Play it Again, Sam #12a - "Time After Time"

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As much goth/punk/post punk that I play here in my music series', you might be surprised to find out that I do, in fact, have a soft side, even though I do keep it under the surface. We are at #12a, the "original" portion of today's Play it Again, Sam, a two part discussion consisting of an original song followed by a cover of that song: "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. On her 1983 debut album, She's So Unusual, Cyndi Lauper was mostly backed by then-up and coming Philadelphia band The Hooters (they were the first band to hit the stage at Live Aid.) With much of that album already written and recorded, producer Rick Chertoff decided that one more song was needed, so Lauper and Hooters vocalist Rob Hyman sat down at a piano and hashed out a lovely little love ballad, "Time After Time." As Cyndi has said, she got "Time After Time" from TV Guide, and used it as a working title, never intending to keep it as a part of the song, but could not find a way to cut it out of the tune without ruining it. "Time After Time" turned out so well that Chertoff wanted to release it as Lauper's debut single, but she resisted, fearing that the record buying public might pigeonhole her as a balladress and take the more upbeat material on the album less seriously (hence, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" was the first single, and our introduction to the unique singer.) "Time After Time" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (as well as on their Adult Contemporary chart,) and in Canada, too. It stalled at #54 in the UK, but was rereleased again later that year, when the Brits took it to #3. The song also featured prominently in a hilarious episode of the television series, My Name is Earl, in which Earl's brother Randy falls in love with a crazy cat lady. Stay tuned! (Info verified by Wikipedia)