Cyndi Lauper, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"

[tico]

An 80s classic. It's a song I like, but it has been overplayed. Former wrestler and bodyguard Captain Lou Albano played her father in the video.

[Pet Shop Boy]

Classic, but far from my favourite Cyn song.

I like "Hey Now (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun)" too. That was a big hit again for her in the UK.

[Libra]

golden said:

An 80s classic. It's a song I like, but it has been overplayed. Former wrestler and bodyguard Captain Lou Albano played her father in the video.

IIRC, his appearing in the video was part of an arrangement, where the other part was Cyndi being the manager of woman wrestler Wendi Richter. I'm not sure how long it lasted, but Wendi became women's champ before Cyndi left.

This song isn't bad, but I like "Time After Time" better.

[Pet Shop Boy]

The people who played Cyndi's mother and father in this video also appeared in "Time After Time" & "True Colours".

[Hervard]

MandyfanUK said:

Classic, but far from my favourite Cyn song.

I like "Hey Now (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun)" too. That was a big hit again for her in the UK.

Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten about that reggae-flavored remix of the song. That was OK, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original.

That song, BTW, spent two weeks on Rick Dees' Hot AC show. I think both weeks were at number 30, in November, 1995, but I can't be sure, since that chart was so messed up back then. It might have been an extra, but I do know that it was played for at least two weeks in a row, the first two weeks that my station aired that version.

[Jeff]

I like the song, too.  It's on two CDs I own (therefore, I can hear Girls Just Want To Have Fun anytime): Twelve Deadly Cyns...And Then Some (1994) and The Essential Cyndi Lauper (2003).

[jimmy74747]

I don't like the song, but do understand its appeal.

[irock]

I used to like it but it got old quickly, particularly since the video was running on HBO's 'Video Jukebox' for almost two years before it became a hit.

[reception]

An overplayed classic although I never seem to get sick of it.

[PT08]

This song was my introduction to music. I was 4 when it came out and I had a neighbour make me a tape of it and I just played it over and over. It's the first song I have any recollection of

[strong4PMB!]

jam. Good in small doses.

[Night Senses]

Hate it. Love Cyndi, but never got into this song for some reason. It just bugs me to no end.

I'm more a fan of her ballads (Time After Time, True Colors, Sally's Pigeons, etc).

[BillboardBoy]

My fondest memory of this song is going skiing in Colorado. The lodge at the bottom of the hill was blasting "American Top 40" on the radio and you could hear it half way up the mountain! And I remember hearing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" on one particular week.

[kellydicted]

It's fun to listen to once in a blue moon but most of the time it's horrible and annoying.

[Longshot]

Not to fond of it. She reminds me of a quirkier version of Christina Aguilera

[Jeffster]

It's still great after all these years.

[itsbeenaweek]

kellydicted said:

It's fun to listen to once in a blue moon but most of the time it's horrible and annoying.

[cartman2002]

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun reached #2 in 1984

[joker]

geoxguy said:

Good in small doses.

[Ezekiel 23:20–21]

I absolutely loved the original one. I feel it has still held up pretty well despite having been out so long.

I liked some of the subsequent remixes and new versions of it. The Junior Vasquez remix which appeared as a b-side on one of her other singles basically took some of the elements of the original and modernized it a little. The she did those new versions "Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun)" which had new vocals, and some additional lyrics. It had a reggae feel on the main version. Rapper of the moment Patra (of "Pull Up To The Bumper" and "Worker Man" fame) joined her for some of the versions too.

[Deleted]

In certain moods I would call this the greatest song of all time. The perfect pop song.

[disman00911]

Couldn't stand this song when I was younger due to overplay in commercials or on the radio.  In my market ,the AC stations (Lite FM 93.9, 101.9 the Mix, and 100.3 when it was called the Point) played this and there was a good chance B96 played it as an 80s flashback at some point (I do remember hearing B96 playing "She-Bop", which was my least favorite Cyndi Lauper hit).  However, my feelings towards this song changed and I do appreciate this song nowadays.  My all-time favorite from her is "Time After Time", however.

Already mentioned but Cyndi actually remade this song in the 90s.  The Junior Vasquez remix is the version of the 1994/95 remake that I remember as it was occasionally heard on the B96 weekend mix show when I was younger.

music video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

Dec 5, 2004 14:06:25 GMT -5 reception said:

An overplayed classic although I never seem to get sick of it.

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

This still resonates on people because it's so fun, lively, and extremely catchy.

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

So hard to believe that a big song like this never hit #1.


#63 on Billboard's 500 Greatest Pop Songs

It’s become both a feminist anthem and practically a clichéd ’80s signifier — so take a minute to recall just how groundbreaking Cyndi Lauper’s new wave-pop singalong was in late 1983. It turned a mopey tune written by a guy (for guys) completely on its head; added Lauper’s kooky joy and formidable pipes; translated that into a now-iconic music video that put women of all ethnicities and sizes front and center; and proved a pop diva could be fabulous while looking like a one-woman hurricane who’d blown through Screaming Mimi’s. That “Girls Just Want to Have FUNdamental Rights” has become a popular slogan at women’s marches — while the song itself remains a guaranteed party-starter wherever it’s played — feels like the perfect realization of Lauper’s vision: that a pop artist could be silly and serious in equal measure. — REBECCA MILZOFF

[areyoureadytojump]

40 years ago this week, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" debuted at #80 on the December 17, 1983 Billboard Hot 100.



Tonight Show performance:



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_Just_Want_to_Have_Fun

#1 Cash Box
#1 Dance
#2 UK
#80 R&B