All Through the Night (Cyndi Lauper song)

"All Through the Night"
Single by Cyndi Lauper
from the album She's So Unusual
B-side "Witness"
Released September 3, 1984
Format 7"
Recorded June 1983 at The Record Plant
(New York City)
Genre
Length 4:33
Label Epic
Writer(s) Jules Shear
Producer(s) Rick Chertoff
Certification Gold (Music Canada)
Cyndi Lauper singles chronology
"She Bop"
(1984)		 "All Through the Night"
(1984)		 "Money Changes Everything"
(1984)

"All Through the Night" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released from her debut album She's So Unusual. It was written by Jules Shear for his album Watch Dog, as a mid-tempo folk-rock song. After The Cars recorded their own version, which they did not use on any of their albums, Lauper decided to cover it. Although she initially intended to do a straight cover of Shear's version, she turned it into a pop ballad instead.

The song was the only single released worldwide by Lauper that did not have a music video. It peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lauper's fourth top five single in the U.S. Lauper became the first woman in the 26-year history of Billboard to take four singles from the same album to Top 5 on the Hot 100. The song was mostly positively received by critics. An acoustic version was sung by Lauper on her 2005 album, The Body Acoustic. In this version, Shaggy provided backing vocals.

Background

Writing and development

The song was originally written by Jules Shear, and included on his 1983 debut solo album, Watch Dog.[1] Shear later recalled in an interview, "[it's] like a big bonus really. Cyndi Lauper does a song ('All Through the Night') that's on a solo record of mine. I just thought, 'No one's really going to hear this.' Then she does it, and it becomes a Top 5 song."[2] "I'm just glad people know the songs, really. I think they're really good. The only problem is with people who don't know I wrote them. I do them and they think, 'God, he's doing that Cyndi Lauper song.'"[3]

Before Lauper covered the song, the band The Cars produced an early version of it that was not released.[4] (Elliot Easton of the Cars had played guitar on Shear's original recording, which is most likely where the Cars heard the original tune.) Shear's version was originally a folk-rock song, but Lauper instead turned it into a pop ballad for her album, with a heavy emphasis on a synthesizer.[5][6] According to Lauper, she wanted it to be just like Shear's version, with a bit more of an acoustic sound. However, she changed her mind, saying that she wanted to sing it like herself.[7] Unlike her other singles from the album, this one did not have a music video released with it.
"All Through the Night"
A 30 second sample from the song, which addresses the concept of love.
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Music and lyrics

Shear's original version of "All Through the Night" is set in the key of F major, and proceeds at a tempo of approximately 96 beats per minute. For her cover version, Lauper transposed the key up a minor third to A-flat major, and kept the tempo at the same 96 beats per minute as the original.[8] The song is set in common time.[8] Lauper's voice spans an octave and a fourth between G3 and D♭5. Jules Shear himself makes a guest appearance on Lauper's version, singing a wordless falsetto melody near the end, as well as the lower harmony in the choruses. The chorus was unintentionally altered by Lauper from the Shear version when she heard the upper harmony vocal and thought it was the lead vocal.[7] Lyrically, "All Through the Night" addresses the same concept of love and its tug at heart-strings as was emphasized by Lauper's previous single, "Time After Time."[9]

Critical reception

Lauper performing the song at the "Summer Concert" in New York.

Reception for the song was mostly positive. Don McLeese of Chicago Sun-Times said that the song was the one that "showed her impressive range to best advantage."[10] The Philadelphia Inquirer said that she had a "strong voice" in the song.[11] However, another Philadelphia Inquirer review said that the song was "a not terribly good version of Jules Shear's terribly good [song]."[12] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post believed that it was her most reflective song.[13] Kevin East of Sensible Sound said that the song was "a heavy, melancholy tune."[14] Leslie Gray Streeter of the Palm Beach Post said that the song was "lovely" and "delicate."[15] Even Shear himself was a fan of Lauper's version, saying "The Cyndi Lauper thing where she did 'All Through the Night,' that was great because she did it so differently than the way I did. I liked that, too."[16] However, the St. Petersburg Times did not like the song, saying that it was a "pedestrian filler number" on the album.[17]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that the song was a part of the side that he calls the very best of the album.[18] He also says that the side is "so strong that it makes the remaining tracks — all enjoyable, but rather pedestrian — charming by their association with songs so brilliantly alive", and that it was "astonishing it is consistency."[18] Kurt Loder of Rolling Stone said that Lauper "does an almost tasteful reading" of the song.[19] Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine said that the song emerged as one of "the greatest pop masterpieces of the '80s."[20]

The song was later re-recorded by Lauper, for her album The Body Acoustic, an album in which she recorded acoustic versions of her favorite songs. This version included vocals by Shaggy. Charles Andrews of Audio/Video Revolution said of this version, "Acoustic guitar strumming continues into "All Through the Night" and then – whoa! – who's that toaster? It's Shaggy, ducking in and out with his own rapid-fire lyric take, an inspired bit of casting that turns the romantic ballad on its head."[21] The song is also one of her more popular songs that she performs in live concerts.[22]

Chart performance

"All Through The Night" was released in the United States in September 1984. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number forty-nine,[23] and reached a peak position of five in its tenth week,[24] becoming Lauper's fourth consecutive top five in the U.S.[25] The song achieved some crossover success, peaking at number four on the Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks,[26] and reaching a peak position of thirty-eight on the Mainstream Rock Chart.[27] "All Through the Night" made Lauper the first female singer to generate four top 10 hits in the Hot 100 from a debut album.[28] The week ending January 19, 1985, while it was moving down the Hot 100, it was the biggest free-faller, falling to #64 from #33. In Canada, the single peaked at number seven on the RPM singles chart in December 1984,[29] and was certified gold by the Music Canada in January 1985.[30]

