Remember When Cyndi Lauper Released a Country Album in 2016?

In 2016, Cyndi Lauper shocked fans when she announced the release of Detour. The fact that Lauper was releasing another project wasn’t surprising. But the fact that it was Lauper’s spin on some of her favorite country songs is what was so unexpected. 

Detour came 33 years after Lauper released She’s So Unusual, her debut album. Ten albums came between She’s So Unusual and Detour, including a Christmas project and At Last, Lauper’s take on some of her favorite jazz songs. But no one expected Lauper to lean into her love of country music the way she did with Detour. Even more surprisingly, it worked.

Lauper released two singles from Detour, both Dolly Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas”, which she sings with Alison Krauss, and “Funnel Of Love” by Wanda Jackson. Other songs on the 12-track project include Lauper’s take on Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight”, Ray Price’s “Heartaches By The Number” and Willie Nelson’s “Night Life”. Nelson sings on that track as well.

Why Cyndi Lauper Released Her Country Album, ‘Detour’

As the title of the record suggests, Lauper knew delving into country music was an unexpected career twist. Perhaps that’s exactly why she did it.

“You have to diversify,” Lauper tells Billboard. “Because if you don’t diversify, you’re stuck in one thing with the gatekeepers, and I just will not have it. I don’t want them telling me what I can and can’t do. I don’t want to be stopped. I want to keep growing. I want to learn. I love to learn. How are you going to know what you could do if you never try something new? You might fall on your butt, but if you don’t try, you don’t know, and you won’t grow.”

Lauper didn’t release another country record after Detour, which became a Top 5 country album. Still, she has no regrets about making Detour, if only for the experience.

“It was exciting to come [to Nashville] and make a record that’s an homage to country,” Lauper says. “It’s a real singer’s album.”

Vince Gill also joins Lauper on Detour. Gill sings on “You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly”, a song by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. Emmylou Harris sings on the title track, which is a Patti Page song. And Jewel joins Lauper on Patsy Montana’s “I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart”.

Detour is Lauper’s final studio album.

Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

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