The world had never seen anything quite like Cyndi Lauper when she debuted with 1983’s She’s So Unusual. The ever-changing hair colors and eccentric outfits, combined with Lauper’s four-octave vocal range and playful nature, led to four Top 5 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
By the end of 1985, Lauper was among the best-selling artists in the world, and critics were waiting to see if she could replicate the success of She’s So Unusual. The Queens, New York native resoundingly answered that question with 1986’s True Colors, which sold 7 million copies.
On this day in 1986, Cyndi Lauper sat atop the Billboard Hot 100 with the album’s title track. Tina Turner’s “Typical Male” held the No. 2 spot, followed by Janet Jackson’s “When I Think Of You.” This marked the first time in the chart’s history that female solo artists occupied the top three slots.
Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” Became a Self-Acceptance Anthem
Spending two weeks at the No. 1 spot, Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” has an enduring legacy as a rallying cry for the LGBTQ+ community. Indeed, Lauper has emphasized many times that the song—written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly—resonated with her due to the recent death of her friend, Gregory Natal, from HIV/AIDS.
“I saw what was happening at that time as an infringement of people’s civil rights,” the two-time Grammy winner told Billboard in 2021. “Being a friend and family member of the community, I just said, ‘You know what, I’m not going to be silent.’”
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2. Tina Turner Continued Her Reign With “Typical Male”
Tina Turner first rose to fame in the ’60s as one half of the husband-wife duo Ike & Tina Turner. Finally leaving her volatile marriage in 1976, she struggled to find her solo footing until 1984’s multi-platinum Private Dancer. With smash hits like “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the Queen of Rock and Roll’s reign was in full swing. Turner showed her staying power with “Typical Male,” which peaked at No. 2 behind Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.”
3. Janet Jackson Hit No. 1 With “When I Think Of You”
When Janet Jackson played her third studio album, Control, for her family, her brother, Jermaine, predicted “When I Think Of You” would reach No. 1. He was right, as the song gave Jackson her first No. 1 single in the summer of 1986.
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