Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 30, 1995 TAG: 9510030001
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ALBANY, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium
The word has hung over her, almost like a taunt, ever since she experienced unimaginable success 11 years ago with her first album and the signature song ``Girls Just Want to Have Fun.''
Some will try to apply that label to ``Twelve Deadly Cyns ... And Then Some,'' a CD that collects the neon-haired singer's greatest hits, a few new songs and some tunes Lauper considers unjustly ignored.
``It's silly,'' she said. ``I haven't gone anywhere. To have every single one of your records called a comeback record is kind of funny.''
Overseas, where the disc was released last year, it clearly can be called a successful comeback. It has sold more than 2 million copies.
But this native New Yorker still hasn't cracked the indifference that those in her own country have displayed throughout the 1990s. The disc peaked at No. 81 on Billboard's chart and has sunk since its July release.
A full decade of never climbing to the same heights as that first album has given Lauper a different definition of success.
``You can be safe and be very successful, but there is nothing creatively stimulating there for me,'' she said. ``In my heart, that's where the music is. That's how I live and that's how I breathe. When I sing and when I write and when I make music together with people who are kindred souls, then it's a great experience.''
She's found that she can only be responsible for making that music, not for how people respond to it.
Put another way, Lauper said she would sport a Brooks Bros. suit if she wanted to be a whiz at the business aspect of music, instead of the thrift store castoffs she has molded into a ``look.''
``The importance is not a pat on the back or a slap on the side of the head,'' she said. ``In this field, once you understand the nature of the beast, it's not about how many rewards you get, it's about the work, and how the work makes you feel.''
And, lately, that work has made her feel pretty good.
Her 1993 album, ``Hat Full of Stars,'' received positive reviews and was the project Lauper always wanted to do - even though it was ignored to the point that many people who saw her perform didn't realize it was out.
She held off releasing her greatest hits until she could put a few songs from ``Hat Full of Stars'' on it, and would have liked to include more.
The new recordings on ``Twelve Deadly Cyns'' include a cover of the Gene Pitney song, ``I'm Gonna Be Strong,'' which Lauper had been performing since her days as the lead singer of Blue Angel, the New York City-area bar band in which she was discovered. It's among her strongest vocal performances.
``Girls Just Want to Have Fun'' also was recast as a reggae-flavored song that borrows the melody of Redbone's ``Come and Get Your Love.'' She also includes the original version of the hit on the CD.
The song has experienced a revival of sorts in the gay community, which often has been on the tip of musical trends. Tossing glitter as she rode a float, Lauper was a grand marshal of this summer's gay pride parade in New York City. Last year, she sang at the closing ceremonies of the Gay Games.
``I felt like this is a song that meant a lot to a lot of people,'' she said. ``It's a very liberating song and it's also about a celebration of who you are. And I think that that is important.''
Lauper, 42, was married almost four years ago to actor David Thornton, in a Manhattan ceremony in which Little Richard led them in reciting their vows. They divide their time between an apartment in Manhattan and a home an hour away in Stamford, Conn.
An acting career that began with the movie ``Vibes'' has continued to parallel Lauper's musical one. She just received her second Emmy nomination for her recurring role as a relative to actor Paul Reiser in ``Mad About You.''
``They're quite talented,'' she said. ``It's really something the way you fall into it. After awhile, I really did think that I was related to Paul through marriage and then divorce - that I was his cousin somehow.''
But she still considers music her top priority and is looking forward to some more live performances.
by CNB