Cyndi Lauper – I drove all night
“I drove all night” is a song about destiny. I don’t know if you are fatalist, I surely am. And sometimes there are stories in the song of our hearts, that it’s really difficult to think of destiny just as a human concept. Just like the story of this song. An unforgettable song written by two fantastic authors, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. They wrote a number of other great songs, like “Like a virgin”, “Eternal flame” and “True colors“. When they wrote this song, they were dreaming about one of their youth icons, Roy Orbison.
Yes, exactly the one of “You got it” and “Pretty woman”. He was their idol, and they wrote a song perfect for him. But they did not know how to reach him! So finally they offered the song to a guy whose voice is similar to Roy’s. But we know this guy! His name is Peter Kingsbery, and he is the founder and frontman of Cock Robin, remember “The promise you made“?
Kingsbery likes the song, but he is not comfortable in singing other people’s songs, and he declines. Here destiny starts his plot, and in a short time the authors are about to meet Orbison himself at a show. They hear him sing and feel like being in paradise. They cannot really meet him, but they meet one of his managers, and finally they give the song to Roy and work with him.
Roy likes the song and would like to record it. We are now in 1987, he is a mid-aged gentleman, out of the charts since many years. His comeback would be incredible! He accepts and records the song: it sounds even better than the authors thought! But destiny disagrees again: Roy does not have a valid contract, and they all have to defer their project.
Actually, the authors have a good relationship with Cyndi Lauper. She had a massive success with their hit “True colors”, so she would really like to work with them again, so she accepts to sing the song, when they make the offer. What comes next, is history, like this fantastic video. Cyndi had never been so sensual and beautiful before, with that fantastic scene where a movie is projected on her naked skin. And also the iconic final scene with the bed in the open, in the middle of the road.
But destiny still has something to say. In fact, few months before the song is released, Roy Orbison dies, at the end of 1988. That’s why this song has a special meaning in the authors’ and in Cyndi’s hearts. And maybe a little bit of the great success of this song is also for Roy.
As far as I am concerned, this song is one of my favorite overall, and reminds me of why the 80s were such a great decade. First of all, because even if music started to transform in something newer, we had these fantastic hits coming out up to the very end of the 80s and getting into history.
But also because finally the 80s proved to be years of fantastic songs, but also fantastic stories, and fantastic people!
#quotefromthe80s
The taste of your kisses, your arms open wide
This fever for you is just burning me up inside
I drove all night to get to you
Is that alright, I drove all night
#CyndiLauper #IDroveAllNight
Cyndi Lauper on Wikipedia
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