Look up Cindy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Cindy may refer to:

People[link]

• Cindy (given name)

Cindy (So Random Character)

Music[link]

• "Cindy", 1976 song written by Peter, Sue and Marc; also performed by The Cats
• "Cindy", 2000 song by American rock band Tammany Hall NYC
• "Cindy" (folk song), American folk song (also known as "Cindy, Cindy")
• Cindy (musical), by Johnny Brandon

Other[link]

• Cindy (film), 1978 TV movie adaptation of the Cinderella story
• Cindy, a male dolphin that informally married a human, see Human–animal marriage
• Sindy, a British doll
• Hurricane Cindy (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Koffi Olomide
Background information
Birth name	Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba
Also known as	Koffi
Born	(1956-08-13) 13 August 1956 (age 55)
Genres	Soukous/Tcha Tcho
Occupations	composer, arranger, producer, singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1978 - Present
Associated acts	Quartier Latin

Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba, also known as Koffi Olomide (Friday, August 13, 1956), is a DR Congolese soukous singer, dancer, producer, and composer. He is also known by a multitude of other names and aliases.^[1]

Background[link]

He was born in Kisangani, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His father is Congolese (Gbandi tribe from Equateur region) and his mother was born from a Sierra-Leone father and a Congolese mother (Songye tribe from Kasaï region). According to the ethnic custom of his Sierra-Leone grand father, his mother named him 'Koffi' because he was born on a Friday ^[2]. Koffi grew up in the city of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a middle-class family, where education was valued.

Education[link]

He was a very bright student. He earned a scholarship and went to study in Bordeaux, France where he obtained a Bachelors Degree in Business Economics. He is also reported to hold a Masters Degree in Mathematics from the University of Paris.^[3]

Music career[link]

Upon his return to Congo in the 1970s he joined Papa Wemba's band, Viva la Musica, at first as a composer and song-writer, and later as a vocalist and lead-singer. He launched his solo career. In 1986, Koffi formed his band known as Quartier Latin, which celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2006. Since then, he has performed and recorded both with the group and by himself. Over the years, he has built up a faithful fan base Internationally, particularly in Africa and Europe. Koffi popularized the slower style of soukous, which he dubbed Tcha Tcho. Koffi's music can be quite controversial, taking on current events and topics considered taboo in some conservative societies. He has also participated in the salsa music project Africando. For his effort, Affaire D'Etat, released in 2003, Koffi received four Kora Awards on a single night at the annual Kora Awards in South Africa for 2002/2003, including the award for Best African Artist, which he had earlier won in 1998. More recently, he has won the Kora Award for "Best African Artist of The Decade". This led to the establishment of one of his many aliases as the 'Quadra Kora Man'. ^[4]

His music[link]

Olomide's album Haut de Gamme: Koweït, Rive Gauche is listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[5] In March 2003 Olomide released "Affaire D'Etat", a double CD album featuring 18 tracks.

He has trained many young musicians some of whom have since left his Quartier Latin band and gone solo while a few are still sticking with him. Some of those who have left are Fele Mudogo, Sam Tshintu, Suzuki 4x4, Soleil Wanga, Fally Ipupa, Montana Kamenga, Ferre Gola and are so far doing fairly well on their own. However "Suzuki 4x4" has recently showed up once more in some of Quartier Latin shows, along with new recruits like Cindy le Coeur, a female singer with very high pitched vocals.

Koffi, who mostly refers to himself as Mopao, has a brand new release known as La Chicotte a Papa, having recently excelled in hits like Cle Boa, Lovemycine, Diabolos, Grand Pretre Mere and Soupou, among others. Mopao has also proven to be of such very high standards of talent which could easily be compared to the once king of African rhumba the late Luambo Makiadi, who equally saw many artistes pass through his expert hands during his days. Today, Mopao is the undisputed king of romantic rhumba. Not only that, he is one of Africa's biggest musicians today.^[6]

Personal[link]

Koffi Olomide is reported to be very intelligent and wealthy. He is married and is the father of seven (7) children:Nzau Twengi Aristote, Elvis, Minou Miss Univers, Didi Stone Nike, Rocky, Del pirlo Mourhino and Saint James Rolls. Olomide's father, who is currently in poor health, lives in Paris, France. Olomide's mother lives in Kinshasa and works as a jewellery dealer in the Zando Market in the city. Koffi has an elder brother, Johnny Ko, who also lives in Paris. Also a younger brother Tutu Roba, who lives in London, England.^[7]

Photos[link]

• Koffi Olomide With Some of His Female Dancers

References[link]

External links[link]

• Fan-site with history and discography link

Ricky Nelson
Background information
Birth name	Eric Hilliard Nelson
Born	(1940-05-08)May 8, 1940 Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	December 31, 1985(1985-12-31) (aged 45) De Kalb, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Rockabilly, rock 'n' roll, pop, folk, country
Occupations	Actor, musician, singer
Years active	1949-1985
Labels	Imperial, Decca (MCA), Epic
Associated acts	Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Connie Francis, Carl Perkins, James Burton
Website	http://www.rickynelson.com/

Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985), better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor. He placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973 including "Poor Little Fool", which holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on Billboard magazine's then newly created Hot 100 chart. He recorded nineteen additional top-ten hits,^[1] and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.^[2]

Nelson began his entertainment career in 1949 playing himself in the radio sitcom series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and, in 1952, appeared in his first feature film, Here Come the Nelsons. In 1957, he recorded his first single, debuted as a singer on the television version of the sitcom, and recorded a number one album, Ricky. In 1958, Nelson recorded his first number one single, "Poor Little Fool", and, in 1959, received a Golden Globe Most Promising Male Newcomer nomination after starring in the western film, Rio Bravo. A few films followed, and, when the television series was cancelled in 1966, Nelson made occasional appearances as a guest star on various television programs.

Nelson and Sharon Kristin Harmon were married on April 20, 1963, and divorced in December 1982. They had four children: Tracy Kristine, twin sons Gunnar Eric and Matthew Gray, and Sam Hilliard. On February 14, 1981, a son (Eric Crewe) was born to Nelson and Georgeann Crewe. A blood test in 1985 confirmed Nelson was the child's father. Nelson was engaged to Helen Blair at the time of his death in an airplane crash on December 31, 1985.

In 1996, Ricky Nelson was ranked #49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.^[3]

Early life[link]

Ricky Nelson was born on May 8, 1940 at 1:25 p.m. at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey.^[4][5][6] He was the second son of big band leader Ozzie Nelson, who was of half Swedish descent, and his wife, big band vocalist Harriet Hilliard Nelson (née Peggy Louise Snyder). Harriett remained in Englewood, New Jersey with her newborn and her older son David while Ozzie toured the nation with the Nelson Orchestra.^[7] The Nelsons bought a two-story Colonial in Tenafly, New Jersey,^[7][8] and six months after the purchase, moved with son David to Hollywood, California where Ozzie and Harriet were slated to appear in the 1941-42 season of Red Skelton's The Raleigh Cigarette Hour; Ricky remained in Tenafly in the care of his paternal grandmother.^[9] In November 1941, the Nelsons bought what would become their permanent home: a green and white, two-story, Cape Cod Colonial at 1822 Camino Palmero in Los Angeles.^[10][11] Ricky joined his parents and brother in Los Angeles in 1942.^[10]

Ricky was a small and insecure child who suffered from severe asthma. At night, his sleep was eased with a vaporizer emitting tincture of evergreen.^[12] He was described by Red Skelton's producer John Guedel as "an odd little kid," likable, shy, introspective, mysterious, and inscrutable.^[13] When Skelton was drafted in 1944, Guedel crafted the radio sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, for Ricky's parents.^[13][14] The show debuted on Sunday, October 8, 1944 to favorable reviews.^[15][16] Ozzie eventually became head writer for the show and based episodes on the fraternal exploits and enmity of his sons.^[17] The Nelson boys were first played in the radio series by professional child actors until twelve-year-old Dave and eight-year-old Ricky joined the show on February 20, 1949 in the episode, "Invitation to Dinner."^[18][19]

In 1952, the Nelsons tested the waters for a television series with the theatrically released film, Here Come the Nelsons. The film was a hit and Ozzie was convinced the family could make the transition from radio's airwaves to television's small screen. On October 3, 1952, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made its television debut and was broadcast in first run until September 3, 1966 to become one of the longest running sitcoms in television history.

