Songoftheday 1/20/15 - You with the sad eyes don't be discouraged, oh I realize it's hard to take courage...

"True Colors" - Cyndi Lauper
from the album True Colors (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 12

Today's Song of the Day comes from the delightfully quirky pop singer Cyndi Lauper, who we last saw following up her breakthrough album She's So Unusual with a top-ten "novelty-by-name" single from the movie Goonies, "Goonies 'R Good Enough" in the summer of 1985. Her sophomore record wouldn't arrive until more than a year after that, but Cyndi proved it was definitely worth the wait with the inspirational and "grown up" title track. "True Colors", written by the team of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who wrote the biggest hit of 1984, Madonna's "Like A Virgin", as well as Whitney Houston's #1 smash "So Emotional", was intended as a country song for Anne Murray, but luckily she passed and Lauper's stripped-down version with subtle slowed-down tribal rhythms in the back highlighted her most emotional vocal performance up to that time....

"True Colors" became Cyndi's second #1 pop hit in America in October of 1986, while also crossing over to the Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart at #5. Internationally, the single went to #1 in Canada, climbed into the top-10 in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the Netherlands and Ireland. In Britain and Germany, it peaked within the top-20. At the following Grammy Awards, Cyndi grabbed a nomination for Female Pop Vocal Performance, losing to Barbra Streisand (for her #1 The Broadway Album). Since then the song has become an anthem in the gay and lesbian community, even inspiring a tour featuring Lauper and synthpop kings Erasure.

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Here's Cyndi appearing on the Letterman show to promote the single...

And again, from her tour in 1987 in Paris...

Scottish new-wave band Aztec Camera covered "True Colors" as a B-side of the single "The Crying Scene", which made the Modern Rock top-5 in the U.S. in 1990...

In 1998, Phil Collins released "True Colors" on his ...Hits compilation, which peaked at #2 on the adult contemporary chart and made the top-40 in England...

British rockers Leatherface put a "punk" spin on the song in 2000...

That same year, neo-soul singer Jill Scott and rapper Fredro Starr interpolated the record for "Shining Through" for the Save The Last Dance For Me movie....

Scottish singer Maggie Reilly put a particularly sweet performance out in 2009..

At the same time, the TV music-comedy phenomenon Glee covered "True Colors", reaching the top-40 in England and #66 on the Hot 100 in America..

In 2012, the trio of Faith Evans, Fantasia, and Kelly Price collaborated on a soulful version of the song...

Most recently, Cyndi came together with Sara Bareilles for a "mash-up" of "True Colors" with Sara's "Brave" for a charity single for pediatric cancer in 2014...

I couldn't think of a more lovely way to end the post.

Up tomorrow: Boston boys cover a proto-rock classic.