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"Pixelyoshi/Sandbox3"
Song
B-side"Witness"

"She Bop" was the third commercially released solo single by American singer Cyndi Lauper.

Background[edit]

Composition[edit]

Song information[edit]

The song was considered controversial in the dealing of the subject matter of masturbation. It was also included on the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen" list, due to its sexual lyrics; this led to the creation of the parental approved sticker. (Other songs on the "Filthy Fifteen" list included tracks by Madonna, Prince, and AC/DC.) In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Lauper stated that she recorded the vocals of the song while nude.[1]

Lauper said she wanted little kids to think the song was about dancing, and to understand the real meaning as they got older. She never directly stated in the song what the meaning of the song was, so it could receive airplay.[citation needed]

The single has been released in over 32 variations across the world, the most common being a two track 7" vinyl single (with varying covers) and a two track 12" vinyl single (also with varying covers).

Lauper recorded a slow ballad version of the song for her album The Body Acoustic.

Critical reception[edit]

"She Bop" received mainly positive reviews from critics. Kevin East from Sensible Sound felt that the song was "an auto-eroticism anthem."[2] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine said that the song was a "tongue-in-cheek ode to masturbation."[3] Stephen Thomas Erlewine form Allmusic the song was a part of the side that he calls the very best of the album.[4] He also says that the side is "so strong that it makes the remaining tracks — all enjoyable, but rather pedestrian — charming by their association with songs so brilliantly alive," and that it was "astonishing it is consistency."[4] Steve Peake from About.com included "She Bop" in his Top 8 Cyndi Lauper's songs "as not only an imaginatively and provocatively executed pop concept song but also as yet another showcase for Lauper's singular, off-kilter vocal style." However, he noted : "I was considering leaving this one off the list after determining that its uniquely frank treatment of the rarely breached subject of female masturbation alone was not enough to qualify it as indispensable."[5] Jay Cocks of Time wrote, the song " inverted Gene Vincent's classic 'Be-Bop-a-Lula' into a thoroughly unapologetic paean to female autoeroticism."[6] Terry Atkinson from Los Angeles Times praised the song, calling it a "disarming gem".[7]

Chart performance[edit]

"She Bop" was released on February 17, 1984 and became a success. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at 52 on the issue dated July 21, 1984[8] and reached a peak position of two on the issue dated September 08, 1984[9], for a total of twenty-five weeks spent in the chart.[10] It reached the position ten on Hot Dance/Club Play Songs.[11] On April 17, 1989, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the shipment of 500,000 copies across United States.[12] In 1984, "She Bop" achieved Lauper as the first female singer to generate four top 10 in Hot 100.[13] The song placed at 34 on year-end chart of 1984.[14] In Canada, the song debuted at 44, on the RPM chart on July 21, 1984.[15] After eight weeks, the song reached a peak of three on the chart.[16] It was present for a total of 27 and ranked at 26 on the RPM Year-End Chart of 1984.[17][18] The song was certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).[19]

In the United Kingdom, "She Bop" was released on February 17, 1984. It debuted eighty-four on the UK Singles Chart and reached at forty-six, and was present for a total of six weeks.[20] Across the world, the song reached the top ten the chart in Australia[21], Austria[22], New Zealand[22] and Switzerland[22], and the top 40 in Belgium[23], France[22] and Germany.[24] It reached at 41 in Netherlands.[22]

Music video[edit]

An accompanying music video aired heavily on MTV and featured Lauper as a quirky sexual liberator leading the brainwashed masses to their own liberation. (This was done in metaphor showing teenagers as disgusting fast-food consuming zombies.) There were many double meanings indicating the song's true meaning, including a magazine that Lauper is staring at titled "Beefcake" and other sexual meanings such as the "self-service" sign and three gas pumps with the signs Good, Better and Nirvana in the cartoon part of the video, the vibrating motorcycle, the "masterbingo" part of the video with "Uncle Siggy" Sigmund Freud as host, and Lauper wearing blackout glasses with a white cane in several scenes of the video. In fact, the video doesn't go as far as the lyrics, as the magazine referenced in the song ("...in the pages of a Blueboy magazine") was a popular gay erotica magazine of the time, whereas the magazine Lauper holds represents the tamer — and somewhat closeted — erotica of an earlier era. Nor did the lyrical reference come out of the blue: Lauper has stated that finding a copy of Blueboy lying around in the recording studio provided the impetus for writing "She Bop".[citation needed]

According to Ken Walz, the video producer, "'She Bop' has no focus". He added, "It's a hodgepodge of images, with no clear focus, that were just thrown together all over the place, so you can't follow it. The others were cohesive pieces with a beginning and end. But in 'She Bop' no one knew how to say too."[25]

Live performances[edit]

Cover versions[edit]

  • Indie band Francine recorded a cover of the song.
  • Greek band Matisse covered the song for their 2007 album Toys Up.
  • In July 2008 J-pop singer Nana Kitade covered "She Bop" for the album We Love Cyndi - Tribute to Cyndi Lauper.
  • Korean pop singer Wax (singer) recorded a cover of the song. Cover song is called Oppa.
  • Uzbek singer Vicki Vaka recorded her own rendition of the song in 1993.

