Songoftheday 8/3/13 - Lyin' in my bed i hear the clock tickin' think of you, caught up in circles confusion is nothin' new....

Cyndi Lauper - "Time After Time"
from the album She's So Unusual (1984)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 14

Today's song of the day is by the "unusually fun girl" Cyndi Lauper, who rode her thick New York accent, eclectic clothes, orange hair, and a song by Philly boy Robert Hazard to fame as "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" went to #2 in the spring of 1984. Cyndi followed that up with a total 180 degrees in style with a ballad she co-wrote with Rob Hyman, another Philadelphia native and member of the Hooters (who were backing her up on the album). "Time After Time". For continuity, the video included a lot of the cameos from her first, including her mother and wrestler Lou Albano, along with her then-boyfriend David Wolff, and filmed in Morris County, New Jersey...

"Time After Time" became Cyndi's first #1 pop hit in June of 1984, as is also did on the adult contemporary (easy-listening) radio format, proving Lauper more than a one-trick pony. Internationally, she topped the chart in Canada, and top-10 everywhere else in Europe (#3 in the UK). It gave Cyndi the head start to be the biggest female singer at the time (proven by her MTV video awards for best Female and pop Video performace) while a scrappy girl from Detroit was just getting started.

Since then the record has been one of the most timeless songs of the 80s , not seeming dated or cliche at all. And then there was "Goonies".

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


A year later, jazz legend Miles Davis recorded a version of the song that he performed live a lot (he did it at the Chicago concert I saw)...

San Francisco dance singer Paul Parker also released a cover of "Time After Time" as a single...

Another big jazz act from the 80s, Tuck & Patti, also took on the song in 1988...

Everything But The Girl also recorded "Time After Time" in 1992...

The biggest version after Cyndi's came in 1998 as "bass music" singer INOJ released "Time After Time" and went to #6 on the pop chart in the US...

That same year New Orleans rap duo Kane & Abel interpolated the song on their own "Time After Time" single with Master P..

Here's more goodness from soul/jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson...

Also, here's the late great Eva Cassidy...

In 2002, Minnesota pop/rock outfit Quietdrive "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #102 with their take...

Here's actor/singer/Captain Jack from Torchwood John Barrowman live with "Time After Time"...

Barry Manilow also included the song on his 80s throwback album in 2008...

In 2009, Boyzone lead singer Ronan Keating released "Time After Time" as a single, reaching #88 on the British singles chart...

Boyz II Men did a nice Glee-style arrangement of the tune in 2009...

On the singing competition The Voice, two performances reached the chart. First, on season one, winner Javier Colon went to #65 on the Hot 100 in 2011 with his version...

And this last season, favorite and runner-up Michelle Chamuel made the sales chart with a dramatic take on "Time After Time"...

Finally, last but not least, here's Cyndi herself live both back then...


...and again from recent times...

In 2005 she collaborated with Sarah McLachlan with an acoustic take that would be the closing song for the show Ugly Betty...

...and to close things out, her Grammy night performance in 1984. The following year she won "Best New Artist" and was nominated for Song of the Year for "Time After Time"...

I know this is a truckload of clips, but dammit this song is one of the best ever, and has been done so many times so well...

Up tomorrow: We're introduced to another Jersey Boy.