Girls Just Want to Have Fun

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" redirects here. For other uses with "wanna" or "want to", see Girls Just Want to Have Fun (disambiguation).

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
Song
B-side	"Right Track Wrong Train"

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written by Robert Hazard. It was the first major single released by singer Cyndi Lauper as a solo artist. It gained recognition as a feminist anthem, an award-winning video and a worldwide hit. It has been covered on either an album or in live concert by over 30 other artists. It was her breakthrough hit, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. It remains one of her signature songs and is considered one of the most defining songs to have been released in the '80s. The Rolling Stone, MTV and VH1: Rolling Stone: The 100 Top Music Videos and MTV: 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made ranked at #22, #39 and #45, respectively. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Background

With the inclusion of promotional releases, the single has seen about 40 individual versions of release. The most common is a 7" vinyl single (with varying cover artwork) released in 1983/1984 (depending on the country) and the second most common is a 12" vinyl single (also with varying cover artwork) released in 1983/1984.

The song was written by Robert Hazard, who recorded it in 1979. He wrote it from a male point of view. For Lauper's version, she changed the lyrics slightly to allow it to be performed by a female and Hazard approved the minor changes. Her version appeared on her 1983 debut solo record, She's So Unusual. It is a synthesizer-backed anthem about the roles of women in society and is considered by many to be a feminist classic of the era. Gillian G. Gaar, author of She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll (2002), described the single and corresponding video as a "strong feminist statement", an "anthem of female solidarity" and a "playful romp celebrating female camaraderie."

The variety of releases of the single includes an Austrian birthday card with a 3" CD of the song inside. The song has been heavily distributed in karaoke version as well. Lauper would later go on to completely re-work the song in 1994 resulting in the new hit "Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun)". The song was remade by Lauper yet again in 2005 on her The Body Acoustic album, also produced by Chertoff and Wittman with Lauper, with guest support vocals from Japanese pop/rock duo Puffy AmiYumi.

Music video

File:Vidstill.jpg

Lauper and Albano in the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" music video, directed by Edd Griles.

The release of the single was accompanied by a quirky music video shot in the summer of 1983 and produced by Mother Studio in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It cost less than $35,000, largely due to a volunteer cast and the free loan of the most sophisticated video equipment available at the time. The cast included professional wrestling manager "Captain" Lou Albano in the role of Lauper's father while her real mother, Catrine, played herself (Cyndi would later return the favor by appearing in WWF storylines opposite Albano and guest-starring in an episode of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, where she announces Albano is missing because of a letter he wrote her, with part of it torn off leaving out an important detail). Lauper's attorney, Elliot Hoffman, appeared as her uptight dancing partner. Also in the cast were Lauper's manager, David Wolf, her brother, Butch Lauper, fellow musician Steve Forbert, and a bevy of secretaries borrowed from Portrait/CBS, Lauper's record label.

Lorne Michaels (Broadway Video, SNL), another of Hoffman's clients, agreed to give Lauper free run of his brand new million-dollar digital editing equipment, with which she and her producer created several first-time-ever computer generated images of Lauper dancing with her buttoned-up lawyer, leading the entire cast in a snake-dance through New York streets and ending up in Lauper's bedroom in her home. The bedroom scene is a homage to the famous stateroom scene in the Marx Brothers' film A Night at the Opera.

Before the song starts, the beginning of her version of "He's So Unusual" plays.

Charts and certifications

Charts

The single reached number one in over ten countries, as well as reaching the Top 10 in over fifteen different countries. It reached number one in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, and Norway, and number two in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Chart (1973/74)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	1
Austria Top 40	3
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Hit Parade Brasil	1
Dutch Singles Chart	3
Eurochart Hot 100	1
German Singles Chart	6
Ireland Singles Chart	1
Italian Singles Chart	3
Japanese Oricon Weekly Chart	17
Japanese Oricon International Chart	1
Netherlands Singles Charts	3
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	1
Norwegian VG-lista	1
Swedish Singles Chart	5
Swiss Singles Chart	6
UK Singles Chart	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	2
U.S. Cash Box	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1

End of year charts

Country	Chart	Ranking
US	Billboard Year-End	15
UK	UK Year-End Singles	32
Canada	RPM Year-End Singles	9

Certifications

Country	Certification	Sales
France	Gold	500,000
United Kingdom	Silver	380,000
Canada	2x Platinum	200,000
Japan	Gold	110,420
United States	Platinum	2,000,000

Versions and formats

12" LP single

1. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (12" version) – 3:55 (Robert Hazard)
2. "Right Track Wrong Train" (B-side) – 4:40 (Cyndi Lauper; E. Greenwich; J. Kent)
3. "Witness" – 3:40 (Cyndi Lauper; John Turi)

CD single (Ringle)

A CD single was issued in 2007, known as a ringle, which included bonus interactive computer material as well as a code to download a free ringtone of the title track. It featured the title track and for the first time on CD, "Right Track Wrong Train". The ringle, as well as all other issued ringles, were recalled by Sony Music due to issues with the ringtone not working correctly. They have yet to be reissued.

1. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
2. "Right Track Wrong Train"
3. Computer media

Official versions

• Album Version – 3:49
• Extended version – 6:08
• Fun with V. Knutsn (Instrumental) – 7:10
• Xtra Fun – 5:05
• Remix – 6:30
• Radio remix – 3:39
• "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (featuring Puffy AmiYumi) – 2:59
• Extended remix – 7:24
• More Fun remix – 5:07

Personnel

1. Lyrics: Robert Hazard. Production: Rick Chertoff.
2. Lyrics: Cyndi Lauper, Ellie Greenwich, Jeffrey B. Kent. Production: Rick Chertoff

Cover versions and other uses

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" has been covered on either an album or in live concert by over 30 other artists including Miranda Cosgrove, Miley Cyrus, The Chipettes (twice), Zebrahead, Pearl Jam, John Mayer, Girlicious, Hoobastank, "Weird Al" Yankovic (as "Girls Just Want to Have Lunch"), Girl Authority, Cybill Shepherd, Lolly, Emilie Autumn, Robots In Disguise, MGMT, Relient K, Triple Image, Dandy Warhols, Norman Palm, David Rawlings, The Ordinary Boys, Cam'Ron, The Killers, Aloha from Hell, Starfucker, Nicki Minaj & Katy Perry, The Fastest Kid Alive, Russian Red, Ben Gibbard, Nothing Rhymes With David and Angy. Los Horóscopos de Durango released a Duranguense version of the song and a Spanish version, "Sólo Quiero Bailar" (I Just Want to Dance). A version was also recorded by The Cheetah Girls, but the single was cancelled and the track cut from their album. In 2009 Keith Caputo (Life of Agony) did a acoustic version on his tour-only solo EP Cheat.

Greg Laswell's version of the song was used in 2007 in an episode of the television series Damages and in 2009 appeared on the soundtracks for the films Confessions of a Shopaholic and My Sister's Keeper.

The song was used in an episode of MTV's Daria, "Legends of the Mall", for a fantasy sequence.

It was also sung by Emily Deschanel playing the title role of Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan in the TV series Bones in the 2008 episode "The Wannabe in the Weeds".

During the first season of Being Erica, Erica (Erin Karpluk) and her friend Jenny (Paula Brancati) sang the song twice in one episode: Once at a karaoke bar (present day) and in a flashback scene at her Bat Mitzvah during the 2009 episode, "Adultescence".

In an episode of Girlfriends, Monica sings a horrible rendition of the song in a karaoke bar, and impresses William by showing that she can be fun and spontaneous.

Performed by Tami Holbrook for the soundtrack of Night of the comet. 1984

On December 1, 2009, a remix called "Girl I'm Tryin" was released by Ultra Records artist, J Brazil.

Keith Caputo did a slowed down version on his 2009 EP "Cheat".

In April 2010 20 female celebrities, including actress Caroline Quentin, model Danielle Lloyd and singer Sonique (herself a breast cancer survivor), recorded a version of the song in aid of the Cancer Research UK charity.

On the BBC show Over the Rainbow Emilie Fleming sang the song. Andrew Lloyd Webber commented on the performance, and said she covered it very well.

This song also was used in the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

The American sketch comedy show MADtv had a recurring sketch from seasons 7-9 about a sorority house at the University of Southern California called the Kappa Kappa Kappa's (KKK) in which the theme song to the sorority was an alteration of the song.

The song features in the stage musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert – the Musical

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is also featured in the game Just Dance for the Nintendo Wii.

A cover version by Tiffany Page is used as the backing music for Clairol's Nice n Easy advertisement (UK).

