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All Through the Night (Jules Shear song)

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"All Through the Night"
Song
B-side"Witness"

"All Through the Night" is a song performed by American singer–songwriter Cyndi Lauper from her debut album She's So Unusual. It was written by Jules Shear for his album Watch Dog, as a folk 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. 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] Shear's version was originally a folk 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.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Music and lyrics

Lauper sings "All Through the Night" in the key of A flat major.[8] The song is set in common time and moves at a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute.[8] Lauper's voice spans an octave and a half between G3 and C5. 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 The 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] In Canada, the single peaked at number seven on the RPM singles chart in December 1984,[28] and was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) in January 1985.[29]

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.[30] The single performed similarly throughout the rest of Europe, peaking at number sixteen in Switzerland,[31] and at number thirty-five in Germany.[32] It was more successful in Austria, where it peaked at number five, becoming her fourth consecutive top five in the country.[33]

Track listing

  • 7" Single
  1. "All Through the Night" – 4:29
  2. "Witness" – 3:38

Credits and personnel

Cover versions

  • In 1984, Marie Fredriksson (who would achieve international success later as Roxette's female lead vocalist) recorded it in Swedish and was released as a B-side.
  • In 1985, famous Greek singer and worldwide chanson star Nana Mouskouri recorded a German version of the song called "Ich hab geweint, ich hab gelacht".
  • In 2005, a cover by Tori Amos appeared on her set of live albums, The Original Bootlegs.

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[34] 17
Austrian Singles Chart[33] 5
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[28] 7
German Singles Chart[32] 35
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[35] 19
Swiss Singles Chart[31] 16
UK Singles Chart[30] 64
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[24] 5
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary[26] 4
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart[27] 38

Certifications

Country Provider Certification Sales/shipments
Canada CRIA Gold[29] 50,000+

References

  1. ^ Jenkins, Mark (1987-01-08). "The Singing Songwriters; Ben Vaughn and Jules Shear, In Their Own Voices". The Washington Post. Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  2. ^ Heim, Chris (1988-09-09). "A Hit for Others, Shear Looks Out for No. 1". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  3. ^ "Jules Shear Wrote the Songs". Akron Beacon Journal. Black Press. 1989-10-18. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  4. ^ Spotnitz, Frank (1985-03-07). "The Revved Up Cars Take Separate Detours". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  5. ^ Boehm, Mike (1992-05-11). "Playing for Weeps at the Coach House". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. 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. Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  7. ^ a b "The Howard Stern Show: Interview with Cyndi Lauper". The Howard Stern Show. May 22nd, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Check date values in: |airdate= (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ a b "Digital sheet music: All Through the Night". Musicnotes. Alfred Publishing Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  9. ^ "70". Billboard. 38. Vol. 96. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1984-10-13. p. 128. ISBN 0006-2510. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  10. ^ McLeese, Don (1986-12-10). "It's a Cold Night for Cyndi Lauper". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  11. ^ "Hearing Lauper at Spectrum". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia Media Holdings. 1986-12-06. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  12. ^ "Emmy Lou Harris' Latest". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia Media Holdings. 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. Washington Post Company. 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. Cox Enterprises. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  16. ^ "Growth of AAA Radio Helps 'Unplugged' Jules Shear Get Connected". News Tribune. The McClatchy Company. 1994-09-02. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  17. ^ "Cyndi Lauper's Voice Upstages the Gimmicks". St. Petersburg Times. Times Publishing Company. 1984-05-08. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  18. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "allmusic ((( She's So Unusual > Overview )))". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  19. ^ Loder, Kurt (1984-01-19). "She's So Unusual : Cyndi Lauper : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  20. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (2004). "Slant Magazine Music Review: Cyndi Lauper: She's So Unusual". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  21. ^ Matthews, Charles (2005-11-08). "Cyndi Lauper - The Body Acoustic - AVRev.com". avrev.com. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  22. ^ "Lauper Wows Them All Through the Night". Miami Herald. The McClatchy Company. 1984-10-25. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  23. ^ "Hot 100: Week of October 06, 1984 - All Through The Night". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1984-10-06. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  24. ^ a b "Hot 100: Week of December 08, 1984 - All Through The Night". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1984-12-08. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  25. ^ "Artist Chart History - Cyndi Lauper". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  26. ^ a b "Adult Contemporary: Week of December 15, 1984 - All Through The Night". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1984-12-15. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  27. ^ a b "Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks: All Through The Night - Cyndi Lauper - Week of 03 Nov 1984". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1984-11-03. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  28. ^ a b "Top Singles - Volume 41, No. 15, December 15 1984". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. 1984-12-15. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  29. ^ a b "Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)". Canadian Recording Industry Association. 1985-02-01. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  30. ^ a b "Chart Stats - Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  31. ^ a b "Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night (Song)". Swiss Charts (in German). Hung Medien. 1984-12-23. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  32. ^ a b "Chartverfolgung: Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night" (in German). Media Control Charts. 1984-01-14. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  33. ^ a b "Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night (Song)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. 1985-01-01. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  34. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |format= requires |url= (help)
  35. ^ "Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night (Song)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. 1984-02-10. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
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