Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper song)

"Time After Time"
Single by Cyndi Lauper
from the album She's So Unusual
B-side	"I'll Kiss You"
Released	January 27, 1984
Format	12", 7"
Recorded	June 1983 at The Record Plant (New York City, New York)
Genre	Pop, New Wave
Length	4:03
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman
Producer	Rick Chertoff
Certification	Gold (RIAA) Silver (BPI) Platinum (Music Canada)
Cyndi Lauper singles chronology
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (1983) "Time After Time" (1984) "She Bop" (1984)
Music sample "Time After Time"

"Time After Time" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released as the second single from her album She's So Unusual. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984, and remained there for two weeks. Worldwide, the song is her most commercially successful single after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. The Rolling Stone and MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs ranked it at No. 66.

"Time After Time" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 1985 Grammy Awards. The song has been critically acclaimed, with Scott Floman, music critic for Goldmine magazine, describing the song as "gorgeously heartfelt" and "one of the decade’s finest ballads".

The song, which is still played frequently on adult contemporary radio,^{[citation needed]} is known for its numerous covers by a wide range of artists, including an instrumental version by Miles Davis. An acoustic version was sung by Lauper on her 2005 album, The Body Acoustic. In this version, Sarah McLachlan provided backing vocals. The version with Sarah McLachlan was used in Ugly Betty season 3 finale. Cyndi Lauper has performed the song live with Grammy Award winning singer Patti LaBelle twice in 1985 and 2004 and with Grammy Award winning singer Sarah McLachlan at the American Music Awards of 2005 and has also performed the song with Grammy Award winning rapper Lil' Kim in 2009.

Writing

Lauper co-wrote "Time After Time" with Philadelphia rocker Rob Hyman of The Hooters, who also supplied backup vocals to the song. In a 2006 interview on Sound Off with Matt Pinfield (episode 212) on HDNet, Lauper related how the song was written. She indicated much of the lyrics were written about occurrences in the studio and her life at the time.

Hyman explained in an interview with Songfacts that he and Lauper stayed in the studio after the sessions composing the song. Lauper conceived the title after seeing the 1979 Malcolm McDowell film of the same name, and built the song from there.^{[citation needed]}.

Recording

Drums were provided by a LinnDrum drum machine, particularly the "salt shaker" sound. The guitar was recorded with a Marshall 2x12 combo amp. A rackmountable Publison DHM89 harmonizer was used in the effects loop, set to delay-pitch-shift up the signal on the left channel and delay-pitch-shift up the signal on the right channel, to create a rich and lush chorus-like effect.

Music video

Morristown, NJ, train station, seen at the end of the video.

The video for "Time After Time" was about a runaway leaving her lover behind.^{[citation needed]} The video opens with Lauper watching the 1936 film The Garden of Allah. The video was played in heavy rotation on MTV. Lauper's mother, brother, and then-boyfriend David Wolff appear in the video, and Lou Albano, who played her father in the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" video, can be seen as a cook. The video was directed by Ed Griles. Portions of the video were filmed at the now closed Tom's Diner in Roxbury Township, New Jersey, the intersection of Central Avenue and Main Street in Wharton, New Jersey, and at the Morristown train station.

Track listing

1. "Time After Time" (12" version) – 5:02 (Cyndi Lauper; Rob Hyman)
2. "I'll Kiss You" – 4:12 (Cyndi Lauper; Jules Shear)
3. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (extended version) – 6:08 (Robert Hazard)
4. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (instrumental) – 7:10 (Robert Hazard)

Personnel

• Written by Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman
• Produced by Rick Chertoff
• Executive Producer: Lennie Petze
• Associate Producer: William Wittman
• Engineered by William Wittman
• Arranged by Cyndi Lauper, Rick Chertoff, Rob Hyman, Eric Bazilian

Cover versions

"Time After Time" has been covered, either in live performance or on a recording, by at least 120 artists across a broad spectrum of genres. A partial list includes:

