Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper song)

Single infobox
Name = Time after Time


Artist = Cyndi Lauper
from Album = She's So Unusual
Released = 1984
Format = 12" vinyl, 7" vinyl
Recorded =
B-side = "I'll Kiss You"
Genre = Pop, ballad
Length = 4:01
Label = Epic Records
Writer = Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman
Producer = Rick Chertoff
Certification = Gold (US)
Silver (UK)Extra chronology
Last single = "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
(1984)
This single = "Time after Time"
(1984)
Next single = "She Bop"
(1984) Extra chronology
Last single = "Stay"
(2004)
This single = "Time after Time with Sarah McLachlan (2005 Acoustic Version)"
Next single = "Above The Clouds"
(2005)

"Time after Time" was a single by singer Cyndi Lauper, the second from her "She's So Unusual" album, and it reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts on June 9, 1984. The song was at #1 for two weeks and to date is her second highest charting and most commercially successful single worldwide after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," also reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart and #6 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

"Time after Time" was nominated for "Song of the Year" at the 1985 Grammy Awards. The ballad is considered a classic of the 1980s and is still played frequently on adult contemporary radio.

Writing

Lauper co-wrote "Time after Time" with Philadelphia rocker Rob Hyman of The Hooters, who also supplied backup vocals to the song. In a 2006 interview with "Sound Off with Matt Pinfield" (episode 212) on HDNet, Lauper related how the song was written. She indicated much of the lyrics were written about occurrences in the studio and her life at the time. The line "the second hand unwinds" referred to producer Rick Chertoff's watch which was winding backwards.

Hyman explained in an interview with Songfacts that he and Lauper stayed in the studio after the sessions composing the song.

Music video

The video for "Time after Time" was about a runaway leaving her lover behind. Lauper signs the title of the song to the deaf as she is leaving the train station. The video was played in heavy rotation on MTV. Lauper's mother, brother, and then-boyfriend David Wolff appear in the video. The video was directed by Edd Griles. Portions of the video were filmed at the now closed Tom's Diner in Roxbury, New Jersey.

Cover versions

"Time after Time" has been covered, either in live performance or on a recording, by at least 120 different artists across a broad spectrum of genres, including Roxette`s vocalist Marie Fredriksson in a swedish version recorded in 1984. Blaque (on "Blaque", 1999), Changing Faces, Eva Cassidy, Allison Crowe, Miles Davis (as an instrumental on "You're under Arrest", 1985), Dilana, Distant Soundz, DJ Sammy, Dover, Everything But the Girl, Eddie Money and Juice Newton (as a duet), The Gandharvas, The Hooters, Crystal Kay, INOJ (reaching #6 on the Billboard Top 40 in 1998), The Boomtang Boys (on their 1999 Greatest Hits Vol. 1 album), Phil Keaggy, Novaspace, Lil' Mo, Patti LuPone, Matchbox Twenty, Joey McIntyre, Gameface, Willie Nelson, Nichole Nordeman, John Barrowman, Saosin, Spoken (on "Last Chance to Breathe", 2005), Sugar Ray, Maria Taylor, Sewing with Nancie, TRUSTcompany, Tuck and Patti, Uncle Kracker (on the "Clockstoppers" soundtrack, 2002), Frank White, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Cassandra Wilson (on "Traveling Miles", 1999), Show of Hands (on the " Cold Cuts" live album, 2002),and, more recently, rock versions by Quietdrive (which was released as the second single from their 2006 debut album, "When All That's Left is You."), an acoustic version by Matt Ketteman & Cameron Mizell on their album "Follow Through" (released 2006), and the Australian band, The Hot Lies, and is included on their Emergency! Emergency! single (released in 2007). It was also sung by Lisa Hartman in a November 1984 episode of Knots Landing.

The song was used as a main theme sung by Katie Cook in "View from the Top" (2003). Mark Williams and Tara Morice performed the song in the "Strictly Ballroom" soundtrack (in the scene where Scott and Fran dance on the rooftop). Eva Cassidy's version was featured in the TV series, "Smallville", and it was added to the first "Smallville" soundtrack, "The Talon Mix". The 2006 cover by Quietdrive appeared during the dance scene of the film "John Tucker Must Die". It also contributed to a running gag in the second season of the TV series "My Name Is Earl".

The song has been performed on "American Idol" twice; once in 2005, and again in 2007. Nadia Turner performed the song on Billboard #1 Hits week in the fourth season. Brandon Rogers performed the song on the 2nd week of the semi-finals in honor of his grandmother in the sixth season.

On Channel 4's show Mobileact Unsigned, The Bad Robots performed a version of this track.

Ashley Tisdale has recorded a cover of this song as well for the Degree OMG! Moments commercials and it is includes in the deodorant giveaway EP "Degree Girl: OMG! Jams".

ampling

The song was sampled for Paris Hilton's song "Heartbeat," on her album "Paris", and by Ne-Yo and New Kids on the Block on their collaboration, "Single".

In dedication to the victims and families of the Virginia Tech massacre, rapper Lil Flip made a song that heavily samples "Time after Time", but the tempo is changed in order to provide a heart-warming and sad type of mood. The chorus of the tribute song is actually Cyndi Lauper's original song's chorus line. The title of the tribute is under the name of Lauper's original.

Appearances in other media

*The song was played in the "dance scene" of "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" (1997) and "Napoleon Dynamite" (2004).

*The song was used in the TV and radio commercial of the Toyota Vios, a small compact sedan available only in southeast Asia.

*The song was parodied as "Mime After Mime" by a group known as "Candy Laughter" (a parody of Cyndi Lauper's name).

*The song was used in "The Simpsons" episode "Homer's Paternity Coot"

*In the "My Name Is Earl" episode "Larceny of a Kitty Cat," Randy plays the song on a boombox and sings along when a relationship ends.

*The song appears in the game Karaoke Revolution Party.

Chart performance

2005 acoustic version

The song was re-released in a new acoustic version on Lauper's 2005 release "The Body Acoustic", which features acoustic versions of some of her songs. "Time after Time" is performed as a duet with Sarah McLachlan.

12" LP Single

# Time After Time (12" Version) 5:02 (Cyndi Lauper; Rob Hyman)
# I'll Kiss You 4:12 (Cyndi Lauper; Jules Shear)
# Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Extended Version) 6:08 (Robert Hazard)
# Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Instumental) 7:10 (Robert Hazard)

Credits

*Written by Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman
*Produced by Rick Chertoff
*Executive Producer: Lennie Petze
*Associate Producer: William Wittman
*Engineered by William Wittman
*Arranged by Cyndi Lauper, Rick Chertoff, Rob Hyman, Eric Bazilian

External links

* [http://www.vh1classic.com/view/artist/10985/97418/Cyndi_Lauper/Time_After_Time/index.jhtml Video] on VH1 Classic website
* [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=672 "Time after Time" Songfacts]