Cyndi Lauper Calls 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nomination ‘An Honor and a Thrill’
Written by djfrosty on February 1, 2023
Cyndi Lauper is definitely good enough for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer who blazed a technicolor trail through the 1980s with a string of bouncy pop hits and equally colorful videos was overjoyed to celebrate the news that she is among the 2023 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“It’s such an honor and thrill to be recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a nominee,” Lauper tells Billboard about bout joining the 2023 class of nominees that also includes Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Iron Maiden, JoyDivision/New Order, The Spinners, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon
“Seeing my name on this year’s ballot with so many talents that I admire means so much to me,” she adds. “It has been a lifetime privilege to reach so many different kinds of fans with a message of following your own path (and having fun along the way, too).”
First-time nominee Lauper made the list nearly four decades after the release of her smash debut solo album, 1983’s She’s So Unusual, which included such forever hits as “Time After Time,” “She Bop” and her signature empowerment anthem, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Thanks to those hits and covers of new wave band The Brains’ “Money Changes Everything” and Prince’s “When You Were Mine,” the album spun off four straight Billboard Hot 100 top five hits and charted on the Billboard 200 for more than a year.
The Grammy-winning album arrived at a time when MTV was a rising avenue of exposure for visually interesting acts, with Lauper’s technicolor hair, larger-than-life persona and fun-time videos helping to push her to the top of the pop heap. She continued to spin off hits throughout the decade, including “True Colors,” “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough,” “I Drove All Night” and others as she dipped her toe into acting in films and TV (Vibes, Life With Mickey, The Simpsons) while becoming an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ causes and a beacon for a new generation of female rock and pop stars.
Inductees will be revealed in May, with the induction ceremony taking place this fall. The top five artists selected through fan voting will be tallied along with the ballots from the Rock Hall’s international voting body to determine the Class of 2023. Fans can vote online every day through April 28 at vote.rockhall.com or IRL at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.