Artist	Album	Year
Academy Is !The Academy Is...
New Found Glory !New Found Glory
Chapman, Tracy !Tracy Chapman
Dover !Dover
LuPone, Patti !Patti LuPone
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Money, Eddie !Eddie Money and Juice Newton
Saosin
Taylor, Maria !Maria Taylor
Trustcompany !TRUSTcompany
Hartman, Lisa !Lisa Hartman	Knots Landing	1984
Davis, Miles !Miles Davis	You're Under Arrest (instrumental)	1985
Tuck and Patti	Tears of Joy	1988
Mouskouri, Nana !Nana Mouskouri	Only Love	1991
Everything but the Girl	Acoustic	1992
Flirtations !The Flirtations	Three	1996
Changing Faces	All Day, All Night	1997
Gandharvas !The Gandharvas	Sold For A Smile	1997
INOJ	Ready for the World	1998
Kane & Abel	Am I My Brother's Keeper	1998
Blaque	Blaque	1999
Lagrene, Bireli !Biréli Lagrène	Duet	1999
Boomtang Boys !The Boomtang Boys	Greatest Hits Vol. 1	1999
Matchbox Twenty	Live from Australia	1999
Cassidy, Eva !Eva Cassidy	Time After Time	2000
Distant Soundz		2001
McIntyre, Joey !Joey McIntyre	One Too Many	2001
Lil' Mo	Based On A True Story	2001
Nelson, Willie !Willie Nelson	The Great Divide	2002
Novaspace	Supernova	2002
Show of Hands	Cold Cuts (live album)	2002
Uncle Kracker	Clockstoppers soundtrack	2002
Grand Incredible	G.I.Gantic	2003
Nordeman, Nichole !Nichole Nordeman	Live at the Door	2003
LISA	Gratitude	2004
Sparklemotion	Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack	2004
Screamfeeder	Delusions of Grandchildren	2005
Lauper, Cyndi !Cyndi Lauper featuring Sarah McLachlan	Lauper's The Body Acoustic	2005
Spoken	Last Chance to Breathe	2005
Sugar Ray	The Best of Sugar Ray	2005
Dilana		2006
Quietdrive	When All That's Left Is You	2006
Barrowman, John !John Barrowman	Another Side	2007
Lin, Freya !Freya Lin	非愛不可 心林凡	2007
Hot Lies !The Hot Lies	"Emergency! Emergency!" (B-side)	2007
Keaggy, Phil !Phil Keaggy	Acoustic Cafe	2007
Lil' Flip	Virginia Tech massacre tribute	2007
Shimabukuro, Jake !Jake Shimabukuro	My Life	2007
Anka, Paul !Paul Anka	Classic Songs, My Way	2007
Crowe, Allison !Allison Crowe	Little Light	2008
Mauboy, Jessica !Jessica Mauboy	Been Waiting	2008
Naomi, Terra !Terra Naomi		2008
Tisdale, Ashley !Ashley Tisdale		2008
Boyz II Men	Love (Boyz II Men album)	2009
Carey, Mariah !Mariah Carey	Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (sample on "Inseparable")	2009
Electric President		2009
Jane Bradfords !The Jane Bradfords		2009
Sowelu	MATERIAL WORLD (B-side)	2009
Martin, Eric !Eric Martin	Mr. Vocalist 2	2009
Keating, Ronan !Ronan Keating	Songs for My Mother	2009
Codes		2009
Shimatani, Hitomi !Hitomi Shimatani	Otokouta II -20th Century Nostalgia-	2010
Frech, Jessica !Jessica Frech		2011
Colon, Javier !Javier Colon		2011
Webb, Derek !Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken	TN	2012
Onitsuka, Chihiro !Chihiro Onitsuka	"FAMOUS MICROPHONE"	2012
List of The X Factor finalists (U.S. season 2) !Beatrice Miller	"The X Factor"	2012
Gede Bagus	"X Factor Indonesia"	2013
Vazquez Sounds		2013

Ronan Keating version

"Time After Time"
Single by Ronan Keating
from the album Songs for My Mother
Released	February 8, 2009
Format	CD single, Digital download
Recorded	2008
Genre	Pop
Length	3:50
Label	Polydor Records
Writer(s)	Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman
Producer	Ronan Keating
Ronan Keating singles chronology
"This I Promise You" (2006) "Time After Time" (2009) "This Is Your Song" (2009)

"Time After Time" is the first single released from Irish singer/songwriter Ronan Keating's fifth solo album, Songs for My Mother. The single was released on February 8, 2009, and became Keating's first single to be released in three years. The song was produced by Keating himself. The song peaked at #88 on the UK Singles Chart.