Legacy[edit]

In 1985, the song was the subject of much media attention, when it was included on the Parents Music Resource Center's (PMRC) "Filthy Fifteen" list, for the perceived sexual content of its lyrics. The PRMC sent the list and asked if the music industry can applicate warning labels. The song rated X for sexual lyrics.[26] The campaign was ultimately successful and led to the creation of the Parental Advisory sticker.[27]

Track listing and formats[edit]

US/UK 7" Single[28][29]

  1. "She Bop" – 3:38
  2. "Witness" – 3:38

US 12" Single[30]

  1. "She Bop" (Special Dance Mix) – 6:16
  2. "She Bop" (Instrumental) – 5:20

UK 12" Single[31]

  1. "She Bop" (Special Dance Mix) – 6:18
  2. "She Bop" (Instrumental) – 5:20
  3. "Witness" – 3:38

Credits and personnel[edit]

  • Cyndi Lauper – vocals, writer
  • Rick Chertoff – producer, writer
  • Stephen Broughton Lunt – writer
  • Gary Corbett – writer
  • Arthur Baker – mixing
  • Lennie Petze – mixing
  • Walter Turbitt – mixing

Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[32]

Charts and certifications[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Cyndi Lauper Biography". Monsters and Critics.
  2. ^ East, Kevin (1987-06-20). "Carousel Corner". Sensible Sound. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  3. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (2003-09-09). "Music Review: She's So Unusual". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  4. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "allmusic ((( She's So Unusual > Overview )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  5. ^ Peake, Steve. "Top 8 Cyndi Lauper Songs of the '80s". About.com. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  6. ^ Cocks, Jay (1985-03-04). "Music: These Big Girls Don't Cry". Time. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
  7. ^ Atkinson, Terry (1986-09-14). "Lauper: Dull Hues". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  8. ^ "The Billboard Hot 100 - Week Ending of July 21, 1984". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  9. ^ a b "The Billboard Hot 100 - Week Ending of September 08, 1984". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  10. ^ "She Bop - Cyndi Lauper". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  11. ^ a b "Hot Dance/Club Play Songs - Week Ending of September 15, 1984". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  12. ^ a b "Searchable Database - Certified Awards". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  13. ^ Trust, Gary (2010-09-03). "Ke$ha 'Takes Off' with Fourth Top 10 from Debut Album". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  14. ^ a b "Billboard Hot 100 1984". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1984-12-22. ISSN 0006-2510.
  15. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 40, No. 20, July 21 1984". RPM. RPM Library Archives. 1984-07-21. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  16. ^ a b "Top Singles - Volume 42, No. 3, September 22 1984". RPM. RPM Library Archives. 1984-09-22. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  17. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 41, No. 21, February 02 1985". RPM. RPM Library Archives. 1985-02-02. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  18. ^ "Top Singles of 1984". RPM. RPM Library Archives. 1985-01-05. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  19. ^ a b "Huey, Cyndi Score Multiple CRIA Metal". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 47. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1984-11-24. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  20. ^ a b "Chart Stats - Cyndi Lauper - She Bop". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  21. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Song)". Ultratop 50 (Flemish). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  23. ^ a b "Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Song details" (in Dutch). VRT Top 30. 1984-03-03. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  24. ^ a b "Chartverfolgung - Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Media Control Charts (in German). Musicline.de. 1984-04-09. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  25. ^ Bessman, Jim (1985-03-09). "How Clips Helped Break Cyndi". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  26. ^ "VH1 Original Movies: Warning: Parental Advisory". VH1. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  27. ^ "Can You Dance To It: PMRC Sucks". TOTSE. 2007-03-13. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
  28. ^ (Media notes). {{cite AV media notes}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Format= ignored (|format= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |PID= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Type= ignored (|type= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ (Media notes). {{cite AV media notes}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Format= ignored (|format= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |PID= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Type= ignored (|type= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ (Media notes). {{cite AV media notes}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Format= ignored (|format= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |PID= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Type= ignored (|type= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ (Media notes). {{cite AV media notes}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Format= ignored (|format= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |PID= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Type= ignored (|type= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ She's So Unusual (Media notes). Portrait Records. 1983. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |publisherid= ignored (help)
  33. ^ "Jahreshitparade 1984" (in Deutsch). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  34. ^ "Top Singles of 1984". RPM. Retrieved 2011-03-15.

References[edit]

  • Batchelor, Bob; Stoddart, Scott (2007), The 1980s, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0313330001
  • Brown, Mary Ellen (1990), Television and women's culture: the politics of the popular, SAGE, ISBN 0803982291

External links[edit]

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