That’s A Cover? explores cover songs that you may have thought were originals.
An unusual thing happened after Cyndi Lauper released her debut album, She’s So Unusual (an accurate title if ever there was one). Lauper became the first female artist ever to have four singles from one album reach the Billboard Top 5 in the U.S. (Michael Jackson accomplished the feat the year before with Thriller.) We are going to look at the last of those, “All Through the Night,” the sleeper hit, and the only one of the four singles that Lauper didn’t write or co-write herself.
The song first appeared on a mostly unremarkable album, Watch Dog, by Jules Shear, released in 1983. Shear was an unknown for the most part, but then Lauper too was an unknown at that point. (This would soon change, and quickly, but only for Lauper.)
While Watch Dog failed to attract attention, Shear himself was hardly a struggling young artist working in obscurity. In the mid- to late-‘70s he’d had a few brushes with major labels (in bands with short shelf-lives). By the time he crossed paths with Lauper he had a reputation as a songwriter’s songwriter. One with enough pull to get Todd Rundgren to produce Watch Dog.
What made Lauper’s rendition of “All Through the Night” so much more enjoyable than Shear’s own version? Partial credit goes to a mistake Lauper made while recording the chorus. She belted out Shear’s harmony part rather than the actual melody line. But the miscue actually improved the chorus, and in fact made it soar. In a nice bit of irony, Shear himself sings background vocals on Lauper’s version of the song–their vocal blend is another part of the song’s unique chemistry.
Lauper’s version of “All Through the Night” naturally raised Shear’s profile. He soon formed a musical partnership with Elliot Easton of The Cars, co-writing songs, playing on each other’s recordings, and releasing an album together as the Reckless Sleepers. Shear released a few more solo recordings in his under-the-radar fashion. He even co-wrote a song with Lauper, “I Don’t Want to Be Your Friend,” which both artists recorded and released on their own respective albums.
But Shear’s biggest contribution to the music industry may have had nothing to do with songwriting. You’ve heard of MTV Unplugged? That was Jules Shear’s idea. He hosted the first 13 episodes of the famously lucrative series, but more importantly he was its creative spark. Shear genius!
Kudos to Cyndi Lauper for spotting Shear’s talent early on, and giving his career a huge boost with her outstanding cover.