Education[link]

Nelson attended Gardner Street Public School,^[20] Bancroft Junior High,^[21] and Hollywood High School between 1954 and 1958 from which he graduated with a B average.^[22][23][24] He played football at Hollywood High^[22][23] and represented the school in interscholastic tennis matches.^[25] Twenty-five years later, Nelson told the Los Angeles Weekly he hated school because it "smelled of pencils" and he was forced to rise early in the morning to attend.^[22]

Hollywood High (2008)

At Hollywood High, Nelson was blackballed by the Elksters, a fraternity of a dozen conservative sports-loving teens who thought him too wild.^[26][27] Many of the Elksters were family friends and spent weekends at the Nelson home playing basketball or relaxing around the pool.^[27] In retaliation, he joined the Rooks, a greaser car club of sideburned high school teens clad in leather jackets and motorcycle boots.^[27][28] He tattooed his hands, wrist, and shoulder with India ink and a sewing needle, slicked his hair with oil, and accompanied the Rooks on nocturnal forays along Hollywood Boulevard randomly harassing and beating up passersby.^[27][28] Nelson was jailed twice in connection with incidents perpetrated by the Rooks, and escaped punishment after sucker-punching a police officer only through the intervention of his father.^[28] Nelson's parents were alarmed. Their son's juvenile delinquency did little to enhance the All-American image of Ozzie and Harriet and they quickly put an end to Ricky's involvement with the Rooks by banishing one of the most influential of the club's members from Ricky's life and their home.^[25]

Ozzie Nelson was a Rutgers alumnus and keen on college education,^[29] but eighteen-year-old Ricky was already in the 93-percent income-tax bracket and saw no reason to attend.^[23] At thirteen, Ricky was making over $100,000 per annum and, at sixteen he had a personal fortune of $500,000.^[30] Nelson's wealth was astutely managed by parents who channeled his earnings into trust funds. Although his parents permitted him a $50 allowance at the age of eighteen, Rick was often strapped for cash, and, one evening, collected and redeemed empty pop bottles to gain entrance to a movie theater for himself and a date.^[31] Accustomed to affluence, Nelson had a cavalier attitude about money and never managed his finances very well.^[26]

Music career[link]

Debut[link]

Nelson played clarinet and drums in his tweens and early teens, learned the rudimentary guitar chords, and vocally imitated his favorite Sun Records rockabilly artists in the bathroom at home or in the showers at the Los Angeles Tennis Club.^[32][33][34] He was strongly influenced by the music of Carl Perkins and once said he tried to emulate the sound and the tone of the guitar break in Perkins' March 1956 Top Ten hit, "Blue Suede Shoes".^[33][34]

At sixteen, he wanted to impress a friend who was an Elvis Presley fan, and, although he had no record contract at the time, told her that he, too, was going to make a record.^{[32][35][36][37]} With his father's help, he secured a one-record deal with Verve Records, an important jazz label looking for a young and popular personality who could sing or be taught to sing.^{[36][37][38][39]} On March 26, 1957, he recorded the Fats Domino standard "I'm Walkin'" and "A Teenager's Romance" (released in late April 1957 as his first single), and "You're My One and Only Love".^[39][40]

Before the single was released, he made his television rock and roll debut on April 10, 1957 lip-synching "I'm Walkin'" in the Ozzie and Harriet episode, "Ricky, the Drummer".^[41][42] About the same time, he made an unpaid public appearance as a singer at a Hamilton High School lunch hour assembly in Los Angeles with the Four Preps and was greeted by hordes of screaming teens who had seen the television episode.^[43][44]

"I'm Walkin'" reached #4 on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart, and its flip side, "A Teenager's Romance", hit #2.^[36][44] When the television series went on summer break in 1957, Nelson made his first road trip and played four state and county fairs in Ohio and Wisconsin with the Four Preps who opened and closed for him.^[45]

First album, band, and number one single[link]

In early summer 1957, Ozzie Nelson pulled his son from Verve after disputes about royalties, and signed him to a lucrative five-year deal with Imperial Records that gave him approval over song selection, sleeve artwork, and other production details.^[46][47] Ricky's first Imperial single, "Be-Bop Baby", generated 750,000 advance orders, sold over one million copies, and reached number three on the charts. Nelson's first album, Ricky, was released in October 1957 and hit number one before the end of the year.^[48] Following these successes, Nelson was given a more prominent role on the Ozzie and Harriet show and ended every two or three episodes with a musical number.^[49]

Nelson grew increasingly dissatisfied performing with older jazz session musicians who were openly contemptuous of rock and roll. After his Ohio and Minnesota tours in the summer of 1957, he decided to form his own band with members closer to his age.^[50] Eighteen-year-old electric guitarist James Burton was the first signed and lived in the Nelson home for two years.^[51] Bassist James Kirkland, drummer Richie Frost, and pianist Gene Garf completed the band.^[52] Their first recording together was "Believe What You Say". Rick selected material from demo acetates submitted by songwriters. Ozzie Nelson forbade suggestive lyrics or titles, and his late-night arrival at recording sessions forced band members to hurriedly hide their beers and cigarettes. The Jordanaires, Elvis Presley's back-up vocalists, worked for Nelson but at Presley's behest were not permitted credit on Nelson's albums.

In 1958, Nelson recorded seventeen-year-old Sharon Sheeley's "Poor Little Fool" for his second album Ricky Nelson released in June.^[53][54] Radio airplay brought the tune notice and Imperial suggested releasing a single; but Nelson opposed the idea, believing a single would diminish EP sales. When a single was released nonetheless, he exercised his contractual right to approve any artwork and vetoed a picture sleeve.^[53][55] On August 4, 1958, "Poor Little Fool" became the number one single on Billboard's newly instituted Hot 100 singles chart,^[56][57] and sold over two million copies.^[53] Nelson so loathed the song he refused to perform it on Ozzie and Harriet.^[53] Sheeley claimed he ruined her song by slowing the tempo.^[56] More generally, Nelson stated

NME - November 1958^[58]

During 1958 and 1959, Nelson placed twelve hits on the charts in comparison with Presley's eleven (it should be remembered that the latter was then serving in Germany with the U.S. Army). During the sitcom's run, Ozzie Nelson, either to keep his son's fans tuned in or as an affirmation of his reputed behind-the-scenes persona as a controlling personality, kept his son from appearing on other television shows that could have enhanced his public profile, American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show in particular.^[56] In the summer of 1958, Nelson conducted his first full-scale tour, and averaged $5,000 nightly. By 1960, the Ricky Nelson International Fan Club had 9,000 chapters around the world.^[59]

NME - May 1960^[60]

Nelson was the first teen idol to utilize television to promote hit records. Ozzie Nelson even had the idea to edit footage together to create some of the first music videos. This creative editing can be seen in videos Ozzie produced for "Travelin' Man."^{[citation needed]} Nelson finally did appear on the Sullivan show in 1967, but his career by that time was in limbo. He also appeared on other television shows (usually in acting roles). In 1973, he had an acting role in an episode of The Streets of San Francisco, in which he played the part of a hippie flute-playing leader of a harem of young prostitutes. In 1979, he guest-hosted on Saturday Night Live, in which he spoofed his television sitcom image by appearing in a Twilight Zone send-up, in which, always trying to go "home", he finds himself among the characters from other 1950s/early 1960s-era sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Make Room for Daddy, and I Love Lucy.

Nelson knew and loved music, and was a skilled performer even before he became a teen idol, largely because of his parents' musical background. Nelson worked with many musicians of repute, including James Burton, Joe Osborn, and Allen "Puddler" Harris, all natives of Louisiana, and Joe Maphis, The Jordanaires, Scotty Moore and Johnny and Dorsey Burnette.

From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had 30 Top-40 hits, more than any other artist except Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (38). Many of Nelson's early records were double hits with both the A and B sides hitting the Billboard charts.

While Nelson preferred rockabilly and uptempo rock songs like "Believe What You Say" (Hot 100 #4), "I Got a Feeling" (#10), "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" (#12), "Hello Mary Lou" (#9), "It's Late" (#9), "Stood Up" (#2), "Waitin' in School" (#18), "Be-Bop Baby" (#3), and "Just a Little Too Much" (#9), his smooth, calm voice made him a natural to sing ballads. He had major success with "Travelin' Man" (#1), "A Teenager's Romance" (#2), "Poor Little Fool" (#1), "Young World" (#5), "Lonesome Town" (#7), "Never Be Anyone Else But You" (#6), "Sweeter Than You" (#9), "It's Up to You" (#6), and "Teenage Idol" (#5), which clearly could have been about Nelson himself.

Nelson performing on The Jim Nabors Show in 1970.

In addition to his recording career, Nelson appeared in movies, including the Howard Hawks western classic Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin (1959), plusThe Wackiest Ship In the Army (1960) and Love and Kisses (1965).

