Girls Just Want to Have Fun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" redirects here. This article is about the original Cyndi Lauper song.
- For other uses with "wanna" or "want to", see Girls Just Want to Have Fun (disambiguation).
| “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” | |||||
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| Single by Cyndi Lauper from the album She's So Unusual |
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| B-side | Right Track Wrong Train | ||||
| Released | 1983 | ||||
| Format | 7" Vinyl Single (Worldwide) 12" Vinyl Single (Worldwide) |
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| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Length | 3:58 | ||||
| Label | Epic, Portrait, CBS | ||||
| Writer(s) | Robert Hazard | ||||
| Producer | Rick Chertoff | ||||
| Certification | Platinum (US) Silver (UK) |
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| Cyndi Lauper singles chronology | |||||
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"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" was the first major single released by singer Cyndi Lauper as a solo artist. It gained renown as a feminist anthem, an award winning video and a world-wide smash hit.
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[edit] Song information
With the inclusion of promotional releases, the single has seen over 38 individual versions of release. The most common was a 7" vinyl single (with varying cover artwork) released in 1983/1984 (depending on the country), with the second most common being a 12" vinyl single (also with varying cover artwork) released in 1983/1984.
The song was written by Robert Hazard, who recorded his version of the song in 1979. The song was originally written from a male point of view. For Lauper's version, she changed the lyrics slightly to allow it to be performed by a female and Hazard approved the minor changes. Her version appeared on her 1983 debut solo record, She's So Unusual. It is a synthesizer-backed anthem about the roles of women in society and is considered by many to be a feminist classic of the era, while others view it as a celebration of frivolity.
Originally run on late-night MTV as a novel, inside-industry joke, the video quickly went into heavy rotation and wound up as 1984's "Video of the Year".
It has been covered on either an album or in live concert by over 30 other artists including but not limited to Pearl Jam, Greg Laswell, John Mayer, "Weird Al" Yankovic (as "Girls Just Want to Have Lunch"), Alvin and the Chipmunks, Cybill Shepherd, Lolly, Triple Image, Dandy Warhols, David Rawlings, The Ordinary Boys and Cam'ron. Recently, the Mexican band Los Horoscopos de Durango released a Duranguense version of the song and a Spanish version, Sólo Quiero Bailar (I Just Want To Dance). A version was recorded by The Cheetah Girls was recorded, however, the single was cancelled, and was cut from their forthcoming album.
The variety of releases of the single includes an Austrian birthday card with a 3" CD of the song included inside. The song has been heavily distributed in karaoke version as well. Lauper would later go on to completely re-work the song in 1994 resulting in the new hit "Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun)". The song was remade by Lauper yet again in 2005 on her The Body Acoustic album, also produced by Chertoff and Wittman with Lauper, with guest support vocals from Japanese pop/rock duo Puffy AmiYumi.
[edit] Music video
The release of the single was accompanied by a quirky music video shot in the summer of 1983 and produced by Mother Studio in the Lower East Side of Manhattan for a cost of less than $35,000, largely due to a volunteer cast and the free loan of the most sophisticated video equipment available at the time. The cast included wrestler "Captain" Lou Albano in the role of Lauper's father while her real mother, Catrine, played her mother. Lauper's attorney, Elliot Hoffman, appeared as her uptight dancing partner. Also in the cast were Lauper's manager, David Wolf, her brother Butch Lauper, and a bevy of secretaries borrowed from Portrait/CBS, Lauper's record label.
Lorne Michaels (Broadway Video, SNL), another of Hoffman's clients, agreed to give Lauper free run of his brand new million dollar digital editing equipment, with which she and her producer created several first-time-ever computer generated images of Lauper dancing with her buttoned-up lawyer, leading the entire cast in a snake-dance through New York streets and crashing a giant party.
[edit] Chart performance
The single reached number one in over ten countries, as well as reaching the Top 10 in over fifteen different countries. It reached number one in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ireland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, and Norway, and number two in the United States and the United Kingdom.
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Year-End | 15 |
| U.S. Hot Dance/Club Play | 1 |
| U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40 | 1 |
| Cash Box Top 100 Singles | 1 |
| Casey's Top 40 Radio & Records | 2 |
| Australia ARIA Singles Chart | 1 |
| Austria Singles Chart | 3 |
| Brazilian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Chilean Singles Chart | 1 |
| Colombian Singles Chart | 3 |
| German Singles Chart | 6 |
| Holland Singles Chart | 3 |
| Ireland Singles Chart | 1 |
| Israeli Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Japanese Singles Chart (Oricon) | 17 |
| Japanese International Singles Chart | 1 |
| Netherlands Singles Charts | 3 |
| New Zealand Singles Charts | 1 |
| Norway Singles Charts | 1 |
| South African Chart | 3 |
| Sweden | 5 |
| Switzerland | 6 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| Preceded by "Let's Stay Together" by Tina Turner |
Hot Dance Club Play number-one single March 24, 1984 |
Succeeded by "Give Me Tonight" by Shannon |
| Preceded by "Love Is a Battlefield" by "Pat Benatar" |
Australian Kent Music Report number one single April 7, 1984 - May 7, 1984 |
Succeeded by "99 Luftballons" by Nena |
[edit] Official versions
- Extended Version 6:08
- Fun With V. Knutsn (Instrumental) 7:10
- Xtra Fun 5:05
- Remix 6:30
- Radio Remix 3:39
- Girls Just Want To Have Fun (ft. Puffi AmiYumi) 2:59
[edit] Credits
- Lyrics: Robert Hazard. Production: Rick Chertoff.
