After making a name in the 1980s with such pop classics as “Time After Time” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” Cyndi Lauper has spent the past three decades as a singer, songwriter, television star, outspoken feminist and LGBT activist.
Her “Memphis Blues” record was nominated for a Grammy in 2011, and in 2013, she became the first woman to receive a Tony Award for Best Original Score for the musical “Kinky Boots.”
Now Lauper is turning back the clock, again, revisiting country classics with her recent release, “Detour.”
“I wanted to do this record because it’s a singer’s record,” Lauper said ahead of her show at the Wang Theatre tomorrow night. “I didn’t re-invent the wheel. I wanted to pay homage to the songs that were the beginnings of everything I was into the rest of my life. It’s a country record, but the time period I chose is also the beginning of rock ’n’ roll. It’s when country and R&B were very culturally buoyant. Songs went on both sides of the fence, and they started taking from each other.”
Featuring songs by Marty Robbins, Wanda Jackson, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline and Ray Price, Lauper is joined by an all-star cast of guest musicians including Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Jewel and Alison Krauss. Fearlessly performed and highlighted by her quirky persona, Lauper chose the material with the aid of renowned Sire Records co-founder Seymour Stein.
“He actually knew the songs and the history behind them, and he knew what songs would really speak to today,” Lauper said. “I always wanted to work with him. During the birth of the New York scene, Sire was in the thick of it. It was the Ramones, the Talking Heads, the Cramps and later on Madonna. … Better late than never, I’m on Sire now and the record is on vinyl. I am so happy about that.”
She decided to take a different approach to these poignant songs of yesteryear.
“I wanted to include stories of women in case a lot of the younger women today forgot what the older women went through to pave the way that led them to go to college, go to law school, even go to a job, a health club or even a bar to have a beer.”
As for Lauper’s 2010 stint on NBC’s “The Apprentice” with then host and now Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, she commented, “Isn’t it just downright frightening to have a reality star as one of the candidates? Who’s going to be the running mate? Kim Kardashian? You’re (expletive) scaring me now. Plus at least he’s not misogynistic, oh, wait!”
Lauper is one of the few artists to win an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony — all she needs is an Academy Award to claim EGOT status.
“Do I want the Oscar?” she said with a laugh. “Yes. I want to write a great song for a movie. I want an EGOT. For me, though, it would be an EGGOT because I have two Grammys.”
She hopes to be remembered for her legacy to the arts.
“I always think the more you diversify, the more of a well-rounded artist you become. My goal is to leave behind and make music well beyond the charts that people in generations to come will listen to and be inspired by.”
Cyndi Lauper, with Boy George, at the Wang Theatre, tomorrow. Tickets: $49.50-$150. ticketmaster.com
