The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland (OH) persists, even though there are always loud debates about who has been inducted… and who has not been inducted (yet). This year’s induction ceremony will be held tomorrow—November 8th—in Los Angeles via AXS.com, however those who wish to watch at home can tune in too because Disney+ will be streaming the event live beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST (5:00 p.m. PST).
And our FF2 team is delighted to share this Great News: One of the inductees in the performer category this year is Cyndi Lauper!
One of the inductees in the performer category this year is Cyndi Lauper!
Although best-known for her hit singles “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Time After Time,” this is hardly where Cyndi’s career either started or ends. A four-octave vocalist, a writer (both of her music and her self-titled memoir), an activist, the recipient of an Emmy for her role in the sitcom Mad About You, the first solo woman to win a Tony for best original score of the Broadway Show Kinky Boots, an avid WWE fan – what HASN’T Cyndi Lauper done?
Originally from Queens (NY), Cyndi came from less than ideal circumstances. After running away from home and from her abusive stepfather, she was homeless for a time, and then drifted around doing odd jobs and pursuing art school in Vermont, before finding an entrance into the music industry. Cyndi started out as a vocalist in the band Blue Angel—which put out just one album—when she was nearly 30. Especially now, when striving for a creative career feels like a constant race to “make it,” and sooner rather than later, it’s always refreshing and affirming to hear about people that created their break a bit further on in the game.
From pop, rock, dance, and blues, Cyndi has emerged again and again.
Starting in childhood, people are peppered with the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?”— a question which purports only one answer. Cyndi’s career trajectory is as impressive as it is inspiring because it refuses to be confined to just one. The age-old adage “jack of all trades is a master of none,” is best illustrated in full when looking at her life, considering the continuation most forget, “but oftentimes better than a master of one.” It is evident that she has strived to not worry about people’s definitions of success and ideas of what one “should do,” when pursuing her goals. Reinvention is sometimes subtle and sometimes bold, but always requires the courage of your convictions. Even just looking at her music, Cyndi has always moved fluidly, following what she wants to explore, rather than repackaging her first album over and over again. From pop, rock, dance, and blues, Cyndi has emerged again and again.
However, not everyone has always had positive remarks regarding Cyndi’s shapeshifting in the arts. In an interview with Apple Music Essentials, Cyndi shared that throughout the 80s and 90s, everyone around her had something to say about how she was ruining her career after the release of her first album. In one instance, which she still regrets, she recounts that Etta James had approached her, asking Cyndi to produce her music, but she let the opportunity pass her by because “I thought if I worked with her I would ruin her career, and I didn’t wanna ruin her.” Sometimes it’s hard to block out the noise, even for someone so successful. Her lament of this decision just goes to show that it is best to live and create on your own terms. And this is what she’s strived and managed to do since.
Cyndi’s has championed this philosophy in ways that extend far beyond the creative process, too. In 2022, after Roe v Wade was overturned, Cyndi launched Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights, a donor-advised fund to support advancement of women’s rights and health. The name is a riff on her hit song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” which has always been a political song. Even then, Cyndi understood the importance of depicting and embodying joy in resistance, which is evident in the music video, and in the song’s upbeat nature.
Anecdotally, this has also allowed Cyndi to befriend some unlikely faces. The man who plays the father in the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” music video is wrestling star Captain Lou Alabano. The two of them had met on a flight and when it came time to shoot, Cyndi decided it would be perfect to invite him to play the role. This cameo turned into a lifelong camaraderie and bit, as the two often continued to appear in skits together, intermingling the worlds of pro wrestling with MTV. Despite the overt chauvinism and sexism in the entertainment industry at that time, there were unlikely friends and allies, whenever one was curious in finding them.
Later, in her follow up album, True Colors, it is the title track that became iconic, specifically in the queer community. In 2008, Cyndi, alongside Lisa Barbaris, Jonny Podell, and Gregory Lewis co-founded True Colors United (formerly True Colors Fund), an organization and fund that supports LGBTQ+ youth that are experiencing homelessness, and advocate for funding, programs, and legislation on behalf of queer youth in need of help.
Both Cyndi’s artistry as well as her iconic looks have influenced countless performers since, from Lady Gaga to Chappell Roan.
Both Cyndi’s artistry as well as her iconic looks have influenced countless performers since, from Lady Gaga to Chappell Roan. She truly has been both an authentic creator and an outspoken activist for years. In the end, what is more rock-n-roll than living and creating on your own terms and really helping others do the same?
Tune in to watch the induction ceremony this Saturday, as Cyndi is welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, alongside The White Stripes, Salt N Pepa, Bad Company, Carol Kaye, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Lenny Waronker, Nicky Hopkins, Outkast, Soundgarden, ThomBell, and Warren Zevon.
© Yoana Tosheva (11/07/25) — Special for FF2 Media®
LEARN MORE/DO MORE
Listen to the Apple Music Essentials interview with Cyndi here.
Visit Cyndi’s Girls Just Want to have Fundamental Rights fund here to learn more.
Watch her documentary Let the Canary Sing on Paramount+.
Visit True Colors United to see how you can help.
Read a recent interview in Vice here.
Take a look at some of the albums that influence Cyndi in this Pitchfork article.
CREDITS & PERMISSIONS
Featured Photo/Exit Photo: Cyndi Lauper at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California on 18 November 2012. Alamy D06GCK
Middle Photo: Cyndi Lauper attends the 60th Annual Grammy Awards 2018 at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. Alamy M1M2FY
Bottom Photo: Cyndi Lauper – Time after time – 7 inch single. Alamy 2B2DX01
