By Michael V. Cusenza
Cyndi Lauper, the pioneering singer, songwriter, and actress who was raised in Ozone Park, will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame later this year.
Lauper has a four-octave voice; but she’s also known for declining to shed her thick borough accent. She attended St. Mary Gate of Heaven Catholic school and Richmond Hill High School.
According to the Hall of Fame, Lauper became one of the biggest stars of the 1980s with her “eclectic mix of pop, rock, reggae, funk, and dance styles.” Her record-breaking debut album “She’s So Unusual” featured four consecutive Top Five U.S. singles – “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “She Bop,” and “All Through the Night” – and earned her two Grammys. Her video for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” also won the inaugural VMA for Best Female Video.
Photo Courtesy of Google
Lauper attended St. Mary Gate of Heaven school on 101st Avenue.
By the end of 1985, Lauper had established herself as one of the best-selling artists in the world. Lauper’s 1986 sophomore album “True Colors” reached No. 4 on the Billboard 100 and included the chart-topper “True Colors” and No. 3 “Change of Heart.” Lauper’s four albums from the 2000s explored and celebrated such musical genres as pop standards, electronic/dance music, blues, and country. A lifelong advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, she founded True Colors United in 2008 to support LGBTQIA+ youth experiencing homelessness. In 2013 she became the first solo woman to win a Tony Award for Best Score for the queer-positive Broadway hit “Kinky Boots.”
Lauper will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 8. But chances are you’ll catch her in Queens before then, noshing at one of her favorite restaurants, Don Peppe on Lefferts Boulevard.
