Song · Cyndi Lauper
“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper
From the album She’s So Unusual (1983)
“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper appears on 13 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1983 and 2026. It was first released in 1983 on the album She’s So Unusual. Its best result is #4 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #76 alternative song of 1984 and #7,369 alternative song of all time.
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Robert Hazard wrote "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in 1979, but Cyndi Lauper, rewriting some of the words, made it hers: it was the debut single from her first solo album, She's So Unusual, which Portrait put out in 1983. Rick Chertoff produced, with William Wittman as associate producer and engineer, and the band is all synth-pop fizz: Rob Hyman on synthesizer and keyboards, Eric Bazilian on bass, Rick DiFonzo on electric guitar and Anton Fig on electronic drums, with Ellie Greenwich and Jules Shear among the backing singers.
It became her breakthrough and a feminist anthem, climbing to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and selling 14 million copies worldwide. Edd Griles directed the video, which won an MTV Video Music Award, and the song drew Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 95 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 | 107 |
| 1984 | 65 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984 | 106 |
| 1984 | 8 | WOXY 97X Cincinnati, OH | WOXY Top 10 Songs of 1984 | 10 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1019 | 107.7 The End | The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1077 |
| 2007 | 496 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2018 | 382 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2021 | 77 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2023 | 21 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
| 2023 | 746 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2024 | 260 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
| 2024 | 130 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs | 850 |
| 2025 | 51 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs | 800 |
| 2026 | 4 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s | 498 |
Also listed as: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun; Girls Just Want to Have Fun.
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