"The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" | ||||
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Single by Cyndi Lauper | ||||
from the album The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
B-side | "What a Thrill" | |||
Released | June 6, 1985 | |||
Genre | Synth-pop [1] | |||
Length | 3:38 | |||
Label | Portrait | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Cyndi Lauper singles chronology | ||||
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"The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" is a song by American pop singer Cyndi Lauper. It was released as a single in 1985, and is from the soundtrack of the film The Goonies . It was her fifth top-10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Before its inclusion in The Essential Cyndi Lauper in 2003, the song did not appear on any of Lauper's studio albums or the 1994 compilation Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some . Lauper admitted in an interview that she hated the song, which was why she had chosen not to include it on her first compilation. [2]
Several artists, such as Bombones, Haruko Momoi, the Advantage, New Found Glory, Radical Face, Minibosses, and Tomoyuki Uchida have covered the song. The song was featured in several iterations of Konami's Goonies video games, most notably The Goonies for the Famicom and The Goonies II for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was also featured in an instrumental version in Pop'n Music 10 .
Steven Spielberg had made Lauper the musical director for The Goonies soundtrack. She sought out new bands to be included in the project including her friends, the Bangles.
Lauper originally titled the song simply "Good Enough", but it was changed by Warner Bros., who wanted the title of the film to be part of the song title for marketing reasons.
Lauper refused to play the song live after 1987. She finally incorporated it back into her live show during several dates in Australia in 2004. Fans kept requesting the song and Lauper eventually sang the first verse and chorus a cappella. Due to overwhelming fan recognition, she has since incorporated the song back into her live set.
In 2012, Lauper performed a parody version entitled "Taffy Butt" for the second-season premiere episode of the Fox animated television series Bob's Burgers ; the episode is an homage to The Goonies. Her son, a fan of the series, insisted she record the new version. [3]
In 2014, "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" was heavily featured in a Goonies-themed episode of the ABC comedy series The Goldbergs . [4]
The song's length is 3 minutes and 38 seconds. It was written in the key of E major with 139 beats per minute.
Cashbox said that the song "captures a wealth of true feeling within a superficial setting." [5]
There was also a two-part video shot for this song featuring World Wrestling Federation (WWF) pro-wrestlers "Captain" Lou Albano, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Wendi Richter, The Fabulous Moolah, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Freddie Blassie and André the Giant (part 2 only); Steven Spielberg; David Wolff (Lauper's manager); The Goonies cast (except for Kerri Green, Anne Ramsey, Joe Pantoliano, Robert Davi and John Matuszak); and the then relatively unknown Bangles as a group of female pirates. Lauper's mother appears as "Catrina, Cyndi's mother" and the "sea hag".
Part 1 of the video debuted on MTV before The Goonies opened in theaters and Part 2 premiered on MTV after the movie opened. On the DVD of The Goonies, both parts have been spliced together to form one video with no chapter change in the middle of the two. Part 1 of the music video had an extended version released in Japan. The version included more commentary from the voice over during the opening sequence of the video and extended scenes inside the gas station and with the wrestlers. [6] Part 1 of the video almost did not make it onto the DVD due to Warner Bros.' inability to find the broadcast master tape. Warner was ready to start pressing the DVD when someone at VH1 found an unused mastered broadcast copy of the tape that was sent to their network. In the nick of time, it was digitized and put on the DVD before pressing began.[ citation needed ] The music video was shot on film then edited and mastered on video tape for broadcast.
Cyndi Lauper's character, referred to as Cyndi, works at her parents' gas station, along with her friends Dave (Wolff) and Wendi (Richter). Cyndi's Mom is baking cookies for gas station customers, and Wendi operates a vegetable stand (set up inside a miniature wrestling ring) outside the station. A group of creditors (Piper, Blassie, Sheik, and Volkoff) show up to evict them and take over the station. While they argue with Mom and Pop (Albano), an old woman (Moolah) shows up and closes down Wendi's vegetable stand, putting in a Benihana-like set-up in its place. While packing, Cyndi removes a picture from the wall, which reveals the entrance to a cavern. Searching through the cave, Cyndi finds a treasure map and then encounters the Goonies (minus the character of Andy), who also have a copy of the map.