On Sesame Street Oscar the Grouch, Grundgetta and the Grouch Girls sang a parody of this song, "Grouch Girls Don't Wanna Have Fun".

(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
Song

"(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" was the first single from Cyndi Lauper's Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some hits collection from 1994. The first charting single on Billboard Hot 100 since 1989 "My First Night Without You".

Background

This song is a new reggae-tinged arrangement of Lauper's own "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" standard, with a musical tip of the hat to Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love".

Lauper performed various versions of "Hey Now" during her concerts before the Twelve Deadly Cyns tour. It is how she eventually came to the final version which appeared on Twelve Deadly Cyns. It all started when she was touring for Hat Full of Stars. She performed a version of it that was very different in the Singapore concert, and it changed a lot for the Toronto concert. These pre-versions were more like the original version but with the "Hey Now" chorus. However the Gay Games is probably the first time that actual version of "Hey Now" was performed complete with drag queens and all like the music video.

"Hey Now" plays over the closing sequence and credits of the movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar starring John Leguizamo, Wesley Snipes and Patrick Swayze as drag queens.

The song was a big comeback hit for Lauper, as it hit the top 10 and top 40 in many countries and was a big dance hit in the United States. It peaked at number four in the UK and New Zealand, its highest position.

Track listing

US CD single

1. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (single edit)
2. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Mickey Bennett's version)
3. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Sly & Robbie's Home Grown version)
4. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Vasquez remix)
5. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (original version)

Japanese CD single

1. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (single edit)
2. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Mickey Bennett's version)
3. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Sly & Robbie's Home Grown version)
4. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Vasquez remix)

French CD Single

1. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
2. "Hat Full of Stars"

1. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (single edit) – 3:39
2. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Mickey Bennett's "Carnival" version featuring Patra)
3. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Sly & Robbie's "Home Grown" version featuring Snow)
4. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Junior Vasquez Remix "Pop Goes the Dancehall" featuring Snow)
5. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (original version)

Charts

Chart (1994/95)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	62
Cash Box Top 100 Singles	81
French SNEP Singles Chart	3
German Singles Chart	56
Irish Singles Chart	10
Japanese International Singles Chart	8
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	4
Swedish Radio Chart	14
Swedish Singles Chart	38
Swiss Singles Chart	37
UK Singles Chart	4
U.S. Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles	4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	87

Race for Life Version

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
Song

In 2010 Cancer Research UK's arranged for a charity record for their Race for Life campaign. It features many famous faces such as Eastenders actress Nina Wadia, Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh, Life of Riley actress Caroline Quentin, former Steps member Lisa Scott-Lee, glamour girl Danielle Lloyd, X Factor finalist Lucie Jones, singer Sonique (herself a breast cancer survivor) and former Eastenders actress Lucy Benjamin also Celebrity Big Brother's Nicola T.

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart	7

Official versions

1. Factory Dub version – 6:50
2. Junior Vasquez remix "Dancehall Main" – 5:46
3. Junior Vasquez remix "Harder Dancehall" – 5:46
4. Junior Vasquez remix "Lounge Dub" – 6:00
5. Junior Vasquez remix "Lounge Mix" – 6:12
6. Junior Vasquez remix "Pop Goes the Dancehall" – 4:58
7. Junior Vasquez Soundfactory mix – 7:40
8. Mikey Bennett's "Carnival" version – 6:04
9. Mikey Bennett's "Carnival" version edited – 4:09
10. Single edit – 3:39
11. Sly & Robbie's "Home Grown" version – 4:16
12. Straight Up Pass version – 7:13
13. Techno dub – 3:55
14. Techno Main mix – 8:23

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1983	"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"	American Video Awards for Best Female Performance	Won
1984		MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year	Nominated
		MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist	Nominated
		MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video	Won
		MTV Video Music Award for Best Concept Video	Nominated
		MTV Video Music Award – Viewer's Choice	Nominated
		MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance	Nominated
1985		Grammy Award for Record of the Year	Nominated
		Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated

List of the Best

Year	By	List	Work	Ranked
1993	Rolling Stone	The 100 Top Music Videos	"Girls Just Want To Have Fun"	#22
1999	MTV	100 Greatest Videos Ever Made		#58
2001	VH1	100 Greatest Videos		#45
2006		100 Greatest Songs of the 80's		#23

See also

• Number-one dance hits of 1984 (USA)

References

Notes

External links

• Official Cyndi Lauper website