Today’s classic song of the day is “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper. This was the second single released from her debut album, She’s So Unusual (the first was the iconic “Girls Just Want to Have Fun“) and her first #1 hit.
“Time After Time” was written by Ms. Lauper and Rob Hyman from the Hooters. It was one of the last tunes written and recorded for the album; her producer, Rick Chertoff, insisted they needed “one more song” and set Lauper and Hyman to work on it.
She’s So Unusual came out in October of 1983 and “Time After Time” was released as a single in March of 1984. The single shot to the top of the charts worldwide, hitting the top ten in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. Here in the U.S., “Time After Time” was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box Top 100, and Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. It was nominated for the Song of the Year Grammy, losing to Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”
The musicians on the track included Rob Hyman on keyboards and backing vocals, Peter Wood on synthesizers, Eric Bazilian on electric guitar, and Anton Fig (of The Late Show with David Letterman) on drums. Musically, the verse alternates Dm and C over a droning C in the bass, before moving to an F – G – Em – F – G – Em chorus, landing on the G chord for the final “Time after time” bit. It’s simple but effective.
The “Time After Time” single was helped by the song’s music video, directed by Edd Griles, who had previously directed the video for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Ms. Lauper’s mother, brother, and then-boyfriend (Dave Wolff) appear in the video as does wrestler friend Lou Albano. The “Time After Time” video got a tremendous amount of airplay on MTV at the time; if you’re of a certain age, I’m sure you remember it. And that video is your daily bonus video of the day.
