Cyndi Lauper may be best known for her sleek ’80s pop classics including “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” and “She Bop,” “Time After Time” and “True Colors,” but before she was pop music’s darling, she was fronting the rockabilly band Blue Angel.

With Detour, her 11th album and first foray into country music, it is clear Lauper hasn’t forgotten those early roots, as she showcases her own unique interpretation of a dozen country classics from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. Lauper tackles songs like “Walkin’ After Midnight,” “Heartaches By The Number,” and “Funnel of Love.”

She spoke with MusicRow about crafting the project in Nashville with legendary producer Tony Brown.

“He kind of knew the lay of the land, and he knew how far he could go,” says Lauper. “I didn’t come to reinvent the wheel. I just wanted to sing these songs and these wonderful stories, and figure out a way to have my voice find the right sound and marry the blues with country.”

Lauper says the sounds of Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Wanda Jackson, Johnny Cash and other country and rockabilly singers filled the air during her early childhood, listening to music in her Aunt Gracie’s kitchen. “I didn’t realize until we were doing the album, that a lot of these songs were very much a part of our lives in pop. These were pop songs.”

“When I was little, Loretta Lynn was it,” Lauper continues. “She was on TV, and it was part of our culture. Loretta Lynn was on television quite a bit. Johnny Cash and June Carter had the TV show they used to do, and Pete Seeger was on, and all these cool people. I think Loretta was on that, too. Anybody who was anybody was. They were like the pre-John and Yoko. They were rebels and singing in jails….”

Lauper welcomes several country luminaries to collaborate on the project. Emmylou Harris collaborates on the title track, while Alison Krauss lends her voice to Dolly Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas.” Jewel makes an appearance on “I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart.”

Lauper says she insisted on bringing Vince Gill into a session after seeing The Time Jumpers perform locally. He offered his musical talents on two tracks, “Detour” and “You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly.”

“First of all, we are living in a country with the biggest prison population, I think, in the world,” Lauper said of her decision to record the song “Detour.” “Has it become a business? Because in our country, the only things that become big are businesses. I thought to myself, ‘Why not speak to them?’ ‘Detour’ Is perfect for that. I researched the song, and its history. After I saw Vince play in Nashville…I went to Tony [Brown] and said, ‘Let’s get Vince and members of [The Time Jumpers] over, and let’s do ‘Detour.’ So we did ‘Detour’ and ‘You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly.’”

Pictured (L-R): Ingrid Michaelson, Cyndi Lauper, and Kelsea Ballerini perform on Skyville Live.

On Thursday night (Jan. 28), Lauper joined country newcomer Kelsea Ballerini and pop singer Ingrid Michaelson in Nashville to perform as part of online concert series Skyville Live. Lauper launched the episode with Ray Price’s “Heartaches By The Number,” and her set included “Walkin’ After Midnight,” as well as her own pop hits, “True Colors” and “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”

The album’s first radio single will be “Funnel of Love.” Detour releases May 6 on Sire Records.

Pictured (L-R): Troy Stephenson, Craig Shelburne, Eric Parker, Cyndi Lauper, Robert K Oermann, Jessica Nicholson, Sherod Robertson, Molly Hannula

Al Anderson

Al Anderson, award-winning songwriter and former longtime member of eclectic roots-rock band NRBQ, will share stories and songs in the songwriter series Poets and Prophets, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 1:30 p.m.

Hosted by museum editor Michael Gray, the interview will be illustrated with rare recordings, photos and vintage film clips from Anderson’s career. Anderson will offer a brief performance.

Poets and Prophets is included with museum admission and free to museum members. Seating is limited, and passes are required for admittance. Museum members can reserve their program passes in advance by phone (615-416-2050) or via reservations@countrymusichalloffame.org.

This program takes place in the Museum’s Ford Theater and will also be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming. The live stream is powered by NewTek TriCaster. Anderson will sign a commemorative Hatch Show Print poster, available for purchase in the Museum Store following the program.

A native of Windsor, Connecticut, Anderson formed the Wildweeds in his late teens and achieved his first songwriting success with the rock & roll band’s 1967 single “No Good to Cry.” After joining NRBQ in 1971, Anderson played guitar, sang, and wrote band favorites such as “Ridin’ in My Car” and “It Comes to Me Naturally.” “Big Al” left NRBQ in the early 1990s and began writing hit songs for country acts, including “Every Little Thing” (Carlene Carter); “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down” (Mavericks); “Unbelievable” (Diamond Rio); “The Cowboy in Me” (Tim McGraw); and “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” (George Strait). Most recently, Anderson penned Zac Brown Band’s “Loving You Easy” and Strait’s “Cold Beer Conversation.”

Anderson has written dozens of songs with Chris Stapleton; an audio sample of some of their unreleased demo recordings will be played during the Poets and Prophets program. Anderson now splits his time between Nashville and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and plays with the World Famous Headliners. In 1993, Musician magazine recognized him as one of the 20th century’s Top 100 guitarists, and in 2000 he was BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Year.

The Poets and Prophets series honors songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music history. Previous subjects include Bill Anderson, Matraca Berg, Bobby Braddock, Wayne Carson, Buzz Cason, Jerry Chesnut, Hank Cochran, Roger Cook, Sonny Curtis, Dean Dillon, Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Kye Fleming, Jerry Foster, Dallas Frazier, Red Lane, Dickey Lee, John D. Loudermilk, Bob McDill, Roger Murrah, Dan Penn, Gretchen Peters, Curly Putman, Allen Reynolds, Mark D. Sanders, Don Schlitz, Whitey Shafer, Red Simpson, Jeffrey Steele, Sonny Throckmorton, Billy Edd Wheeler, Norro Wilson and Craig Wiseman.