On May 8, 1961 (his 21st birthday), he officially modified his recording name from "Ricky Nelson" to "Rick Nelson". (However, not too long before his untimely death, he realized a dream of his. He met his idol, Carl Perkins, who, while musing that they were the last of the "rockabilly breed", addressed him as "Ricky".) In 1963, Nelson signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records. After some early successes with the label, most notably 1964's "For You" (#6), Nelson's chart career came to a dramatic halt in the wake of The British Invasion.

In the mid-1960s, Nelson began to move towards country music, becoming a pioneer in the country-rock genre. He was one of the early influences of the so-called "California Sound" (which would include singers like Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt and bands like the Eagles). Yet Nelson himself did not reach the Top 40 again until 1970, when he recorded Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" with the Stone Canyon Band, featuring slide guitarist Ric Mix.

"Garden Party"[link]

In 1972, Nelson reached the Top 40 one last time with "Garden Party", a song he wrote in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him, because, in his mind, he was playing new songs instead of just his old hits. When he performed the Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" he was booed off the stage. He watched the rest of the performance on a TV monitor backstage and quietly left the Madison Garden without taking a final bow for the finale. He wanted to record an album featuring original material, but the single was released before the album because Nelson had not completed the entire Garden Party album yet. "Garden Party" reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was certified as a gold single. The second single release from the album was "Palace Guard", which reached number 65 in the charts.

Nelson was with MCA at the time, and his comeback was short-lived. Nelson's band soon resigned, and MCA wanted Nelson to have a producer on his next album. His band moved to Aspen and changed their name to "Canyon". Nelson soon put together a new Stone Canyon Band and began to tour for the Garden Party album. Nelson still played nightclubs and bars, but soon advanced to higher-paying venues because of the success of Garden Party. In 1974 MCA was at odds as to what to do with the former teen idol. Albums like Windfall failed to have an impact. Nelson became an attraction at theme parks like Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. He also started appearing in minor roles on television shows.

Nelson tried to score another hit, but did not have any luck with songs like "Rock and Roll Lady". With seven years to go on his contract, MCA dropped him from the label.

Nelson studied karate, earning a brown belt before going on to learn Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto. Inosanto described Nelson as a "good martial artist for those times".^[61]

Personal life[link]

In 1957, Nelson was seventeen when he met and fell in love with Marianne Gaba, who played the role of Ricky's girlfriend in three episodes of Ozzie and Harriet.^[62][63] Nelson and Gaba were too young to entertain a serious relationship although, according to Gaba, "we used to neck for hours."^[64][65] The next year, Nelson fell in love with 15-year-old Lorrie Collins, a country singer appearing on a weekly telecast called Town Hall Party.^[66][67] The two wrote Nelson's first composition, the song "My Gal", and she introduced him to Johnny Cash and Tex Ritter. Collins appeared in an Ozzie and Harriet episode as Ricky's girlfriend and sang "Just Because" with him in the musical finale.^[68] They went steady and discussed marriage, but their parents discouraged the idea.^[68][69]

At the age of 45, Nelson said the only girl he ever really loved was involved with him for two years in the late 1950s. After she became pregnant and had a nearly fatal abortion, she married another man.^[70][71]

Kris Harmon[link]

Television publicity photo of Rick and Kris Nelson, 1964.

At Christmas 1961, Nelson began dating Sharon Kristin "Kris" Harmon (born June 25, 1945), the daughter of football legend Tom Harmon and actress Elyse Knox (née Elsie Kornbrath), and the older sister of Kelly and Mark.^[72][73] The Nelsons and the Harmons had long been friends and a union between their children held great appeal.^[74] Rick and Kris had much in common: quiet dispositions, Hollywood upbringings, and high-powered, domineering fathers.^[75]

They married on April 20, 1963. Kris was pregnant,^[76] and Rick later described the union as a "shotgun wedding".^[77] Nelson, a non-practicing Protestant, received instruction in Catholicism at the insistence of the bride's parents,^[77][78] and signed a pledge to have any children of the union baptized in the Catholic faith.^[76] Kris Nelson joined the television show as a regular cast member in 1963.^[71][79] They had four children: actress Tracy Kristine Nelson, twin sons Gunnar Eric Nelson and Matthew Gray Nelson who formed the band Nelson, and Sam Hilliard Nelson.

Following the birth of their last child, the marriage deteriorated by 1975, and a very public controversial divorce involving both families was covered in the press for several years. In October 1977, Kris filed for divorce and asked for alimony, custody of their four children, and a portion of community property. The couple temporarily resolved their differences but Kris retained her attorney to pursue a permanent break.^[80] Kris was contentious and jealous. Both spent enormous sums of money: Kris on parties, Rick on renting a private Lear jet.^[81] Nelson had a tremendous sexual appetite and a casual attitude toward sex, once estimating he had had sex with thousands of women.^[82] Kris wanted Rick to give up music, spend more time at home, and focus on acting, but the family enjoyed a recklessly expensive lifestyle, and Kris's extravagant spending left Rick no choice but to tour relentlessly.^[83] The impasse over Rick's career created unpleasantness at home. Kris became an alcoholic and left the children in the care of household help.^[84] After years of legal proceedings, they were divorced in December 1982. The divorce was financially devastating for Nelson with attorneys and accountants taking over $1 million.^[85] Years of legal wrangling followed.^[86][87]

Georgeann Crewe[link]

On May 16, 1980, Nelson met Georgeann Crewe at the Playboy Resort in Great Gorge, New Jersey.^[88][89] Crewe later claimed she felt "an attachment, an immediate attraction" to Nelson.^[88][89] Crewe unsuccessfully attempted to contact Nelson several times to let him know that she was pregnant, and on March 25, 1981, she gave birth to Nelson's son, Eric Jude Crewe.^[88] In 1985, a blood test confirmed Nelson was the father,^[88] but Nelson was not interested in Crewe or their son. He declined to meet with them to the point that he avoided playing concerts in Atlantic City. Although Nelson agreed to provide $400 a month in child support, he did not provide for the child in his will.^[90]

Helen Blair[link]

In 1980, Nelson met Helen Blair, a part-time model and exotic animal trainer, in Las Vegas.^[91] Within months of their meeting, she became his road companion, and, in 1982, moved in with him. She was the only woman he dated after his divorce.^[91][92]

Blair tried to make herself useful in Nelson's life by organizing his day and acting as a liaison for his fan club,^[91] but Nelson's mother, brother, business manager, and manager disapproved of her presence in his life.^[93] He contemplated marrying her, but eventually declined.^[94] Blair died with Nelson in the airplane fire. Her name was never mentioned at Nelson's funeral.^[95] Blair's parents wanted their daughter buried next to Nelson at Forest Lawn Cemetery but Harriet Nelson dismissed the idea.^[96] The Blairs refused to bury Helen's remains and filed a $2 million wrongful death suit against Nelson's estate.^[95] They received a small settlement. Nelson did not provide for Blair in his will.^[90]

Drug use[link]

Nelson used marijuana early in his musical career, and became a regular user. He buried his stash in his yard. He supported marijuana's legalization. He tried mescaline, was a regular cocaine user and carried the drug in an empty ginseng capsule.^[97][98]

During the Nelson divorce proceedings, Rick was accused by his wife's attorney of using cocaine, quaaludes, and other drugs, and of having "a severe drug problem" encouraged by his managers, his entourage, and his groupies. The attorney noted that Nelson's "personal manager" secured drugs for Nelson, wild parties took place in Nelson's home whether he was present or not, and his children, aware of his drug use, were in great physical danger from drugged persons entering and exiting the house at all hours.^[99] Following Nelson's divorce, while he was involved with Helen Blair, his drug use grew so dire friends urged him to seek treatment for substance abuse.^[100]

Death[link]

Nelson dreaded flying but refused to travel by bus. In May 1985, he decided he needed a private plane and leased a luxurious, fourteen-seat, 1944 Douglas DC-3 for private use that once belonged to the DuPont family and later to Jerry Lee Lewis. The plane's history was plagued with annoying mechanical issues.^[101] In one incident, the band was forced to push the plane off the runway after an engine blew, and in another incident in September, a malfunctioning magneto prevented Nelson from participating in the first Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Illinois.

On 26 December 1985, Nelson and the band left for a three-stop tour of the Southern United States. Following shows in Orlando, Florida and Guntersville, Alabama, Nelson and band members boarded the DC-3 in Guntersville and took off for a New Year's Eve extravaganza in Dallas, Texas.^[102] The plane crash-landed northeast of Dallas in De Kalb, Texas less than 2 miles from a landing strip at approximately 5:14 p.m. CST on 31 December 1985, impacting trees as it came to earth. Seven of the nine occupants were killed: Nelson and his fiancée, Helen Blair; bass guitarist Patrick Woodward; drummer Rick Intveld; keyboardist Andy Chapin; guitarist Bobby Neal; and road manager/soundman Donald Clark Russell. Pilots Ken Ferguson and Brad Rank escaped via cockpit windows, though Ferguson was severely burned.

