Girls Just Want to Have Fun

(and social justice, peace in the Middle East, and family time)

By Jill Brooke

When you look at Cyndi Lauper’s career success and close, loving family, you gotta wonder: Why is this lady singing the blues? The spunky, colorfully dressed siren who observed that “girls just want to have fun” has clearly had some of her own in the 27 years since the release of that pop anthem. She has been married to actor David Thornton, a dreamy, devoted husband, since 1991 and is the proud mother of an adorable, hockey-loving 12-year-old son named Declyn. Life is good—really good—she gratefully acknowledges. However, when you’re an artist of Lauper’s range and passionate temperament, personal happiness is no cause for complacency. “You can’t just look in your own backyard,” she says. “Unfortunately, there are many reasons to sing the blues right now.”

What inspired the 57-year-old Lauper to create her 11th CD, “Memphis Blues”? Plenty—and yes, she’s got a little list: “From the BP disaster in the Gulf, to the economy, to the fact there is still discrimination in this country against the LGBT community, to the fact that around the world AIDS and HIV infection in women is on the rise at a very alarming rate, to the wars raging in the Middle East, to the genocide that continues in parts of Africa,” she says. Fortunately, and perhaps surprisingly for those who think of the singer as an ’80s pop star, Lauper’s grievances make for incredibly good music with authentic soul.

The CD has been getting rave reviews everywhere. As the New York Post’s Dan Aquilante wrote, “her music covers classics by Muddy Waters, Albert King, and Robert Johnson with the passion and skill of a Delta Queen rather than a girl who grew up in Ozone Park, Queens.” The New York Times noted how she is a “misfit heroine who has recorded steadily since her commercial heydays in the 1980s.”

“The review I love,” says her husband, “is the one from Newsweek where the reporter wrote, ‘Who would have thought that the best blues CD of the year would come from Cyndi Lauper?’ ” David, who is successful in his own right, having starred in films ranging from Home Alone 3 to The Notebook, is not surprised by these accolades about his wife. “She is just so talented,” he says, his voice tinged with deep admiration and affection. “She really can do anything.”

“No, I’m certainly not good at everything,” she clarifies. “I’d love to be a better mother, a better wife, a better friend. Sometimes you get so busy that the most important relationships in your life suffer.” And Lauper can’t resist adding a Burns and Allen-style quip. “I’m not a great cook, but I order in well.” Lauper says she’s not always as self-assured as her husband makes her out to be, especially where her son is concerned. “I do worry; I think I’ve become more of a worrier since I became a mom.”

That was almost 13 years ago. Declyn, who is named after Elvis Costello (Declan is Costello’s actual name), is the couple’s only child. Patti Labelle is his godmother—which is fitting when you consider that Cyndi and David were married by Little Richard himself. Despite the collection of rock star friends—she toured with Cher and Tina Turner, and is pals with Rosie O’Donnell—the focus of this family’s life is often hockey games.

The couple was raising Declyn at their Upper West Side apartment when Thornton, a dedicated Rangers fan, started bringing him along to games at Madison Square Garden. Pretty soon, the young boy became gung-ho about trying the sport for himself. “Declyn’s passion in life is hockey,” Lauper says. “When he was like 3 or 4, he told me, ‘Hockey is my life, Mom,’ and I believed him. When I was the same age, I knew I wanted to be a singer, a performer, an artist, so I get that. Sometimes you know at a very early age what you want to do. No one believed me when I said it, and I remember that. So when Declyn told me he found his calling, I supported it.”

Part of that parental support called for moving to Stamford, CT so that Declyn could play with hockey friends he originally met just on weekends. Cyndi and David kept the apartment on the Upper West Side, which is handy when they need to plug into the city. Like other hockey parents, the Thorntons’ alarm clock rings at 5 a.m., and off they go to practice. On weekends, they are at the games in Westchester and all over Connecticut. “I’m allergic to the cold, so when you see a woman dressed as the Michelin Man, that might be me trying to stay warm,” she jokes. “David is the one that’s really sacrificed for Declyn. He never misses a game or a practice.”

