Cyndi Lauper Shares Reason For Initially Refusing To Record ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’

Cyndi Lauper, the celebrated artist behind the timeless hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” nearly missed out on the opportunity to record the iconic track. However, the song became her breakthrough hit, climbing to the number two spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In anticipation of her 70th birthday this month, the Grammy-winning singer revealed in a recent interview with People during the promotion of her new documentary, Let the Canary Sing, that she initially hesitated to take on the song because the writer was a man and she was not favorably disposed to singing a song about a woman written from the male perspective.

Cyndi Lauper gives her reasons for her initial refusal to sing, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”

Lauper explained that when her producer, Rick Chertoff, arranged for her to attend a live performance by Robert Hazard—the mastermind behind the original rendition of the song, she objected to singing it because it was written by a man and she had her bias towards it. “I would never do that f—ing song,” she said. “Every time we want to have fun, we’re whores.”

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She also revealed that her major concern at that point in her career was to make music that will motivate women. “I was trying really hard to make an anthem that would inspire women and open the doors to all women,” Lauperl admitted. “Not just one group of women, but every little girl could see herself and realize that she too could have a joyful experience in life.”

Cyndi Lauper says she modified the song to fit the female perspective

In the documentary, the 69-year-old discussed the creative process of the song and how she infused the single with a more upbeat vibe by making changes to the lyrics and sound. “It should be in a trumpet key because we’re trumpeting an idea.”

Lauper also disclosed that before she settled down for the released version of the song, she and Rick Chertoff worked on different “demos” of the song so as to make it more fun and lovely.