Nelson's remains were lost in transit from Texas to California, delaying the funeral for several days. On 6 January 1986, 250 mourners entered the Church of the Hills for funeral services while 700 fans gathered outside. Attendees included 'Colonel' Tom Parker, Connie Stevens, Angie Dickinson, and dozens of actors, writers, and musicians. Nelson was privately buried days later in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Kris Nelson threatened to sue the Nelson clan for her former husband's life insurance money and tried to wrest control of his estate from David Nelson, its administrator. Her bid was rejected by a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. Nelson bequeathed his entire estate to his children and did not provide for Eric Crewe, Helen Blair, or Kris Nelson. Only days after the funeral, rumors and newspaper reports suggested cocaine freebasing was one of several possible causes for the plane crash. Those allegations were refuted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).^[103]

The reports vary as to whether or not the plane was on fire before it crashed. According to witnesses, the plane appeared to be on fire before it force-landed. Jim Burnett, then-Chairman of the NTSB, however, said that even though the plane was infested with smoke, the plane landed and came to a stop before it was swallowed by flames.^[104] The NTSB conducted a year-long investigation and finally stated that, while the definitive cause was still unknown, the crash was probably due to a gas-fueled heater that reportedly had caused in-flight problems.^[105]

When questioned by the NTSB, Pilots Brad Rank and Ken Ferguson had diversely different accounts of key events. According to co-pilot Ferguson, the cabin heater was acting up after the plane took off. Ferguson continued that Rank kept going back to the back of the plane to see if he could get the heater to function correctly and that Rank told Ferguson several times to turn the heater back on. "One of the times, I refused to turn it on," said Ferguson. He continued, "I was getting more nervous. I didn't think we should be messing with that heater en-route." After the plane crashed, Ferguson and Rank climbed out the windows, suffering from extensive burns. They shouted to the passenger cabin, but there was no response. Ferguson and Rank backed away from the plane, fearing explosion. Ferguson stated that Rank told him, "Don't tell anyone about the heater, don't tell anyone about the heater."^[106]

Pilot Rank, however, told a different story: Rank said that he was checking on the passengers when he noticed smoke in the middle of the cabin, where Rick Nelson and Helen Blair were sitting. Even though he never mentioned a problematic heater, Rank stated that he went to the rear of the plane to check the heater, saw no smoke, and found the heater was cool to the touch. After activating an automatic fire extinguisher and opening the cabin's fresh air inlets, Rank said that he returned to the cockpit where Ferguson was already asking traffic controllers for directions to the nearest airfield.^[106]

Rank was criticized by the NTSB for not following the in-flight fire checklist; opening the fresh air vents instead of leaving them closed, not instructing the passengers to use supplemental oxygen, and not attempting to fight the fire with the hand-held fire extinguisher that was in the cockpit. The board said that while these steps might not have prevented the crash, "they would have enhanced the potential for survival of the passengers."^[107] The words of the NTSB seem to echo that of firefighter, Lewis Glover, who was one of the first on the scene. Glover stated, "All the bodies are there at the front of the plane. Apparently, they were trying to escape the fire."^[108]

An examination indicated that a fire had originated in the right side of the aft cabin area at or near the floor line. Some reports said the passengers were killed when the aircraft struck obstacles during the forced landing. The ignition and fuel sources of the fire could not be determined. According to another report, the pilot indicated that the crew tried to turn on the gasoline cabin heater repeatedly shortly before the fire occurred, but that it failed to respond. After the fire, the access panel to the heater compartment was found unlatched. The theory is supported by records that showed that DC-3s in general, and this aircraft in particular, had a history of problems with the cabin heaters.

Tributes, honors, recognition[link]

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2006)

Nelson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1515 Vine Street.

Along with the recording's other participants, Nelson earned the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for "Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions."

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Nelson number 91 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[109]

At the 20th anniversary of Nelson's death, PBS televised Ricky Nelson Sings, a documentary featuring interviews with his children, James Burton, and Kris Kristofferson. On December 27, 2005, EMI Music released an album titled Ricky Nelson's Greatest Hits that peaked at number 56 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Bob Dylan wrote about Nelson's influence on his music in his 2004 memoir, "Chronicles, Vol. 1".

Nelson's estate (The Rick Nelson Company, LLC) owns ancillary rights to the Ozzie and Harriet television series, and, in 2007, Shout! Factory released official editions of the show on DVD. Also in 2007, Nelson was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

John Frusciante song "Ricky" was inspired by Ricky Nelson.

For the 25th anniversary of Nelson's death, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Burton, Nelson's original guitarist for nearly ten years, spoke about his friendship and experiences with the singer in an extensive series of interviews for Examiner.com. The first installment is entitled "Remembering Rick Nelson: An Interview With His Friend, Guitarist James Burton."

Discography[link]

See also[link]

Biography portal

References[link]

• Bashe, Philip (1992). Teenage Idol, Travelin' Man: The Complete Biography of Rick Nelson. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 1-56282-969-6. 
• Brackett, Nathan (Ed.); Hoard, Christian (Deputy Ed.) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. 
• Bronson, Fred (2003). Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications. ISBN 0-8230-7738-1. 
• Dennis, Jeffrey P. (2006). Queering Teen Culture: All-American Boys and Same-Sex Desire in Film and Television. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, Inc.. ISBN 1-56023-349-4. 
• Holdship, Bill (2005). Ricky Nelson Greatest Hits. Hollywood, CA: Capitol Records. 
• Pohlen, Jerome (2006). Oddball Texas: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-583-4. 
• Selvin, Joel (1990). Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation. Contemporary Books, Inc.. ISBN 0-8092-4187-0. 

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ricky Nelson

• Rick/Ricky Nelson's Official Website
• Ricky Nelson at the Internet Movie Database
• Ricky Nelson at Allmusic
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Report on plane crash
• Rockabilly Hall
• Ricky Nelson^{[dead link]}
• Ricky Nelson interviewed on The Pop Chronicles (recorded 11.17.1967)[1]
• RCS Artist Discography
• Ricky Nelson at Find a Grave

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper
Also known as	Cyn
Born	(1953-06-22) June 22, 1953 (age 59)
Origin	Woodhaven, Queens, New York City, USA
Genres	Pop, Pop rock, Dance rock, Pop dance, New Wave, Blues, adult contemporary
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, producer, actress (film & stage)
Instruments	Vocals, Appalachian dulcimer, zither, guitar, recorder, omnichord, trombone, percussion, electric bass, piano, banjo, ukulele
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Portrait, Epic, Daylight, Downtown
Associated acts	Blue Angel
Website	www.cyndilauper.com Cyndi Lauper's signature

Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (born June 22, 1953 in Queens, New York) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and LGBT rights activist.

She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the debut solo album She's So Unusual in 1983, which spawned four Billboard Hot 100 top-five songs—"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night"—She's So Unusual was the first album in history to have four top five singles by a female. The album earned Lauper Best New Artist at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985.

Her success continued with the follow-up, True Colors in 1986, which spawned two Billboard Hot 100 top-ten songs—"True Colors" and "Change of Heart", and earned two nominations at the 29th Grammy Awards.

Since 1989 released from a nine studio albums acclaimed critical, A Night to Remember (1989), Hat Full of Stars (1993), Sisters of Avalon (1996), Merry Christmas... Have a Nice Life (1998),Shine (2001), At Last (2003), The Body Acoustic (2005), Bring Ya to the Brink (2008).

In 2010, her eleventh studio album, Memphis Blues in 2010, which topped the Billboard Blues Albums chart for thirteen consecutive weeks at number one, and spawned five Billboard Digital Blues Songs top-five songs—"Just Your Fool", "Crossroads", "How Blue Can You Get?", "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and "Early in the Mornin'", became most album successful on the charts since She's So Unusual and True Colors.

Lauper has also released over 40 singles, and as of 2011 had sold more than 50 million albums worldwide,^[1][2] and 1 million DVDs and 20 million singles,^[3] which makes her one of the best selling artists of all time.

