Cyndi Lauper - "I Drove All Night"

(Debuted May 6, 1989, Peaked #6, 15 Weeks on the Chart)

I featured a Cyndi Lauper song on this blog last summer, mentioning that she was something of a "wild child" during her breakout years. She was a perfect antidote to the Reagan years, providing us with anthems ("Girls Just Wanna Have Fun") and even sang about pleasuring herself ("She Bop"). The music landscape was a different place in 1989, and so was America...even Cyndi Lauper was different. Her LP A Night to Remember was a more mature effort, with the outrageous costumes toned down. That said, she was proving that she actually had vocal talent to anybody who wanted to listen. Unfortunately, few did when it came to the album, even though this single reached the Top 10.

"I Drove All Night" was written by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, the team that wrote Lauper's 1986 #1 hit "True Colors." They wrote it with Roy Orbison in mind and were surprised when he agreed to record it. Unfortunately, that version wasn't released until after Orbison's death...and after Lauper had a hit with it. The song agrees with Lauper's range and has proven versatile over the years. It was a minor country hit for the Canadian group Pinmonkey in 2002 and was given a typically over-the-top performance by Celine Dion the next year. It says something when a rendition by Cyndi Lauper is considered "toned down" to your own.