Let the Canary Sing takes the audience back to the beginning of Cyndi Lauper’s life in a lower-class Queens neighborhood through her rebellious youth pushing back against intolerance. As a child, Cyndi Lauper loved singing with her older sister, Ellen. But both girls had to deal with parents who were always fighting and a convent school where the nuns tried to tame the Laupers wild ways.
Both Cyndi Lauper and her sister left home at early ages. Cyndi joined the local music scene and slowly became a known as a talented but quirky singer. My favorite part of Let the Canary Sing were the scenes, using archival footage, of the writing and recording of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Cyndi Lauper did not like the original “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” She thought it was a guy’s song with a guy’s message. But Cyndi Lauper’s David Wolff, then Cyndi’s manager, managed to talk Cyndi into making changes to the song that made it acceptable to her and changed the focus to a girls’s song. Wolff was also responsible for the wrestling tie-in.
Alison Ellwood’s documentary Let the Canary Sing is a nostalgic exploration of the life and career of legendary pop icon Cyndi Lauper, along with a boisterous narrative anchored by the inimitable Lauper herself. If you’re a Cyndi Lauper fan, you won’t want to miss Let the Canary Sing, a marvelous documentary! GRADE: B+
I wouldn’t call myself a fan, but I have respect for her ability to survive in a tough business and for her voice, which is quite good!
Bob, you would enjoy LET THE CARARY SING. Cyndi Lauper had a tough Life but came out on top!
If you haven’t, see also her segment on FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES…much discussion of her family’s not entirely but in large part Sicilian heritage, with all the machismo that applies there.
I assume you’ve gone back to listen to her Blue Angel recordings.
Todd, the Blue Angel recordings display Cyndi Lauper’s talents at a young age. I’ll have to check out that FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES episode.
Will have to check this out. Always liked Cyndi.
Jeff, there’s a lot to like about Cyndi Lauper’s hard climb to stardom. Plenty went wrong for her, but Cyndi just kept pushing to be her own star.
Adding it to the never-ending watch list! Cyndi Lauper has always been a favorite of mine. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” is so much my sister in the early-1980s—I can never hear it without thinking of her.
Deb, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” changed from a bar song to something a lot more after Cyndi Lauper made some changes. A fascinating story of the development of a Rock Anthem!