Throughout her career, Lauper has won numerous awards, including Grammy, Emmy, MTV VMA, Billboard, and AMA. In 1999, Lauper ranked #58 of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll by VH1.^[4]

Life and career[link]

1953–1979: Early life[link]

The daughter of Fred and Catrine Lauper, Cyndi Lauper was born and raised in Ozone Park in a Roman Catholic family, in the borough of Queens in New York City.^[5] Her mother uses the stage name "Catrine Dominique" for the music videos in which she has appeared.^[6] Her father was of German and Swiss descent and her mother is Italian American (from Sicily). She has an older sister, Ellen, and a younger brother, Fred (nicknamed Butch).^[7]

After Lauper's parents divorced, her mother remarried, divorced again, and went to work as a waitress. It was during this time that Lauper began listening to artists such as Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and the Beatles. Her mother encouraged her independence and creativity. At the age of twelve, Lauper learned how to play an acoustic guitar, which her sister had given to her,^[8] and she started to write her own lyrics. She had a great love of art and music and tried to find ways to express herself. Even at this early age, Lauper started dyeing her hair different colors and wearing radical fashions. Lauper was accepted in a special public high school for students with talent in the visual arts, but she was held back and eventually dropped out, earning her GED sometime later. At the age of seventeen, she left home, planning to study art. Her journey would take her to Canada, where she spent two weeks in the woods with her dog, Sparkle, trying to find herself. She eventually wound up in Vermont, where she took art classes at Johnson State College. She supported herself by working at various odd jobs.

In the mid 1970s, Lauper performed as a vocalist with various cover bands (such as Doc West and Flyer, who still perform under the names Gap Wilson Band and Red, White and Blues Band), in the New York metropolitan area, singing hits by bands such as Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, and Bad Company. Even though Lauper was now performing on stage, she was not happy singing cover songs. In 1977, Lauper damaged her vocal cords and took a year off. She was told by three doctors that she would never sing again. Vocal coach Katie Agresta helped Lauper regain her voice by teaching her proper vocal exercises.^[9]

1980–1982: Blue Angel[link]

In 1978, after regaining her voice, Lauper met saxophone player John Turi through her manager Ted Rosenblatt. Turi and Lauper became writing partners and formed a band called Blue Angel. They decided to put everything they had into making an album of original material. A few demos were recorded and the tape found its way over to Steve Massarsky, who was managing The Allman Brothers Band. Massarsky said the tape was horrible, but he was attracted to Lauper's voice. He saw them play live and eventually started managing the band after buying their contract out for $5,000. Many people wanted to sign Lauper only if she would sign on as a solo artist. Lauper held out, wanting the band to be included in any deal she made. Polydor Records eventually signed them as a band. In 1980, they released a self-titled album on Polydor Records. Rolling Stone magazine later included it as one of the 100 best new wave album covers (2003). Lauper hated the cover, often saying they made her look like Big Bird. Despite critical acclaim, the album sold poorly (or "went lead", as Lauper says) and the band broke up. Polydor Records had a regime change, and the label would not let the band back into the studio unless they had a hit. The members of Blue Angel had a falling out with Massarsky and fired him as their manager. He later filed an $80,000 suit against them. This suit forced Lauper into bankruptcy.^[10]

Lauper started working in retail stores such as the New York high-end thrift store Screaming Mimi's to make ends meet, and she still sang in local clubs. Her most frequent gigs were at El Sombrero. Music critics that saw Lauper perform with Blue Angel thought that she had star potential since she had a wide singing range (four octaves),^[11] perfect pitch, and a vocal style all her own. In 1981, while singing in a local New York bar, Lauper met David Wolff, who took over as her manager (and at some point became romantically involved with her) and got her signed with Portrait Records, a subsidiary of Epic Records. Wolff had been working with a band called Arc Angel.

[edit] 1983–1985: She's So Unusual era

Lauper performing in Memphis Blues Tour

On October 14, 1983, She's So Unusual was released and peaked at #4 in the US becoming a worldwide hit. With help from Rick Chertoff, Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman (of The Hooters) as her primary studio musicians, She's So Unusual's popularity spread like wildfire. At the time, Lauper became popular with teenagers and critics, in part due to her hybrid punk image, crafted by stylist Patrick Lucas.^[12]

	"Girls Just Want To Have Fun". noicon
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Lauper knew she could write songs, but the record company had a lot of material they wanted her to record. She altered a lot of the songs that were thrown her way, often changing the lyrics to suit her. An example is her Platinum-certified "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"; Lauper says the original lyrics of the song dealt more with a girl pleasing a man, and therefore she changed the lyrics, wanting the song to be more of an anthem as she felt the original song seemed misogynistic.^[13]

	"Time After Time" noicon
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The album's second single was the ballad "Time After Time". Lauper co-wrote "Time After Time" with Rob Hyman when her producer, Rick Chertoff, suggested to the band that the album could use one more song. The record label did not have much faith in Lauper as a songwriter, but they gave her the chance to prove herself. "Time After Time" hit #1 on both Billboard's Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. It earned Lauper Gold certification with sales of 500,000 from the RIAA and was one of the biggest hits of 1984. It has been covered by more than 100 artists. Lauper came up with the title for "Time After Time" while reading TV Guide—Time After Time was a 1979 science fiction movie starring Malcolm McDowell as H. G. Wells, portraying him inventing and then traveling in a time machine. "She Bop" was the album's third single release. It reached #3 on the Hot 100 and earned Cyndi another Gold certification of 500,000 from the RIAA. This was followed by "All Through the Night" which was written by Jules Shear and reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.^{[citation needed]} Jules Shear and Cyndi Lauper went on to co-write the song "Steady", which reached #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985.

The album also includes a cover of The Brains' New Wave track "Money Changes Everything" which reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. In some countries, "When You Were Mine", a cover of a Prince song found on his 1980 album "Dirty Mind", was released as a promotional single in 1985. Lauper spent 1984 touring and promoting She's So Unusual. By the end of the year, she was the first female to have four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 Top Five hits from one album. The LP itself stayed in the Top 200 charts for more than 65 weeks and has since sold 16 million copies worldwide. In 1985, The Women in Crystal Film Awards awarded her with the New Directions Award, given to those who are known for their creativity and originality.

She's So Unusual led Lauper to win an award at the 1985 Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, the album also won the Grammy for Best Album Package, this award went to the art director, Janet Perr; Additionally, it received four nominations; Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", and Song of the Year for "Time After Time". Cyndi became the first female solo artist winner since Sheena Easton to win the Grammy for Best New Artist.

The video for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" made Lauper an MTV staple. The video ran constantly on MTV and featured the late professional wrestling manager "Captain" Lou Albano as Lauper's father, and her real-life mother, Catrine, as her mother. Also in the video are her attorney, her manager and her brother, Butch. It won the first-ever award for Best Female Video at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards. All three of Lauper's first videos were directed by Edd Griles, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time" and "She Bop". The videos featured many of Lauper's family members and her dog, Sparkle. Lauper was on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in May 1984. The photo on the cover had been reversed to make room for the title. She also appeared on the cover of Time and Newsweek with the headline "Women In Rock". Lauper was voted by Ms. magazine one of its women of the year. During this time period, Lauper appeared on the cover of People magazine twice. The video for "Money Changes Everything" was shot during a concert at the Summit in Houston, Texas. The concert was broadcast over the radio and HBO, and fans were told to show up wearing white T-shirts. The video featured a 14 year old fan named Jennifer Payson hugging Lauper onstage.

She started 1985 by participating on USA for Africa's famine-relief fund-raising single "We Are the World", singing the climactic soprano part of the bridge. During the taping of the song, the audio engineers were having problems discovering what was causing a clicking noise in the recording. It was discovered to be coming from Lauper's jewelry. At the event, she appeared with WWF Superstar Hulk Hogan, who played her "bodyguard." Lauper, in return, made many appearances as herself in a number of the World Wrestling Federation's "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" events, including the inaugural WrestleMania event, where she was the manager of Wendi Richter. Their entrance music was "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."^[14]

Steven Spielberg had asked Lauper to be the musical director of his latest film The Goonies, an adventurous family film about lost treasure. Lauper had the power to choose whom she wanted on the soundtrack, so she tried to make the album very diverse. The Bangles were just one of the bands that contributed to the soundtrack. Lauper stated in a 1986 interview that she had been working 12 hour days and had gynecological problems. Lauper had a minor operation and spent some time in the hospital.^{[citation needed]} Her doctors told her that she needed some rest, preventing her from participating in the Live Aid concert. The music video for "The Goonies R Good Enough" featured many guest stars, including WWF personalities such as the Iron Sheik, Captain Lou Albano, Roddy Piper, André the Giant, "Classy" Freddie Blassie, The Fabulous Moolah, and Nikolai Volkoff, members of the Goonies cast, and the Bangles. The video was split up into two acts, making Lauper the very first artist to have a two-part video. Spielberg even allowed her access to the set pieces from the film. The soundtrack album reached #73 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The song reached #10 on Billboards Hot 100 chart in 1985. Lauper has been quoted as saying that she had long despised the song because of Richard Donner's insistence on everything being perfect for the video shoot. In behind-the-scenes footage of the video, you can see Lauper physically exhausted from the work on the video. The video was released in two parts. The first part premiered on MTV before The Goonies was released in theaters, and the second part came after the movie had opened.^{[citation needed]} While the song and the movie have become 1980s cult classics, working on the soundtrack postponed Lauper's second album.