The realities of her musical career—she has sold over 25 million albums—require her to travel often on world tours. Thornton has been the one who has had to press the pause button more often on career opportunities. “I had a job offer once to do a film in Korea, where I was going to play a dad,” Thornton recalls. “But then I thought to myself, do I want to play a dad in a movie or stay home and be one?” Both parents have adamantly refused to be like other showbiz families where child-rearing is delegated to nannies due to overbooked schedules. One parent is always present at home. “Both of us have a real commitment to our son and family,” Thornton says. “It is such a precious gift. Would I want to be traveling, or take a ball and pitch to my son, or take our Lab out into the woods to play as outfielder? Or have fun on our wrestling mats in the house? This is where I want to be. Everything else is meaningless.”

Lauper is acutely aware of how her work, more than her husband’s, frequently takes her away from family time. “It is harder for her to regain membership into the fraternity, especially after traveling,” Thornton admits. But Lauper is determined to be a good sport. “Men with balls, they want all shapes—oblong, round, tiny, big,” she says, enjoying the double-entendre and rolling her eyes in mock exasperation. However, as soon as their home pond freezes, she becomes the family goalie, and during baseball seasons, she has been known to take to the pitcher’s mound—once she figures out where it is. Besides sports, Lauper shares other interests with her son, such as her love of old black-and-white movies and the occasional home-cooked risotto.

Her love of TV and film also explains why she jumped at the chance to be in Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” Not only could she support her charity, True Colors Fund, which has raised more than $200,000 to help promote gay rights, but she likes the rawness of the reality shows and characteristically was attracted by a self-described love of the absurd. For example, she has always had fun with her wardrobe, and says with her distinctive New Yawker drawl that her rainbow-hued clothes aren’t merely fashion. Instead, she is “an art piece.” For the “Apprentice,” however, style took a back seat to substance. Instead of having hair dyed an array of colors or sporting tendrils that look like pieces of fusilli pasta framing her face, her hair was blown-dry straight and silky, and she wore equally straight business attire, including a tight black sheath dress that showed off her petite, well-toned figure.

Although Trump fired her, the experience led to another opportunity.

Famed reality TV producer Mark Burnett promptly hired her to work on a project with him. Though details remain sketchy (the project is in development), Lauper says, “My show is going to be focused on my professional life, the ups and downs of the journey.” A true TV fan, Lauper confesses: “I love the medium.” Over the years, she’s had roles on “The Simpsons,” “Mad About You,” “30 Rock,” and “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.”

Cyndi Lauper’s professional journey, which she plans to chronicle in an upcoming biography, is the story of a woman who has stayed true to her vision. Although known for her four-octave range and hit-making talents—songs like “Time After Time” (co-written with Robert Hyman), and “True Colors” (written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly) are still getting regular airplay—most fans don’t realize how Lauper fought to keep the interpretations her own. One irony of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” is that it was written by the late Robert Hazard to be sung by a male. As such, it was hardly a feminist anthem. In fact, it seemed to celebrate sexual conquest of vapid party girls. Lauper’s version was, in striking contrast, a celebration
of friendship and sisterly fun.

“She’s a multitalented musician and composer who constantly reinvents herself,” says her friend Roger Friedman, editor-in-chief of www.showbiz411.com, a popular website chronicling TV, movies, and music industry news. “It’s a scandal that she’s not in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, considering the scope of her talent.” But in a way, being the underdog fuels her and keeps her fighting.

After her older sister, Ellen, gave her a guitar at the age of 12, Lauper began writing her own lyrics. Already, Cyndi was a different color of the rainbow. She embraced offbeat clothing in vibrant colors ranging from neon pink to crabapple green and dyed her hair to match, accessorizing her look with piles of beaded necklaces. Who else but Lauper would name her dog Sparkle? She started performing in local New York bands, hoping to make it big.

In 1977, Lauper damaged her vocal chords and had to take a year off. Although she was told she would never sing again, a vocal coach helped her recover, and she launched a band called Blue Angel. The band’s self-titled album “went lead,” as Lauper recalls, and a falling out with their manager put her into bankruptcy. She continued playing in clubs while supporting herself by working in retail stores including New York’s legendary vintage clothing emporium, Screaming Mimi’s, where she honed her fashion sense. Soon her punk fashion flair and four-octave vocal range attracted the attention of producer David Wolff, who also became a romantic partner. In 1983, she released the album “She’s So Unusual,” which included the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” blockbuster.