- Lyrics: Cyndi Lauper, Ellie Greenwich, Jeffrey B. Kent. Production: Rick Chertoff
[edit] Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun)
| “(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun” | |||||
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| Single by Cyndi Lauper from the album Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some |
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| Released | 1994 | ||||
| Format | CD Single | ||||
| Recorded | 1994 | ||||
| Genre | Pop Reggae |
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| Length | 3:54 | ||||
| Label | Epic Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Robert Hazard Lolly Vegas |
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| Producer | Cyndi Lauper Jimmy Bralower |
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| Cyndi Lauper singles chronology | |||||
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Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun) was the first single off of Cyndi Lauper's Twelve Deadly Cyns hits collection from 1994.
[edit] Song information
This song is a new reggae-tinged arrangement of Lauper's own "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" standard, with a musical tip of the hat to Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love".
Lauper performed various versions of "Hey Now" during her concerts before the Twelve Deadly Cyns tour. It is how she eventually came to the final version which appeared on Twelve Deadly Cyns. It all started when she was touring for Hat Full of Stars. She performed a version of it that was very different in the Singapore concert, and it changed a lot for the Toronto concert. These pre-versions were more like the original version but with the "Hey Now" chorus. However the Gay Games is probably the first time that actual version of "Hey Now" was performed complete with drag queens and all like the music video (pictured below).
"Hey Now" plays over the closing sequence and credits of the movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar starring John Leguizamo, Wesley Snipes and Patrick Swayze as drag queens..
The song was a big comeback hit for Lauper. As it hit the top 10 and top 40 in many countries and was a big dance hit in the states. It peaked at #4 in the UK and New Zealand, its highest position.
[edit] Cover Versions
- German punk rock group WIZO recorded a cover of the song.
- Brazilian band Randal Grave recorded a punk/ska cover of the song.
- Dance covers of the song have been recorded by various artists over the years, including Active8, and Glamarama.
- Indie artist Norman Palm included a cover of the song for his 2007 album Girls and Boys.[1]
- American musician Greg Laswell released a cover as a single on iTunes in 2007. Laswell's version was played over a montage in the MTV reality show The Hills as Heidi takes a pregnancy test.
- The "Hey Now" version of the song was covered by Triple Image with Jamie Lynn Spears.
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1994/95) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 87 |
| Cash Box Top 100 Singles | 81 |
| Australia ARIA Singles Chart | 67 |
| Chilean Singles Chart | 9 |
| Colombian Singles Chart | 71 |
| French Singles Chart | 10 |
| German Singles Chart | 56 |
| Ireland Chart | 10 |
| Israeli Singles Chart | 6 |
| Japanese International Singles Chart | 8 |
| New Zealand Singles Charts | 4 |
| Swedish Singles Chart (Sverige Radio) | 14 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 38 |
| Switzerland Singles Chart | 37 |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 |
[edit] Official versions
- Factory Dub Version 6:50
- Junior Vasquez Remix "Dancehall Main" 5:46
- Junior Vasquez Remix "Harder Dancehall" 5:46
- Junior Vasquez Remix "Lounge Dub" 6:00
- Junior Vasquez Remix "Lounge Mix" 6:12
- Junior Vasquez Remix "Pop Goes The Dancehall" 4:58
- Junior Vasquez Soundfactory Mix 7:40
- Mikey Bennett's "Carnival" Version 6:04
- Mikey Bennett's "Carnival" Version Edited 4:09
- Single Edit 3:39
- Sly & Robbie's "Home Grown" Version 4:16
- Straight Up Pass Version 7:13
- Techno Dub 3:55
- Techno Main Mix 8:23
[edit] References in popular culture
- In the TV series, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, during the episode Reign Storm "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" can be heard in the backround being sung by Paulina Gillis (who also plays Kootie Pie) as as they show Princess Toadstool enjoying her vacation.
- The song can be heard in the first flashback of The Simpsons episode "Lisa's First Word"; Homer even sings it, while he skips along the townhouse-lined street, similar to the video clip.
- The song is also featured in the American Console for Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA for the PlayStation 2.
- In one Peanuts comic strip published in 1984, not long after the song was a hit, Charlie Brown, upset at Lucy's having missed another fly ball during a baseball game, asks her why she even plays. Lucy's response is, "Girls just want to have fun."
- On the DVD of popular film Shrek 2 the ugly stepsister, Doris, is heard singing this song as her audition in "Far, Far Away Idol" for Simon Cowell.
- An episode of the NBC-TV sitcom The Golden Girls (1985-92) is titled "Girls Just Want to Have Fun... Before They Die."
- In the game Rayman Raving Rabbids, there exists a remake of this music for a dance minigame.
- The song was featured in the pilot episode of Miami Vice.
- The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after an 80s hit song, named an episode after this song. In the episode, the main character, Emma Nelson, dressed as Cyndi Lauper during an 80's dance.
- The popular sitcom Married… with Children also named a two part episode after this song.
- The The Simpsons named an episode with a reference to this song (Girls Just Want to Have Sums).
- This song was featured in the 1984 science-fiction comedy Night of the Comet
- In the Gilmore Girls episode 'Like Mother, Like Daughter' (season 2), Lorelai runs a fashion show for a school fundraiser as part of the Booster Club. The music that plays as the models walk the catwalk is 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun'.
- This song is played in the 2007 film I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
- The season 5 of Charmed contains a episode called Nymphs just wanna have fun, which is a reference to this song.
- In the Bones episode "The Wannabe in the Weeds," Dr. Brennan sings this song to her co-workers at a night club.
[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] See also
| Preceded by ""Let's Stay Together" by Tina Turner |
Hot Dance Club Play number-one single March 24, 1984 |
Succeeded by "Give Me Tonight" by Shannon |