Lauper stopped performing "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough", in concert around 1987. During the Australian leg of her 2004 "At Last" tour, at the request of the crowd she performed an a cappella version of the first verse and chorus at several shows. It was at a show in Baltimore on Lauper's 2006 tour that she finally played it in full again. The crowd was chanting "Goonies" and she sang the song a cappella to an ecstatic crowd. She finally agreed to play the song again on her "True Colors" tour in 2007, and it was featured in her 2008 tour of Australia as the second number performed at each show. During the video commentary for "The Goonies", actor Sean Astin can be heard thanking Lauper for the song. He says that they all appeared tired on the set of the video because of the rigorous shooting schedule, but they really did love the song. Astin apologizes to Lauper again in footage that can be seen in the upcoming "Goonies Documentary".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 1986–1988: True Colors

Lauper performing in 2000.

In 1986, We are the World won four awards at the 1986 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best Music Video, Short Form. However, none of these awards went to Lauper. Quincy Jones, the producer, won three, while Song of the Year went to the composers of the song, Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie. Cyndi Lauper did receive two nominations; Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "What A Thrill" and Best Long Form Music Video for "Cyndi: Live in Paris". In the same year, Lauper released her second album, True Colors, on September 15, 1986. It reached #4 on the Billboard 200. For this album, she increased her involvement both in production and songwriting. Guests on the album included Angela Clemons-Patrick, Nile Rodgers, Aimee Mann, Billy Joel, Adrian Belew, The Bangles, Ellie Greenwich, and Rick Derringer. Lauper co-wrote most of the album with Essra Mohawk, John Turi, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Although the album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor was, it contained three high-charting singles, including the title track, "True Colors" which became Cyndi's second song to hit #1 on Billboard's Hot 100, "Change of Heart" (#3) and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" (#12) followed. The album also featured an older song called "Maybe He'll Know", which was on the Blue Angel album. The album covers for both She's So Unusual and True Colors were composed by photographer Annie Leibovitz. "True Colors" was licensed to Kodak for use in its commercials. Lauper had no control over the song, which was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. The fourth single from the album, "Boy Blue", became Lauper's first solo non-top-40 single. The proceeds of the song were donated to AIDS research. The album sold 2 million copies in the United States.

In 1986, Lauper appeared on the Billy Joel album The Bridge on a song called "Code of Silence". Lauper also sang the theme song for the series "Pee-wee's Playhouse" the same year, though she was credited as "Ellen Shaw". Playhouse star Paul Reubens appeared on the True Colors album track "911" as an emergency operator. In 1987, David Wolff produced a concert film for Lauper called Cyndi: Live in Paris. The concert was broadcast on HBO.

True Colors led Lauper it received two nominations awards at the 1987 Grammy Awards: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "True Colors" and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "911". The next awards ceremony, led Lauper it received one nomination awards at the 1988 Grammt Awards; Best Performance Music Video for Cyndi Lauper in Paris.

Lauper made her film debut in August 1988 in the quirky comedy Vibes, alongside Jeff Goldblum, Julian Sands, Elizabeth Peña and Peter Falk. Lauper played a psychic in search of a city of gold in South America. The film was produced by Ron Howard and David Wolff acted as the film's associate producer.

To prepare for the role, Lauper took a few classes in finger waving and hair setting at the Robert Fiance School of Beauty in New York and studied with a few Manhattan psychics. The film was poorly received by critics and commercially flopped. Lauper contributed a track called "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" but the song was not included on the soundtrack. A video was released, which was a high energy, comic action/adventure romp through a Chinese laundry. The song stalled at a disappointing #54 on the US charts, but fared better in Australia, peaking at #8 and becoming her fifth and final Top 10 single in Australia. It was performed as the opening song on her 2008 Australian tour.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 1989–1992: A Night to Remember

Lauper performing in 2000.

A Night to Remember – Lauper's third album – was released in the spring of 1989. The album spawned only one big hit, the #6 single "I Drove All Night", as well as another Gold certification of 500,000 from the RIAA in January 1990. The song was originally penned for and sung by Roy Orbison, although his version was not released until 1992, three years after Lauper's version and four years after his death. She also wrote and produced most of the album. Contributing writers were Desmond Child, Christina Amphlett of Divinyls, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, Diane Warren, and Frank Previte. Guest musicians include Bootsy Collins, Larry Blackmon, Batkini Khumalo, Eric Clapton, and Nile Rodgers. The video for "My First Night Without You", released in 1989, was one of the first to be closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.^{[citation needed]}

The disappointing sales of the album "A Night To Remember", a canceled United States tour due to low ticket sales and the pressures of celebrity led Lauper to "retire" from her "singing." She toured South America and Japan successfully into the early stages of 1990 and then retreated into acting.

On July 21, 1990, Lauper joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in Berlin, performing "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II". She also performed on the song, "The Tide Is Turning" with Waters, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Adams, Paul Carrack and Van Morrison. Lauper wore a school girl outfit, performing to over 300,000 people. The concert was watched live by over five million people worldwide. A Night to Remember led Lauper it received one nomination awards at the 1990 Grammy Awards: Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "I Drove All Night".

Lauper had become close friends with Yoko Ono. In 1990 she took part in a John Lennon tribute concert in Liverpool, performing the Beatles song "Hey Bulldog" and the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero". The concert was aired on the Disney Channel. She also took part in a project Ono and Lennon developed called "The Peace Choir". They performed a new version of Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance". The reworked "Give Peace a Chance" was written by Sean Lennon. In 1990, Lauper co-wrote the song "Paper Heart" (a song about drug addiction) with Go-Go's alumna Jane Wiedlin. The song appeared on Wiedlin's CD Tangled.^{[citation needed]}

Lauper worked on the movie originally titled Moon Over Miami, which later became Off and Running with David Keith, Richard Belzer and David Thornton, whom she started seeing romantically. Lauper claims that Miami was a great place to fall in love. The film was released in Europe but never made it off the ground in the US market. (David Wolff was the music supervisor for the film.)^{[citation needed]} On November 24, 1991 Cyndi and David Thornton were married at the Friends Meeting House in New York. Rock and Roll pioneer Little Richard, who at one time gave up Rock and Roll to become a minister performed the ceremony. Patti LaBelle sang Procol Harum's classic "A Whiter Shade of Pale", and Lauper's grandmother served as the matron of honor. Other guests included Paul Reubens, best known for his Pee-wee Herman character, and John Turturro. Lauper had threatened to dress like a lighted Christmas tree, but settled on a traditional white wedding dress.^{[citation needed]}

In 1992, Lauper contributed two tracks to the European musical Tycoon, an English version of the hit French-Canadian stage show Starmania. She scored another Top 20 hit in Europe (it went to #2 in France, earning a 2x platinum certification there) with "The World Is Stone", penned by Tim Rice, Michel Berger, and Luc Plamondon. She also recorded "You Have To Learn To Live Alone". The two tracks were included on a compilation released in the U.S. in 2000. Lauper recorded "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", a duet with Frank Sinatra, which was released on the album A Very Special Christmas 2. Sinatra's vocals were taken from his original recording and mixed with Lauper's in the studio.

[edit] 1993–1995: Hat Full of Stars/Twelve Deadly Cyns

Lauper during a collective talk with fans in 1994.

In June 1993 Lauper released her fourth album, Hat Full of Stars, which tackled such topics as homophobia, spousal abuse, racism and abortion. Despite significant accolades – and decent sales in France and Japan – it was a sales failure (moving less than 120,000 copies) in the United States. The album peaked at #112 on the Billboard charts,^[15] largely because the album suffered from a lack of promotion. Lauper appeared on the Howard Stern Show to promote the album. Lauper said the song "Hat Full of Stars" was written as a message to David Wolff. The video for "Who Let in the Rain" features a picture of David Wolff in a frame. "A Part Hate" was written collaboratively by Lauper and husband David Thornton. The video for "Sally's Pigeons" features the then unknown Julia Stiles as the young Cyndi.

Tommy Mottola, president of Sony Music, told Lauper to go out and make her own Graceland (referring to Paul Simon's album). Lauper wanted to write her own material and stop doing cover songs. She wrote some songs on the album with other people, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ailee Willis, Nicky Holland, Tom Gray, Hugh Masekela and The Hooters. The same year, Lauper recorded "Boys Will Be Boys" with The Hooters. The song "Private Emotion" was dedicated to her by The Hooters. Both songs appeared on the Hooter's CD Out of Body. Lauper also returned to acting, playing Michael J. Fox's ditzy secretary in 1993's Life with Mikey, which also starred Nathan Lane.

Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some, was released worldwide in 1994 (except in the U.S., where it was held back until the summer of 1995). The album was a greatest hits compilation that included two re-recorded tracks, "I'm Gonna be Strong", first recorded with her band Blue Angel, and a reworking of her first big hit, newly christened "Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun)". The Japanese edition of the CD includes the single "Hole In My Heart (All The Way To China)" as the final track. The album was released under a number of different titles, and had different packaging and track listings for certain countries. Twelve Deadly Cyns sold over 5 million copies worldwide and Lauper began a world tour to promote the album. It was especially popular in the UK, "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" hit number four (the single also returned Lauper to the US Hot 100, albeit briefly). The song includes special appearances by Snow and Patra. The album also included a hot reggae influenced song, "Come On Home", which was remixed by Junior Vasquez with a special appearance by Demetrius "Sir Jam" Ross.

Lauper won an Emmy Award^[16] for her role as Marianne on the sitcom Mad About You. A 12 Deadly Cyns VHS tape featuring most of Lauper's videos was released.

[edit] 1997–2000: Sisters of Avalon

Lauper performing in Australia in 2011

In 1997, Lauper announced that she was expecting a child. Declyn Wallace Thornton Lauper was born on November 17 of that year; he was named after Elvis Costello (whose first name is Declan) and William Wallace.^[17] He was born while Lauper was putting the finishing touches on her new album.

Her fifth album, Sisters of Avalon (released in Japan in 1996 and everywhere else in 1997) failed in America – spending a single week on the Billboard album chart at #188. The album was quickly embraced by the gay community for its dance and club styling. The album was written and produced with the help of Jan Pulsford (Lauper's keyboard player) and Producer Mark Saunders. Guest musicians include, Bush lead guitarist Nigel Pulsford on "You Don't Know" and "Love to Hate". The album was written and recorded in Tennessee and Connecticut and finished in an old mansion in Tuxedo Park, N.Y., where she lived and worked at that time.

The song "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" addressed the complications of a drag queen's double life. Lauper started writing the song around 1994. "Brimstone and Fire" painted a portrait of a lesbian relationship, and "You Don't Know" showed Lauper flexing more political muscle than on her previous albums. The song "Say a Prayer" was written for a friend of hers who had died from AIDS. The song "Searching'" was used in one of Baywatch's episodes. "Unhook the Stars" was used in the movie of the same name starring Marisa Tomei, Gerard Depardieu, Gena Rowlands and David Thornton.

Lauper's sister Ellen had come out as a lesbian and Lauper considered her to be a role model.^[18] Ellen was doing a lot of charity work for the gay community, and was working out of a clinic, helping people who were suffering from AIDS. Lauper began performing as a featured artist at gay pride events around the world (as early as 1994, she had performed at the closing ceremonies for Gay Games IV in New York City). She also served as the opening act for Tina Turner's summer tour, which was one of the highest grossing tours that year. Lauper took up the Appalachian dulcimer, taking lessons from David Schnauffer.

Lauper released her last album for Epic in late 1998. Merry Christmas...Have A Nice Life, as the title implies, was a Christmas collection of original material and standards. It is a combination of folk-rock, Cajun and Celtic music. Her version of "Silent Night" was used in a Pampers commercial. Rob Hyman co-wrote the album opener "Home on Christmas Day", and provides accordion and organ accompaniment on a number of tracks. Producer William Wittman, who has been behind a mixing board for Lauper since her debut album She's So Unusual, was once again in a co-producing and mixing role. Lauper is ably assisted by Jan Pulsford, the keyboardist who tours with Lauper and co-produced her last disc, Sisters of Avalon. The Christmas album was recorded at Lauper's home in Connecticut. Declyn was the major inspiration on Merry Christmas, "December Child" was written for him. Declyn makes his vocal debut on "First Lullaby", Jan tickled him, grabbed the mike, and the results are on tape. Lauper reprises two holiday-themed tracks for previous albums that blend seamlessly with the newer material: "Feels Like Christmas", a Cajun-spiced tune from Hat Full of Stars and "Early Christmas Morning" from Sisters of Avalon. She closes the album with a stark rendition of "Silent Night" in memory of Peter Wood, the close friend and musician to whom Lauper dedicated her hits compilation, Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some. Wood was a keyboardist who toured with the singer and performed in the studio on many of her tracks.

On January 17, 1999, Lauper appeared on The Simpsons. Lauper appeared on the show as herself singing the National Anthem to the melody of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. The episode was called "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken". The same year, Lauper opened for Cher's Do You Believe? Tour alongside Wild Orchid. Lauper and Cher performed "Turn Back Time" on VH1 Divas. She also garnered critical plaudits for her roles in several independent films including Mrs. Parker And The Vicious Circle, and The Opportunists.

Lauper contributed a cover version of The Trammps's classic "Disco Inferno" to the soundtrack for the film A Night at the Roxbury. The remixed version became a club hit. Lauper it received one nomination awards at the 1999 Grammy Awards: Best Dance Recording for "Disco Inferno", being the first time that it indicates the award in nine years. The single was released as an EP, featuring several remixes. In 2000, Lauper contributed a song called "I Want a Mom That Will Last Forever" for the children's movie Rugrats in Paris. The song was written with Mark Mothersbaugh (of the new wave group Devo). Also in 2000, Lauper co-wrote a song, "If You Believe", with Faye Tozer of the British pop group Steps. It appeared on the band's third studio album, "Buzz", and was subsequently released in the US in July 2001.

[edit] 2001–2003: Shine / At Last

Lauper performing in 2007.

Lauper prepared her sixth studio album in 2001, Shine, which saw her returning to her early pop/rock sound. It featured Japanese pop superstar Ryuichi Sakamoto, and George Fullan of Train. Just weeks before the album's scheduled release on September 11, 2001, her label, Edel America Records, folded, and the tracks were leaked to the public. Although a five song EP of the same name was made available through her website and at Tower Records, the full-length album concept was scrapped. The five song EP was released in June 2002. An album of Shine remixes was eventually released through Tower Records. The complete Shine album was released on April 21, 2004, exclusively in Japan. The album has become a collector's item.

On October 12, 2000, Lauper took part in a television show called Women in Rock, Girls With Guitars. The show featured Sheryl Crow, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Melissa Etheridge, Amy Grant, Wynonna Judd, and Destiny's Child. Lauper performed the Paul McCartney hit "Maybe I'm Amazed" with Ann Wilson of Heart. She also sang the R&B classic "Ooh Child" with the girl group Destiny's Child. She also performed a new song called "Water's Edge" with Ann Wilson. The song was well received and critics saw that performance as one of the highlights of the night. A CD was issued that contained the studio versions of some songs performed during the concert. The CD was exclusively released to Sears stores from September 30 to October 31, 2001 and $1.00 of each sold went to breast cancer research. In 2003 while on tour with Cher she broke her ankle.

Lauper's former label Sony issued a new best-of CD entitled The Essential Cyndi Lauper. She re-signed with Sony/Epic Records and a cover album entitled At Last (formerly Naked City), was released in 2003. Lauper took part in VH1 Divas Live with Patti LaBelle, Jessica Simpson, Debbie Harry, Ashanti, Sheila E., and the Pussycat Dolls. In 2003, the album She's So Unusal was ranked number 494 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[19]

At Last led Lauper it received one nomination awards at the 2005 Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for "Unchained Melody", being the first time that it indicates the award in six years.

[edit] 2005–2007: The Body Acoustic

Lauper performing in 2010.

Under a new contract with Sony Music, Lauper released The Body Acoustic, an album that featured acoustic reinterpretations of tracks from her back catalog. Two new tracks were also written and recorded, one of which is "Above the Clouds". Guests on the album included Shaggy, Ani DiFranco, Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday, Jeff Beck, Puffy AmiYumi, Sarah McLachlan,and Vivian Green. "Time After Time" with Sarah McLachlan charted on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

Though she had not released an album of new material since 1997's Sisters of Avalon, Lauper remained busy through the years. She made appearances on Showtime's hit show Queer As Folk in 2005, making her Broadway debut in The Threepenny Opera in 2006 as Jenny, and directing a commercial for Totally 80s edition of the board game Trivial Pursuit. They later performed at the 60th Tony Awards, and recevid nomination; Best Revival of a Musical. Lauper appeared on a VH1 Classics special called Decades Rock Live. The show featured Lauper performing with many artists such as Shaggy, Scott Weiland of Velvet Revolver/Stone Temple Pilots, Pat Monahan of Train, Ani DiFranco, and The Hooters.

On October 16, 2006, she was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.^[20] In 2007, she sang "Beecharmer" with Nellie McKay on McKay's Pretty Little Head album, and "Letters To Michael" with Dionne Warwick.