Tracklisting

1. "Time After Time" (Stop-End Version) - 3:50

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	88

Use in media

• The song was used as a main theme sung by Katie Cook in View from the Top (2003). Mark Williams and Tara Morice performed the song in the Strictly Ballroom soundtrack. Eva Cassidy's version was featured in the TV series, Smallville, and it was added to the first Smallville soundtrack, The Talon Mix. The 2006 cover by Quietdrive appeared in the film John Tucker Must Die.
• It was used and performed in the Japanese manga Nana by Reira/Layla Serizawa in a flash back volume 18.
• The song has been performed on American Idol three times. In 2005, Nadia Turner performed the song on Billboard #1 Hits week in the fourth season. In 2007, Brandon Rogers performed the song on the second week of the semi-finals in honor of his grandmother in the sixth season. In 2009, 4th place finisher Allison Iraheta performed it as a duet with Lauper in the eighth season finale. Season 7 Semi-Finalists Kady Malloy and Colton Berry released a video of their cover on YouTube. Season 11 finalist Colton Dixon performed it during 1980s week, top 8.
• In April 2011, on the premiere of the American version of the reality competition television series The Voice, Javier Colon performed an acoustic version of the song during the "blind audition" phase. The studio recording of his cover peaked at number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
• INOJ's cover version of "Time After Time" reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1998.
• An uptempo dance remix sung by the artist listed as Vinylgroover was made for the 1998 compilation Dancemania Speed. Another uptempo dance version, remixed at 175 BPM by Sound Assassins, was included on the 2003 happy hardcore compilation Best of Hardcore.
• The song is briefly sung by Anna Kendrick's character as a karaoke song in the film Up in the Air.
• The song was used in the 2008 remake of the film Prom Night. It reached at number two on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart (the virtual equivalent of #102 on the Hot 100).^{[citation needed]}
• The song is featured numerous times in the film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.
• Elements of this song, mainly the guitar melody during the bridge, were used in the 2009 The Black Eyed Peas song "Meet Me Halfway".^{[citation needed]}
• The song is featured in the film Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
• The song is featured in the dance scene from Napoleon Dynamite and is on the soundtrack album.
• The song was used in the manga Dengeki Daisy as one of the CDs Kurosaki listens to.
• The song version with Sarah McLachlan was used in Ugly Betty in episode "The Fall Issue" of season 3 finale.
• The song was sung by April and Ann in Season 5, Episode 16 ("Bailout") of Parks and Recreation.
• The song was sung by Skip in the season finale of 1600 Penn
• The song was sung and referred to in the 2008 Japanese film 10 Promises to My Dog.

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	6
Austrian Singles Chart	5
Canadian RPM Singles	1
Dutch Singles Chart	5
French Singles Chart	9
German Singles Chart	6
Irish Singles Chart	2
Italian FIMI Singles Chart	5
Japan Hot 100	60
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	7
Swedish Singles Chart	10
Swiss Singles Chart	7
UK Singles Chart	3
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US Billboard Adult Contemporary	1

Chart (2006)	Peak position
US Billboard Adult Contemporary	14

Year-end charts

Chart (1984)	Ranking
Canadian RPM Singles	8
UK Singles Chart	25
US Billboard Hot 100	17

Certifications

Country	Provider	Certification	Sales	Date
Canada	Music Canada	Platinum	100,000	Oct 1, 1984
United Kingdom	BPI	Silver	250,000	July 1, 1984
United States	RIAA	Gold	500,000	April 17, 1989

Awards and nominations

Won

• 1984 - American Video Awards for Best Female Performance
• 1984 - American Video Awards for Best Pop Video
• 1984 - BMI Awards for Pop Award
• 1984 - Billboard Awards for Best Female Performance
• 1985 - Pro Canada Awards for Most Performed Foreign Song
• 2008 - BMI Millionaire Award for 5 Million Spins on US Radio
• 2009 - BMI Awards for Pop Award

Nominations

• 1984 - MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist
• 1984 - MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video
• 1984 - MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction
• 1985 - Grammy Award for Song of the Year

List of the Best

Year	By	List	Work	Ranked
2000	Rolling Stone	100 Greatest Pop Songs	"Time After Time"	#66
	MTV
2003	VH1	100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years	"Time After Time"	#22
2006	VH1	100 Greatest Songs of the 80's	"Time After Time"	#19

See also

• List of RPM number-one singles of 1984
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1984 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1984 (U.S.)

External links

• Video on VH1 Classic website
• Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time - YouTube - Uploaded by CyndiLauperVEVO
• "Time after Time" Songfacts
• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics