Cyndi Lauper Recorded This 1983 Song As A Demo — It Would Become Her First No. 1 Hit

Cyndi Lauper launched her pop career at two speeds: fast and frothy, and slow and sorrowful. The first came in the form of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," of course, her zippy introduction to the listening public. But it was her second hit, the evocative "Time After Time," that proved Lauper had more than hiccupy Betty Boop vocals in her bag of musical tricks. It went from demo to No. 1 in a flash of romantic longing and affirmed Lauper as a performer of intriguing range and nuance. It was even Epic Record's choice for the first single from the record, though Lauper insisted "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" better represented the spirit of the album and pushed it to be her initial release.

How could a tune so long-lasting and far-reaching have come together so quickly? Call it the pressure of the last-minute request, one of those tricky, fate-driven phenomena that often brings out the best in creatives who might not produce something as special if given all the time they need. For Lauper, working in a crunch turned out to be the best of all situations; it allowed her to transcend the tragic details of her life and provided a pinnacle moment early in her solo career that helped make 1984 the decade's best musical year, by far.

Cyndi Lauper's debut album, the groundbreaking "She's So Unusual," was essentially in the can when producer Rick Chertoff asked for another track to round out the project and paired her with songwriter Rob Hyman, known at the time as part of the Hooters, for the task. The title was purportedly grabbed from the 1979 Malcolm McDowell time-travel film, and both Lauper and Hyman, who were each going through separate relationship difficulties, used their personal pain as inspiration for the song's subject matter. The lyrics weren't finished, but the music was sketched out, and at least the two had something to work from as a final track.

After just a bit of clean-up, "Time After Time" ended up giving the 10-tune collection something it was missing in the other songs: a heartbeat, sincere and stripped of the cutesy, quirky flourishes Lauper became known for. It was hushed and honest, displaying a stroke of genuine humanity from a playful new talent. It also became Lauper's first No. 1 hit and helped the pop star become a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.

The in-progress version appeared on a 30^th anniversary re-release of "She's So Unusual" in 2014. You can hear the familiar drum machine and roiling synth bass line on the unfinished track; Lauper's wordless vocals cover for missing lyrics in spots, but the chill-inducing power of her voice is present and accounted for.