Lauper headlined the True Colors Tour for Human Rights through the United States and Canada, in June 2007. The tour also included Deborah Harry, Erasure, The Dresden Dolls, and Gossip, with Margaret Cho as MC and special guests in different cities. The tour, sponsored by Logo, the MTV Networks channel targeting gay audiences, provided information to fans who attended, as well as purple wristbands with the slogan "Erase Hate" from The Matthew Shepard Foundation.^[21] A dollar from every ticket sold was earmarked for the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.^[22]

Lauper was also a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.^[23]

[edit] 2008–2009: Bring Ya to the Brink

Lauper on Good Morning America in 2008 to promote her album Bring Ya to the Brink

Lauper took a role and wrote a song for the Serbian movie Here and There, which stars her husband, David Thornton, in one of the main roles.

Lauper recorded an album of all new material during 2007. The working title given to the project was Savoir-faire, but she announced at her Perth, Australia concert in February 2008 that the name of the album was Bring Ya to the Brink and that it would be released in the spring. In preparation for the album, Lauper visited England and France during summer 2007 to write for the album and wrote songs with dance artists like Axwell, The Scumfrog, Basement Jaxx, Digital Dog, Dragonette, Kleerup and others. She described it as a mainly dance album with good rhythm. Most of the album was recorded in Sweden. The first single released in Japan was "Set Your Heart" which gained significant airplay there and was used in the advertising campaign for the 2008 Toyota Car Model (Mark X ZIO) starring actor and singer Takeshi Kaneshiro. Lauper embarked on an Australian tour playing at the Kings Park Botanic Gardens in Perth, supported by Katie Noonan and Kate Miller-Heidke on February 22, 2008, and she was the headline and final act at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Party, on March 2, 2008. She sang "Same Ol' Story" followed by a newly remixed version of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". "Same Ol' Story" was released as the album's first worldwide single and was released as a download only on May 6, 2008. Several remixes of the track were released to DJs. The album was released on May 27, 2008 in the United States.

Cyndi Lauper performing in 2008

The True Colors Tour 2008 debuted on May 31, 2008. Joining Lauper at various venues were Rosie O'Donnell, The B-52's, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Cliks, Indigo Girls, Kat Deluna, Joan Armatrading, Regina Spektor, Tegan and Sara, Nona Hendryx, Deborah Cox, Wanda Sykes, among others. The MC was Carson Kressley from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Sarah McLachlan was also featured at the Burnaby, British Columbia show.

In August 2008, Lauper contributed an article titled "Hope" to The Huffington Post which encouraged Americans to vote for Barack Obama in the upcoming United States presidential election.^[24] Lauper also performed alongside Thelma Houston, Melissa Etheridge and Rufus Wainwright at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

David Byrne stated in his blog that he has collaborated with Lauper on a track for his upcoming Here Lies Love. He described her performance as "amazingly fine-tuned" and "very impressive."^[25] Lauper recorded a special Christmas duet with Swedish band The Hives, entitled "A Christmas Duel", on CDsingle and 7" vinyl, in Sweden only, on November 19, 2008. It reached number 4 in the Swedish charts.^[26]

Lauper also signed a book deal for an autobiography that is scheduled to come out at the end of 2009 or early 2010.^[27] Lauper also performed on the "Girls Night Out", headlining it with Rosie O'Donnell in the US.^[28]

Cyndi Lauper during the Gay Parade in San Francisco, 2008

She appeared on many TV shows in 2009 including the American soap opera As the World Turns supporting gay rights, and promoting her True Colors tour and album, Bring Ya to the Brink. She performed "Into the Nightlife" and dedicated a rendition of "True Colors" to one of the show's characters, Luke Snyder. She appeared on the live finale of the eighth season of American Idol on May 20, 2009, performing a duet of "Time After Time" with top-13 finalist Allison Iraheta, accompanying the song on Appalachian dulcimer. She appeared on the 2009 TV Land Awards on April 19 dressed as the "Emperess of Evil" to perform the theme song for Electra Woman and Dyna Girl as part of a musical tribute to Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft. Lauper performed a duet with Leona Lewis on VH1 Divas on September 19, 2009 singing "True Colors" and also appeared along side hip hop artist Eminem for a comedy skit at the MTV VMA's in September 2009. In addition, Lauper played herself alongside Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Michael McDonald, and Mary J. Blige on 30 Rock's third season finale. She also played Avalon Harmonia, a psychic on the Season 5 premiere of Bones. Bring Ya To The Brink led Lauper it received one nomination awards at the 2009 Grammy Awards: Best Electronic/Dance Album for Bring Ya To The Brink, being the first time that it indicates the award in four years.

Cyndi Lauper was also one of the celebrities who designed a T-shirt for the second Fashion Against Aids campaign in 2009, a collaboration between H&M and Designers Against Aids to raise HIV/AIDS awareness worldwide, particularly amongst youngsters.

	"Into the Nightlife" noicon
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On November 17, 2009, Lauper performed a collaborative work with Wyclef Jean called "Slumdog Millionaire" and performed it live on The Late Show with David Letterman.^[29] The collaborative effort stems from Jean's latest album: Toussaint St. Jean: From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion.

[edit] 2010–present: The Celebrity Apprentice and Memphis Blues

In January 2010, American toy company Mattel released a Cyndi Lauper Barbie doll as part of their "Ladies of the 80s" series. In March 2010, NBC began airing the ninth season of The Celebrity Apprentice featuring Lauper and other celebrities such as Sharon Osbourne and Bret Michaels. The show had been filmed from October 19, 2009 to November 12, 2009. Donald Trump fired her on the May 9, 2010 episode, leaving her in sixth place. Lauper donated her winnings to her own True Colors Fund. In the season finale, she performed her upcoming album Memphis Blues in front of the boardroom live.

In April 2010, Lauper launched the Give a Damn campaign to bring a wider awareness of discrimination of the GLBT community as part of her True Colors Fund. The campaign is to bring straight people to stand up with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community and stop the discrimination. Other names included in the campaign are Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Mraz, Elton John, Judith Light, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Kardashian, Clay Aiken, Ricky Martin, Sharon Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne, and Anna Paquin.

Lauper appears on the 22-track, 2-disc collaboration, Here Lies Love, by Talking Heads' David Byrne and Fatboy Slim. On the album, she sings the song Eleven Days, as well as the duet Why Don't You Love Me with Tori Amos.

Cyndi Lauper in one of her concerts from Memphis Blues Tour in 2011.

On June 22, 2010, Memphis Blues was released. It debuted on the Billboard Blues Album Chart at #1, and it debuted on Billboard's Top 200 Albums Chart at #26. The album remained #1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart for 14 consecutive weeks; Memphis Blues fell to #2 on October 16, 2010 and then to #3 on October 23, 2010. Memphis Blues is Lauper's eleventh album.

In August 2010, she licensed her song and performance of It's Hard to Be Me, from her album Shine, to be used as the theme song for the new TV Pilot, and potentially the series, Hard to Be Me.^[30][31]

In July 2010, she signed a deal with Mark Burnett to produce a reality show that will focus on her career and her life with her husband David Thornton and their son Declyn. In December 2010, Memphis Blues was ranked Billboard's #1 Blues Album of The Year. Memphis Blues received a nomination award at the 2011 Grammy Awards: Best Traditional Blues Album

Lauper made international news in March 2011 while waiting for a delayed flight at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires. There, she gave an impromptu performance of Girls Just Want to Have Fun, as other passengers joined in and sang along with her. A video of the performance was later posted on YouTube.^[32][33]

On October 24, 2011, she released the DVD, To Memphis, With Love. The DVD came with a bonus live CD of the concert, making it the first ever official live CD of music to be released by Lauper. In November 2011, she released two Christmas singles exclusive to iTunes. The first, a Blues-inspired cover of the Elvis Presley classic, Blue Christmas, and a new version of ""Home for the holidays", a duet with Norah Jones. Cyndi did a lot of radio promotion in November and December for all three releases, including a live performance of "Blue Christmas" on Good Morning America in December. Later that month, Cyndi headlined at the Beacon Theatre for the event "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays". The show also featured Lou Reed, Rosie O'Donnell, Carson Kressley, Harvey Fierstein, Norah Jones, Alan Cumming, Cassandra Wilson and many more. The event was sponsored by Lauper's True Colors Fund to help raise awareness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth homelessness.

Personal life[link]

Lauper has been married to David Thornton since 1991. They have one son, Declyn Wallace Thornton, born November 19, 1997.^[34] Lauper was raised Roman Catholic and attended Catholic school. She refers to herself as a "Recovering Catholic".

Discography[link]