She also took control of the video for her big hit, introducing the world to a kind of modern-day feminism filled with girls more interested in each other’s company than seducing boys, joyfully bopping to their own internal drummers. Her upbeat, quirky individuality resonated with audiences, as did her penchant for including her real-life mom, Sparkle the dog, and “honorary dad,” the wrestler “Captain” Lou Albano. Lauper, with her cartoon-colored hair shaved on one side and long on the other, became the surprise ‘It’ girl of the season.

Lauper’s next album was “True Colors.” The proceeds for the song “Boy Blue” went to AIDS research, and she also participated in “We Are the World” as part of her growing activism. Although she was now an industry insider, she still thought of herself as an outsider. Her empathy for those at society’s margins only increased as her work took her around the globe.

In 1989, she and Wolff broke up. The previous year, Lauper had co-starred in Vibes with Jeff Goldblum. Although the movie, a light comedy, wasn’t a big hit, Lauper was offered a role in Off and Running (released in 1991) which was shooting in Miami. A tall, dark, and handsome actor with compassionate eyes named David Thornton was in the film along with Richard Belzer and David Keith.

One night, Lauper had a friend call Thornton to join a group for dinner, and he replied he’d be there in an hour. Why an hour? “At the time, I didn’t have much money and would have had to walk instead of getting a cab,” he recalls. Without missing a beat, Lauper sent a car for him and continued to do so every night so he could be mobile. That generosity of spirit deeply moved him. They started going out, and after the film wrapped, both thought they would go their separate ways. But the Kansas boy and the New York girl missed each other and decided to get married. They have been together ever since.

Why has their marriage lasted when so many dissolve like winter snowflakes? “I think it’s because we always have each other’s back,” Lauper says. “We are each other’s biggest cheerleaders and we both support one another’s art. We also have so much fun being together; there are no other people in the world I’d rather be sharing my life with than David and Decyln.”

But that doesn’t mean life is always calm. This woman has a set of lungs. Cyndi is passionate about everything she does—including her activism. Because her sister, Ellen, is gay, Lauper was an early fighter for equal rights and marched in gay pride parades. “She cares for her causes in a big way,” Thornton says. “She gives her time to deal with the larger families in the world. Few people know that she was recognized by the Nobel community for all the work she’s done. She really sticks to her guns and is a fighter, but one with incredible integrity.” If you’ve ever seen her during her wrestling sessions when she embraced the World Wrestling Federation (she challenged Albano to a match in which she selected wrestler Wendi Richter to represent her against his choice of female wrestler, The Fabulous Moolah), you know she’s not someone you want to anger. Thornton laughs. “It’s what I respect and love about her,” he says.

Fittingly for someone who has promised to “slow down when she’s dead,” Lauper is as busy and as glamorous at 57 as she was in her 20s. Recently, she and Lady Gaga—who grew up singing Cyndi Lauper songs—became spokeswomen for the MAC Viva Glam campaign. The two divas have namesake lipstick and lipgloss shades (“Cyndi” is a beautiful coral-red), and every cent of their sale is donated to the MAC AIDS Fund to support men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS. Though MAC marketed the first Viva Glam lipstick in 1994, being the Viva Glam spokesperson remains a high watermark for many celebrities as it recognizes their quotient for glamour, social consciousness, and cultural relevance. For Lauper, the project perfectly combines her passions for fashion, music, and activism. “I am very proud to be part of the Mac Viva Glam campaign,” she says. “It’s been their most successful Viva Glam ever, and we have raised millions for the MAC AIDS Fund so they can continue to do the very important work they do.”

Although Lauper casts her net of concern well beyond her backyard, her heart—and her feet—always return there. When she spoke, she was looking forward to wrapping up her tour at the end of September. She wants to be home for the holidays and, of course, to see some of her son’s hockey games when the season begins. After all, the true colors of this performing peacock are brightest when surrounded by the family she loves.