Cyndi Lauper Reveals Why She Originally Didn’t Want To Record ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’

Singer Cyndi Lauper said she initially wasn’t interested in singing her hit 1983 single “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” because it wasn’t written by a woman. 

The single was Lauper’s breakthrough hit, climbing to the number two spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became a worldwide hit in the mid-80s and is still a well-known single today.

Lauper discussed the story behind “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” as part of a documentary about the singer’s life called, “Let the Canary Sing,” which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday.

“I was trying really hard to make an anthem that would inspire women and open the doors to all women,” the 69-year-old pop star told People of her hit song. “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.”

The publication noted that “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” was written and originally recorded by Robert Hazard. When Lauper’s producer at the time, Rick Chertoff, took her to see him perform it live, she apparently said to him, “I would never do that f***ing song.”

“Every time we want to have fun, we’re whores,” Lauper said of men writing a song about women from their perspective.

In the documentary, Lauper talked about changing the lyrics and sound in an effort to give the single a more upbeat vibe. “It should be in a trumpet key because we’re trumpeting an idea,” she said of her vision for the song.

The singer also discussed wanting the music video to feature all types of women. She cast her real mom, Catrine, to play her mom in the video, too. “I told my mother, ‘If you do this, it’s going to bring mothers and daughters closer,'” she said in the film. “I got to share my success with my mom.” 

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“My mom was with me, and I just feel I was really lucky and privileged to do that,” Lauper said.

“Now, my sister [Ellen] and my brother [Fred] came, and they were in [Let the Canary Sing], and they were talking,” she continued. “Family, I guess, is very important.”