Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper song)

"Time After Time"
Single by Cyndi Lauper
from the album She's So Unusual
B-side "I'll Kiss You"
Released January 27, 1984
Format 12" vinyl, 7" vinyl
Recorded 1983 at Record Plant
(New York City, New York)
Genre Pop, New Wave
Length 4:03
Label Epic
Writer(s) Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman
Producer Rick Chertoff
Cyndi Lauper singles chronology
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
(1983)		 "Time After Time"
(1984)		 "She Bop"
(1984)
Music sample
"Time After Time"

"Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released as the second single from her album She's So Unusual. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984,[1] and remained there for two weeks. Worldwide, the song is her most commercially successful single after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. The Rolling Stone and MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs ranked it at No. 66.[2]

"Time After Time" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 1985 Grammy Awards.[3] The ballad is considered a classic of the 1980s and is still played frequently on adult contemporary radio. The song is known for its numerous covers by a wide range of artists, including an instrumental version by Miles Davis. An acoustic version was sung by Lauper on her 2005 album, The Body Acoustic. In this version, Sarah McLachlan provided backing vocals.

Contents

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 on 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. Lauper conceived the title after seeing the 1979 Malcolm McDowell film of the same name, and built the song from there.

Recording

Drums were provided by a LinnDrum drum machine, particularly the "salt shaker" sound. The guitar was recorded with a Marshall 2x12 combo amp. A rackmountable Publison DHM89 harmonizer was used in the effects loop, set to delay-pitch-shift up the signal on the left channel and delay-pitch-shift up the signal on the right channel, to create a rich and lush chorus-like effect.

Music video

The video for "Time After Time" was about a runaway leaving her lover behind. The video opens with Lauper watching the 1936 film The Garden of Allah. Lauper sings (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, and Lou Albano, who played her father in the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" video, can be seen as a cook. The video was directed by Ed Griles. Portions of the video were filmed at the now closed Tom's Diner in Roxbury Township, New Jersey, the intersection of Central Avenue and Main Street in Wharton, New Jersey, and at the Morristown train station.

Track listing

  1. "Time After Time" (12" version) – 5:02 (Cyndi Lauper; Rob Hyman)
  2. "I'll Kiss You" – 4:12 (Cyndi Lauper; Jules Shear)
  3. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (extended version) – 6:08 (Robert Hazard)
  4. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (instrumental) – 7:10 (Robert Hazard)

Personnel

Cover versions

"Time After Time" has been covered, either in live performance or on a recording, by at least 120 artists across a broad spectrum of genres. A partial list includes:

Artist Album Year
The Academy Is...
Tracy Chapman
Dover
The Gandharvas
Patti LuPone
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Eddie Money and Juice Newton
Saosin
Maria Taylor
TRUSTcompany
Frank White
Marie Fredriksson 1984
Lisa Hartman Knots Landing 1984
Miles Davis You're Under Arrest (instrumental) 1985
Tuck and Patti Tears of Joy 1988
Nana Mouskouri Only Love 1991
Everything but the Girl Acoustic 1992
The Flirtations Three 1996
Changing Faces All Day, All Night 1997
INOJ Ready for the World 1998
Kane & Abel Am I My Brother's Keeper 1998
Blaque Blaque 1999
Biréli Lagrène Duet 1999
The Boomtang Boys Greatest Hits Vol. 1 1999
Matchbox Twenty Live from Australia 1999
Eva Cassidy Time After Time 2000
Distant Soundz 2001
Joey McIntyre One Too Many 2001
Lil' Mo Based On A True Story 2001
Willie Nelson The Great Divide 2002
Novaspace Supernova 2002
Show of Hands Cold Cuts (live album) 2002
Uncle Kracker Clockstoppers soundtrack 2002
Grand Incredible G.I.Gantic 2003
Nichole Nordeman Live at the Door 2003
LISA Gratitude 2004
Sparklemotion Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack 2004
Screamfeeder Delusions of Grandchildren 2005
Cyndi Lauper featuring Sarah McLachlan Lauper's The Body Acoustic 2005
Spoken Last Chance to Breathe 2005
Sugar Ray The Best of Sugar Ray 2005
Dilana 2006
Quietdrive When All That's Left Is You 2006
John Barrowman Another Side 2007
Freya Lin 非愛不可 心林凡 2007
The Hot Lies "Emergency! Emergency!" (B-side) 2007
Phil Keaggy Acoustic Cafe 2007
Lil' Flip Virginia Tech massacre tribute 2007
Jake Shimabukuro My Life 2007
Paul Anka Classic Songs, My Way 2007
Allison Crowe Little Light 2008
Jessica Mauboy Been Waiting 2008
Terra Naomi 2008
Ashley Tisdale 2008
Boyz II Men Love (Boyz II Men album) 2009
Mariah Carey Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (sample on "Inseparable") 2009
Electric President 2009
The Jane Bradfords 2009
Sowelu MATERIAL WORLD (B-side) 2009
Eric Martin Mr. Vocalist 2 2009
Ronan Keating Songs for My Mother 2009
Codes 2009
Hitomi Shimatani Otokouta II -20 Century Nostalgia- 2010
Javier Colon "The Voice (U.S. season 1)" 2011
Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken TN 2011
Keith Jarrett Live At The Blue Note (instrumental) 1995

