Lauper Goes Acoustic for AMAs, New CD

11/22/2005 11:02 AM, AP


This girl is a woman now, but Cyndi Lauper still wants to have fun.

She sure was having it Monday afternoon inside the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium, cracking jokes with her band between musical interludes while rehearsing for the American Music Awards. On the live broadcast Tuesday night, the '80s icon of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" fame will team with pop-folk balladeer Sarah McLachlan for an acoustic version of Lauper's classic "Time After Time."

Lauper made her American Music Awards debut 22 years ago. But even after all this time after time, the significance of the telecast is not lost on her.

"This show is voted on by the people, by the records and the CDs and the DVDs," she told AP Television. "I look at these shows as a celebration of music."

Clearly, Lauper, 52, loves singing with McLachlan. "Anytime you share your music with someone, you share not just the melody, but your sense of rhythm," Lauper noted. "And then they interpret your rhythm. And, in that, that's a wonderful communication. It kind of tickles you. It's just fantastic."

Lauper and McLachlan perform two duets on Lauper's new CD, "The Body Acoustic." "Well, I was doing charity work, and I had different things, and you always try to strip down, so that you can cut the costs so that they have most of the money for the charity," Lauper explained. "So, I saw Sting once do The Prince's Trust with just his bass, and he sang `Roxanne.' And I'm thinking, `Well, if he can do that, I can play my dulcimer, I'll bring my dulcimer.' And then I thought, `If I just had another guitar player, with the dulcimer, that would be good.' And then there was the violin player. And then we had this little power trio, but it was acoustic."

The results are lean reinterpretations of many of Lauper's top hits. "Basically, it's a celebration of my work with two new songs, best-of and some fan favorites."

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On the Net:

http://www.cyndilaupermusic.com/