It IS a Woman's World After All

Cyndi Lauper will (again) open for Cher during her upcoming "Dressed to Kill" tour.  You may remember that Cyndi opened on Cher's "Farewell" tour a few years back.  Well at 67(!), Cher is not content to stay out of the limelight and judging buy her ticket sales, her fans are more than eager for her to return!

Bringing Cyndi back is icing and rainbow sprinkles on an already super sweet event.  In her 50+ year career, Cher has literally been there, done that and has earned a level of success and fan base not many achieve. She's had ups and downs, (perhaps more downs than ups), but has survived decades of changing sounds and styles. 

After more than 30 years, Cyndi Lauper has followed in Cher's footsteps, (size 8: do you believe there's an actual website for this stuff??), carving out her own space and building a following that consistently flocks to see her live shows.  In 2013 she became the 1st woman to win a Tony award for scoring the musical, "Kinky Boots," and hit the road to celebrate 30 years of 'FUN!'

Warming up thousands of Cher fans can't be left to just anybody!  And if this wasn't good news for all the girls and boys who wanna have fun with these two, Cher also announced that Pat Benatar is also stepping in on selected dates!  Wow!  This is a combination I'd love to see.  Cher is certainly showing us that it's no longer just a man's world ;)

I have my ticket for the Washington, D.C. show; how about you?

 

And the Fun Keeps Coming..

If girls just want to have fun, what are the boys to do? Luckily for them, Cyndi Lauper has welcomed both the girls and the boys to her 30+ year mixer: a blend of music, artistry and activism.

And oh! That iconic song, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!"  Even today when heard on the radio, on TV, in a movie, in ads, it's irresistible and just makes you feel good.  I think that's the aim of any great artist.

Last year while in New York, I went to see Cyndi Lauper's 30th Anniversary Tour, marking the decades since the album, (Yup, I said album ), "She's So Unusual" was released.  Her tour was a personal gift to her fans; taking the stage and delivering the album note for note, in order, side A through side B.  It was perfection and I can say that since I knew that record inside and out! (What?  Did you think I was busy practicing my air guitar with Thin Lizzy?)

I could go on and on about Cyndi and if you want to hear it, you can check her bio page.  I really just wanted to call attention to a new 30 year commemorative offering of the "Unusual" album with some extra treats like demos, new mixes, (from the likes of NERVO and Yolanda Be Cool), and vinyl cut outs of her 80's wardrobe!  Check out a recent interview with Cyndi in the Washington Post.

Blondie @40

Deborah Harry as profiled in Vanity Fair, Jan.2014 Although it's debatable anytime musicians are described as experiencing a 'comeback,' for me Blondie never left.  Like so many before, radio left them, fans grew up or grew out, and don't think advancing technology hasn't altered what's heard and how.  Over time, bands seem to disappear from the masses, but for Blondie, they never really left and I for one am glad about that! In 2013 Blondie's "No Principles Tour' with fellow punk-Alt rockers, "X" was a trip down punk's memory lane.  But punk doesn't define this band.  With Deborah Harry front and center, Blondie's eclectic approach to song writing earned them 4 #1 songs on the US chart and millions of records sold worldwide. In 1979 they filled the dance floors with "Heart of Glass," (sounding fresh as ever in 2014).  That was followed by 1980's biggest  song, "Call Me,'" 1981's reggae-pop gem, "The Tide is High," and "Rapture," pop music's first #1 Rap hit.  2014 marks the band's 40th year in music and they are celebrating with a world tour and new release, both expected to re-establish Blondie as one of America's best exports of rock and roll.  Read more about this in Vanity Fair where the accompanying photo, (taken by famous R&R photographer Annie Leibovitz), was featured. You can also read more about Debbie on her bio page.