Ronan Keating version

"Time After Time"
Single by Ronan Keating
from the album Songs for My Mother
Released February 8, 2009
Format CD single, Digital download
Recorded 2008
Genre Pop
Length 3:50
Label Polydor Records
Writer(s) Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman
Producer Ronan Keating
Ronan Keating singles chronology
"This I Promise You"
(2006)		 "Time After Time"
(2009)		 "This Is Your Song"
(2009)

"Time After Time" is the first single released from Irish singer/songwriter Ronan Keating's fifth solo album, Songs for My Mother. The single was released on February 8, 2009, and became Keating's first single to be released in three years. The song was produced by Keating himself. The song peaked at #88 on the UK Singles Chart.

Tracklisting

  1. "Time After Time" (Stop-End Version) - 3:50

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 88[4]

Use in media

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 6
Ö3 Austria Top 40 5
Canadian RPM Singles 1
Dutch Singles Chart 5
French Singles Chart 9
German Singles Chart 6
Irish Singles Chart 2
Italian FIMI Singles Chart 5
Japan Hot 100 60
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 7
Swedish Singles Chart 10
Swiss Singles Chart 7
UK Singles Chart 3
US Billboard Hot 100 1
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 1
US Cash Box Top 100 1
Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 14
US Billboard Hot Canadian Digital Singles 28

Year-end charts

Country Chart Ranking
UK UK Year-End Singles 25
US Billboard Year-End 17
Canada RPM Year-End 8

Certifications

Country Provider Certification Sales Date
United Kingdom BPI Silver 200,000 July 1, 1984[5]
United States RIAA Gold 500,000 April 17, 1989[6]

Awards and nominations

Won
Nominations

List of the Best

Year By List Work Ranked
2000 Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Pop Songs[7] "Time After Time" #66
MTV
2003 VH1 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years[8] "Time After Time" #22
2006 VH1 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's[9] "Time After Time" #19

See also

References

  1. ^ http://hesawhore.blogspot.com/2007/09/1984.html
  2. ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/rsmtv100.htm
  3. ^ http://www.cyndilaupernews.com/documents/awards___nominations.html
  4. ^ http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=33997
  5. ^ UK Certification
  6. ^ US Certification
  7. ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/rsmtv100.htm
  8. ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2003/vh125songs.htm
  9. ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2006/vh180s.htm

External links

Cyndi Lauper
Studio albums
Compilations
Singles
She's So Unusual
True Colors
A Night to Remember
Hat Full of Stars
Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some
Sisters of Avalon
Merry Christmas... Have a Nice Life
Shine
At Last
The Body Acoustic
"Time After Time" · "Above the Clouds"
Bring Ya to the Brink
Others singles
Tours
The Fun Tour · True Colors World Tour · A Night to Remember World Tour · Hat Full of Stars Tour · Twelve Deadly Cyns World Tour · Sisters of Avalon Tour · Wildest Dreams Tour · Living Proof: The Farewell Tour · Shine Tour  · At Last World Tour · Body Acoustic Tour · True Colors Tour · Australian Tour · True Colors Tour · Bring Ya to the Brink Tour · Girls Night Out · Memphis Blues Tour · From Memphis to Mardi Gras
Films
Related articles
The Hooters
  • Bobby Woods
  • John Kuzma
  • Rob Miller
  • Andy King
  • Mindy Jostyn
Studio albums
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Ronan Keating
Ronan
Destination
Turn It On
10 Years of Hits
Bring You Home
Songs for My Mother
"Time After Time" · "This Is Your Song"
Winter Songs
Duet
When Ronan Met Burt
Featured singles
"These Days" (With Brian Kennedy)
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