First Listen: Cyndi Lauper Goes Country on New Single 'Funnel of Love'
From People..com - By Jeff Nelson
Country girls just wanna have fun!
Cyndi Lauper won't release her country album Detour until May 6 (it's available for pre-order over on iTunes now), but PEOPLE has an exclusive first listen of "Funnel of Love," her debut single off the crossover collection.
While the track was originally recorded and made famous in 1961 by rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson, Lauper makes the classic cut her own, belting her signature vocals over a rollicking beat.
"A lot of songs on this record are from that period of country-western music right before rock & roll came along," Lauper, 62, tells PEOPLE. "I studied a lot of singers, and Wanda Jackson, who originally sang this, was one of the original rock & rollers. I wanted this song to have that live sound, and it does."
For her eleventh full-length album, Lauper – who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame last year – teamed up with country greats Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Jewel and Alison Krauss to cover the genre's early classics.
Detour follows 2010's tellingly titled blues departure Memphis Blues and Kinky Boots, the 2012 Broadway musical she earned a Tony Award for scoring.
From People.com