Song of the Day 6/4: Cyndi Lauper, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”

Cyndi Lauper announced her tour this fall will be her last. The now-70-year-old singer released the girl power anthem that defined her career in 1983 with a video that became an MTV landmark thanks to her sassy attitude and quirky thrift-shop wardrobe, a look Madonna swiped for her role in “Desperately Seeking Susan.”

The video drew a lot of attention in MTV’s early days, when most videos were shot on a shoestring budget. Lauper’s was, too – the girl chorus was gathered from the secretaries at record company’s offices. Her father was played by her friend Captain Lou Albano, while her mother was played by her mother. Folk singer Steve Forbert, another friend, shows up with roses in the final dance scene. Lauper’s buttoned-up dance partner was her real-life attorney, Elliott Hoffman, who also convinced another client, Lorne Michaels of SNL, to let them use the show’s brand-new, state-of-the-art editing equipment. Those effects look cheesy now, but they were cutting edge at the time.

As many people remember, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” didn’t originate with Lauper but with Philadelphia rocker Robert Hazard. He said he wrote the song in 15 minutes while taking a bath and recorded a demo in 1979. Producer Rick Chertoff knew the song and nominated it for the album, and also suggested Lauper rewrite it to represent a female point of view. To put it mildly, she pulled it off.