Cyndi Lauper Chats About Her Country ‘Detour’

Cyndi Lauper is going country with a new album of country classics, titled Detour. The icon stopped by the Taste of Country Nights Studio to chat about the record, sharing that although it is a detour from her typical style, it's helped her to grow musically.

Lauper's country classics album is a 12-track covers album that features significant guest names, like Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Jewel, Alison Krauss and Willie Nelson. Lauper and Nelson paired up for "Night Life," despite Nelson having a packed schedule.

“I recorded everything for Willie because he was doing two records at once. I didn’t want it to be stressful. I just wanted to make it easy for him," she explains. "I was very respectful for the arrangement. I wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel anyway.”

Lauper kept Nelson's original arrangement because she really wanted him to be proud of the song. But that's not the only track on the album that packs a punch. All 12 songs will be appreciated by country fans.

“It is a ‘Detour,’ another detour, because I want to grow. The song, I loved the song the Patti Page version because I just think in life there are so many detours you can take and some of them are really good and instead of just going straight through, sometimes a detour is a nice break and it teaches you something," Lauper says.

Although she may not stay in country music, the music legend has grown to love Music City. “Nashville is a small town and all of the musicians know each other and they’re all pretty fantastic."

Lauper's Detour is now available for preorder. The album officially drops on May 6.

Sam Alex is the host of Taste of Country Nights radio, a syndicated night show which airs on more than 60 Townsquare Media Group stations nationwide.

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