In the United Kingdom the song did not perform as well as Lauper's previous releases. It debuted at number eighty-two on the UK Singles Chart in November 1984, peaking at number sixty-four, staying only six weeks on the chart.[31] The single performed similarly throughout the rest of Europe, peaking at number sixteen in Switzerland,[32] and at number thirty-five in Germany.[33] It was more successful in Austria, where it peaked at number five, becoming her fourth consecutive top five in the country.[34]

Track listing

7" Single[35]

  1. "All Through the Night" – 4:33
  2. "Witness" – 3:40

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[36]

Cover versions

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[38] 17
Austrian Singles Chart[34] 5
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[29] 7
German Singles Chart[33] 35
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[39] 19
Swiss Singles Chart[32] 16
UK Singles Chart[31] 64
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[24] 5
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary[26] 4
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart[27] 38

Year-end charts

Chart (1984) Position
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[40] 75

Certifications

Country Provider Certification Sales/shipments
Canada Music Canada Gold[30] 50,000+

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (1987-01-08). "The Singing Songwriters; Ben Vaughn and Jules Shear, In Their Own Voices". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  2. ↑ Heim, Chris (1988-09-09). "A Hit for Others, Shear Looks Out for No. 1". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  3. ↑ "Jules Shear Wrote the Songs". Akron Beacon Journal. 1989-10-18. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  4. ↑ Spotnitz, Frank (1985-03-07). "The Revved Up Cars Take Separate Detours". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  5. ↑ Boehm, Mike (1992-05-11). "Playing for Weeps at the Coach House". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  6. ↑ Davenport, Misha (2004-02-15). "Lauper Shows a More Mature Side -- But She Still Just Wants to Have Fun". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  7. 1 2 "The Howard Stern Show: Interview with Cyndi Lauper". The Howard Stern Show. May 22, 2008.
  8. 1 2 "Digital sheet music: All Through the Night". Musicnotes. Alfred Publishing Inc. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  9. ↑ "70". Billboard. 38 96. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1984-10-13. p. 128. ISSN 0006-2510.
  10. ↑ McLeese, Don (1986-12-10). "It's a Cold Night for Cyndi Lauper". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  11. ↑ "Hearing Lauper at Spectrum". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1986-12-06. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  12. ↑ "Emmy Lou Harris' Latest". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1983-11-13. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  13. ↑ Harrington, Richard (1987-06-20). "Lauper's Blurry New Colors; The Singer's Paris Concert on HBO". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  14. ↑ East, Kevin (1987-06-20). "Carousel Corner". Sensible Sound. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  15. ↑ Streeter, Leslie Grey (2005-11-27). "Lauper Shows True Colors, All Through the Boca Night". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  16. ↑ "Growth of AAA Radio Helps 'Unplugged' Jules Shear Get Connected". News Tribune. 1994-09-02. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  17. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper's Voice Upstages the Gimmicks". St. Petersburg Times. 1984-05-08. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  18. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "allmusic ((( She's So Unusual > Overview )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  19. ↑ Loder, Kurt (1984-01-19). "She's So Unusual : Cyndi Lauper : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  20. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (2004). "Slant Magazine Music Review: Cyndi Lauper: She's So Unusual". Slant. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  21. ↑ Matthews, Charles (2005-11-08). "Cyndi Lauper - The Body Acoustic - AVRev.com". avrev.com. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  22. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (1984-10-25). "Lauper Wows Them All Through the Night". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  23. ↑ "Hot 100: Week of October 06, 1984 - All Through The Night". Billboard. 1984-10-06. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  24. 1 2 "Hot 100: Week of December 08, 1984 - All Through The Night". Billboard. 1984-12-08. Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  25. ↑ "Artist Chart History - Cyndi Lauper". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  26. 1 2 "Adult Contemporary: Week of December 15, 1984 - All Through The Night". Billboard. 1984-12-15. Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  27. 1 2 "Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks: All Through The Night - Cyndi Lauper - Week of 03 Nov 1984". Billboard. 1984-11-03. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  28. ↑ Trust, Gary (2010-09-03). "Ke$ha 'Takes Off' with Fourth Top 10 from Debut Album". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  29. 1 2 "Top Singles - Volume 41, No. 15, December 15, 1984". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. 1984-12-15. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  30. 1 2 lauper&sl=&smt=0&sat=-1&ssd=1/1/1975&sed=2/1/2012&ssb=Artist "Music Canada" Check |url= value (help). Music Canada. 1985-02-01. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  31. 1 2 "Chart Stats - Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  32. 1 2 "Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night (Song)". Swiss Charts (in German). Hung Medien. 1984-12-23. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  33. 1 2 "Chartverfolgung: Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night" (in German). Media Control Charts. 1984-01-14. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  34. 1 2 "Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night (Song)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. 1985-01-01. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  35. ↑ All Through the Night (US 7-inch Single liner notes). Cyndi Lauper. Portrait Records. 1984. 37 04639.
  36. ↑ She's So Unusual (LP, Vinyl, CD). Cyndi Lauper. Portrait Records. 1983. FR 38930.
  37. ↑ We Love Cyndi -Tribute to Cyndi Lauper- CD Japan
  38. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  39. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night (Song)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. 1984-02-10. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  40. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 1984". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. Retrieved 2010-08-09.

External links

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