Continuing to work backwards:
Cyndi Lauper exploded onto the scene in late 1983. "She's So Unusual" was her debut, it would chur out 5 Top 40 hits over the the next year. Including four consecutive Top 5 hits. From the MTV favorite "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (peaked at #2) to the Chart Topping "Time After Time" (written by Jules Shears) to #3 "She-Bop" and #5 "All Through The Night". That's a pretty impressive run for anybody, much less a debut album. Interestignly, "Time After Time" was the only one of thiose songes written (co-authored, actually) by Lauper.
The album would go on to to be one of the best selling of 1984, and garner half-a-dozen Grammy nominations, winning two. Sadly, after scoring 5 Top 40 hits on her debut, Lauer would only make the Top 40 five more times in the next 5 years, then disappeared from the charts.
She's So Unusual came out between the time a little over a year after I graduated college, and was a omnipresent through the time leading up to (and subsequent to) our wedding. I had this album (like Suzanne Vega) on cassette tape. In May 1984, I saw Cyndi Lauper in concert. I'd like to say it was a wonderful experience, but it wasn't. It was really rather bad, one of the most disappointing concerts I've seen. In retrospect, I imagine she (and the band) were probably run ragged and perhaps overwhelmed, after bursting from relative obscurity into massive stardom.
Anyway, the cassette is long gone, and I've never purchased a digital copy of "She's So Unusual". I do have all the hits, which is 1/2 the album, purchased song-by-song.
Recapping:
#92 - Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever
#85 - Neil Young - Freedom
#80 - Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega
One to the photo: Not quite random, this photo was almost certainly taken during the time that this album was topping the charts. Based on the location (Dexter!) and the cat (inherited when I got married), this is later 1983 or the 1984.
No comments:
Post a Comment