by  C. Lauper*, John Turi - 3:38

B4 - I'll Kiss You, written by  C. Lauper*, J. Shear* - 4:05

B5 - He's So Unusual, written by  Abner Silver, Al Lewis, Al Sherman (2) - 0:45

B6 - Yeah Yeah, written by H. Huss*, M. Rickfors* - 3:17
       
Companies, etc.
       
    Record Company – CBS Inc.
    Manufactured By – Portrait Records (4)
    Published By – Gray Matter Publishing Company
    Published By – ATV Music Corp.
    Published By – Heroic Music
    Published By – Ecnirp Music Inc.
    Published By – Rellla Music Corp.
    Published By – Noyb Music
    Published By – Wall To Wall Music Co.
    Published By – Hobbler Music
    Published By – Funzalo Music
    Published By – Juters Music Co.
    Published By – Turalaura Music
    Published By – Turi Music
    Published By – Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc.
    Published By – Stainless Music Corp.
    Recorded At – Record Plant, N.Y.C.
    Mastered At – Sterling Sound
    Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman
       
Credits:
       
    Arranged By – Cyndi Lauper, Eric Bazilian (tracks: A1, A2, A4 to B6), Rick Chertoff, Rob Hyman (tracks: A1, A2, A4 to B6)
    Art Direction, Design – Janet Perr
    Backing Vocals – Cyndi Lauper, Eric Bazilian, Rob Hyman
    Backing Vocals [Additional] – Dianne Wilson, Ellie Greenwich, Jules Shear, Krystal Davis, Maeretha Stewart
    Bass – Eric Bazilian, Neil Jason
    Design Concept [Cover Concept] – Cyndi Lauper, Janet Perr
    Drums, Percussion – Anton Fig
    Engineer [Additional] – John Jansen, Rod O'Brien
    Engineer [Assistant] – John Agnello
    Executive-Producer – Lennie Petze
    Guitar – Eric Bazilian, Neil Jason, Rick DiFonzo, William "Rock Pygmy" Wittman*
    Keyboards – Rob Hyman
    Lead Vocals – Cyndi Lauper
    Management – David Wolff, Joseph Zynczak
    Other [Clothes] – Screaming Mimi’s
    Other [Hair Design] – Justin Ware, Ralph Scibelli
    Other [Product Manager] – Dan Beck
    Other [Road Manager] – George Jordan
    Other [Stylist] – Laura Wells
    Photography By – Annie Liebovitz*
    Producer [Associate], Engineer – William Wittman
    Producer, Percussion [Extra] – Rick Chertoff
    Saxophone, Other [Hooter] – Eric Bazilian
    Synthesizer – Peter Wood (2), Richard Termini
       
Notes:
       
Recorded at Record Plant, New York, NY.

© 1983 CBS Inc. / ℗ 1983 CBS Inc.
Executive produced for Red Sox Music Productions, Inc.

A1: (c)1978 Gray Matter Publishing Company. All rights for the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico controlled by ATV Music Corp. (BMI)

A2: (c)1979 Heroic Music (ASCAP)

A3: (c)1980 Ecnirp Music (BMI)

A4: (c)1983 Rellla Music Co. (BMI) and Dub Notes (ASCAP)

B1: (c)1983 Rellla Music Co., Noyb Music Co., Wall To Wall Music Co. (BMI) and Hobbler Music (ASCAP)

B2: (c)1982 Funzalo Music/Juters Music Co. (BMI)

B3: (c)1982 Turalaura Music and Turi Music (BMI)

B4: (c)1983 Rellla Music Co., Funzalo Music / Juters Music Co. (BMI)

B5: (c)1929 Renewed. Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. Inc. (ASCAP)

B6: (c)1983 Stainless Music Corp. (BMI)

Anton Fig appears courtesy of Chrysalis Records
Jules Shear appears courtesy of EMI America Records, A Div. of Capitol Records Inc.

Inner sleeve with lyrics
       
Barcode and Other Identifiers
       
Barcode (Text): 0 7464-38930-1
    Barcode (Scanned): 074643893015
    Rights Society: BMI
    Rights Society: ASCAP
    Pressing Plant ID: P
    Matrix / Runout (Side 1, Etching, variant 1): P AL 38930 GIH [aura (in cursive/handwriting)]
    Matrix / Runout (Side 2, Etching, variant 1): P BL 38930-IE
    Matrix / Runout (Side 1, Etching, variant 2): (H-MP) P AL-38930 G1Q
    Matrix / Runout (Side 2, Etching, variant 2): P BL 38930-IE
    Matrix / Runout (Side 2, Stamped, variants 1 & 2): STERLING
    Matrix / Runout (Side 1 Runout, etched, variant 3): (H-MP) P AL-38930 G1Q I
    Matrix / Runout (Side 2 Runout, etched, variant 3): o P <J-MP> BL-38930 GIH

Cyndi Lauper ‎– She's So Unusual
Label: Portrait ‎– FR 38930
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style:Pop Rock, Synth-pop        
 
 
 
Viewfinder links:        
        
Cyndi Lauper        
Prince        
        
         
        
Net links:        
        
         
        
        
         
        
        
YouTube links:        
         
Cyndi Lauper ~ 
      All Through the Night      
      Girls Just Want To Have Fun      
      She Bop      
      Time After Time       
      When You Were Mine       
Prince ~ When You Were Mine      
        
        
         
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Saturday, October 14, 2023       
       
 
 


















No comments:

Post a Comment

PLEASE NOTE: comments are moderated BEFORE they are posted so DO NOT appear immediately.

Thank you.