Soon after, they encounter a group of pirates (who look just like the creditors, though it is never said if they are the same people as the creditors), and a supposed green-faced witch. Cyndi runs away as the Goonies are captured by the pirates. Running through the caverns, she encounters several skeletons and even some chefs who seem to work for the restaurant Benihana. Cyndi eventually finds herself trapped between the pirates and the green-faced witch on a log bridge. Unsure what to do, she cries out: "Steven Spielberg, how do I get out of this one?" The scene cuts to Spielberg in an editing room, apparently in the midst of editing the video as it is happening. Spielberg stops the editing machine and begins to give a solution, before realizing that he does not know how to help Cyndi.
Cyndi, along with the Goonies, is captured and taken aboard a pirate ship. The pirates, along with the green-faced witch and some female pirates (the Bangles), party, while forcing the Goonies and Cyndi to prepare food for them. Dave and Wendi (who had also gone into the cave to look for Cyndi) have also been captured, and are tied to the mast of the ship. Eventually, Cyndi, Dave, Wendi, and the Goonies break free, and after finding some treasure on the ship, toss some of it to the pirates, who fight amongst themselves for it. After subduing the green-faced witch, the Goonies escape from the ship along with Cyndi and her friends, giving her the remaining treasure that they found.
Cyndi, along with Dave and Wendi, returns through the cavern entrance in the gas station, armed with the extra treasure in hopes of appeasing the creditors. Despite all the treasure she offers, they still refuse. Cyndi then whistles, and in a cloud of smoke, André the Giant appears, and chases the creditors off (with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper apparently breaking character, calling out to director Richard Donner, Spielberg, as well as Lauper and Wolff that "the video wasn't supposed to end like this" while being pursued by André). The family then celebrates its good fortune.
7" single [7]
U.S. 12" single [8]
UK 12" single [9]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada) [19] | Gold | 50,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her album She's So Unusual (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night"—and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies (1985) and her second record True Colors (1986). This album included the number-one single "True Colors" and "Change of Heart", which peaked at number three. Her cover of the Marvin Gaye song "What's Going On" was a moderate hit in 1987. In 1989, Lauper saw success with "I Drove All Night" and in 1993, had her first dance club hit with "That's What I Think".
"She Bop" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released as the third single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1984. Worldwide, the song is her third most commercially successful single after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time", and also reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. "She Bop" was Lauper's third consecutive top 5 on the Hot 100. She recorded a quieter version of the song for her 2005 album The Body Acoustic.
The Goonies is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus based on a story by Steven Spielberg and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, and Ke Huy Quan with supporting roles done by John Matuszak, Anne Ramsey, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano and Mary Ellen Trainor. In the film, a group of kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from foreclosure and in doing so they discover an old treasure map that takes them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During their adventure, they are pursued by a family of criminals who want the treasure for themselves.
She's So Unusual is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released on October 14, 1983, by Portrait Records. It stands out for its commercial success, achieving four top-five singles—a pioneering achievement for a debut album by a female artist. The album was re-released in 2014 to commemorate its 30th anniversary, and was called She's So Unusual: A 30th Anniversary Celebration. The re-release contains demos and remixes of previously released material, as well as new artwork.
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a single by the American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, written by Robert Hazard. It was released by Portrait Records as Lauper's first major single as a solo artist and the lead single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). Lauper's version gained recognition as a feminist anthem and was promoted by a Grammy-winning music video. It has been covered by more than 30 other artists.
"I Drove All Night" is a song written and composed by American songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and originally intended for Roy Orbison. Orbison recorded the song in 1987, the year before his death, but his version was not released until 1992. Cyndi Lauper recorded the song and released it as a single for her A Night to Remember album. Her version became a top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1989 and was also her final top 40 hit on the American pop charts. Lauper still regularly performs the song in her live concerts. The song has also been covered by Canadian singer Celine Dion, whose version topped the Canadian Singles Chart and reached number 7 on the US Adult Contemporary chart in 2003.
The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the official soundtrack album released by Epic Records in conjunction with the 1985 film The Goonies. The album includes the top ten single "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" by singer Cyndi Lauper, who had a cameo in the film. The album was released in LP and cassette format internationally, and a limited CD release in some countries.
Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some is a greatest hits album by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released on August 22, 1994, through Epic Records. It contains a collection of singles from the singer's first four studio albums. It also contains three new songs: "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "I'm Gonna Be Strong" and "Come On Home", all of which were released as singles. To promote the record, the singer embarked on a worldwide tour. A video album was simultaneously released and contained music videos of fourteen songs.
"Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). It was released as the album's second single in March 1984, by Epic and Portrait Records. Written by Lauper and Rob Hyman, who also provided backing vocals, the song was produced by Rick Chertoff. It was written in the album's final stages, after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" had been written or recorded. The writing began with the title, which Lauper had seen in TV Guide, referring to the 1979 film Time After Time.
"Money Changes Everything" is a song by American rock band the Brains from their eponymous debut studio album (1980). Originally released in 1978, the song was reissued as the lead single from the album in 1980, by Mercury Records. Frontman Tom Gray is credited as the sole writer of the song, while production was collectively helmed by the Brains and Bruce Baxter. The song was popularized in 1984 by Cyndi Lauper, who released a cover version of the song as a single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983).
The Goonies is a 1986 platform game based on the film of the same name produced by Konami for the Family Computer. Konami also developed a completely different version for the MSX in Japan. First released on cartridge, it was later re-released in Disk System format in 1988.
"True Colors" is a song written by American songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. It was both the title track and the first single released from American singer Cyndi Lauper's second studio album of the same name (1986). Released in mid-1986, the song spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, being Lauper's second and last single to occupy the top of the chart. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
"Change of Heart" is a song by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released on November 11, 1986 as the second single from her second album, True Colors (1986). It went gold in the US, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by singer-songwriter Essra Mohawk. Popular remixes by Shep Pettibone were also released. A music video was produced for the song, filmed in Trafalgar Square in London. It features Lauper and her tour band performing the song in front of a large group of people. The Bangles sang background vocals on the original recording. A live version of the song was released on Lauper's live album/DVD, To Memphis, with Love.
American singer Cyndi Lauper has released eleven studio albums, six compilation albums, five video albums and fifty-three singles. Worldwide, Lauper has sold approximately 50 million albums, singles and DVDs. According to RIAA, She has sold 9.5 million certified albums in the United States with She's so Unusual being her biggest seller.
"All Through the Night" is a song written and recorded by Jules Shear for his 1983 album Watch Dog. It was produced by Todd Rundgren.
"If She Knew What She Wants" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jules Shear and introduced on his 1985 album The Eternal Return. The Bangles recorded the song for their 1986 album Different Light. That version, a call-and-response rendition with Susanna Hoffs as the main voice, was issued as a single and became a Top 40 hit. A mid-tempo ballad, it is sung from the viewpoint of someone, per songwriter Shear, "who wants to satisfy someone else but doesn't quite know how to do it because the other person is capricious." The song, especially The Bangles' version, is typically described with such adjectives as "bittersweet", "plaintive" and "wistful".
"When You Were Mine" is a song written and released by Prince on his 1980 album, Dirty Mind. Though not released as a single, the song received a promotional 12" release. "When You Were Mine" was later the B-side for Prince's "Controversy" single in 1981.
The Essential Cyndi Lauper is a compilation by American pop singer Cyndi Lauper. It was released as part of Sony BMG's The Essential series in 2003. The album has sold 15,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
"Sally's Pigeons" is a pop song by Cyndi Lauper that was featured on her 1993 album Hat Full of Stars. It was released as the album's second single in some countries, and as its third in others. The song was inspired by the story of a childhood friend of Lauper, who in her teens got pregnant, had a back-alley abortion, and died as a result.
"The Belchies" is the season premiere of the second season of the animated television series Bob's Burgers, the 14th episode overall. The episode aired on Fox in the United States on March 11, 2012. The episode was written by John Schroeder and directed by Boohwan Lim and Kyounghee Lim. The episode is a parody of the 1985 film The Goonies and features a song by Cyndi Lauper.
Aggressive synthpop, Cyndi Lauper's songwriting talent, and her voice set this song above other movie-tied epics...
... she was up front about why not all of her biggest hits were represented on her "best of," Twelve Deadly Cyns ... and Then Some. With characteristic frankness, she grimaced when speaking of her number-ten movie theme hit, "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough": "I hated that. It was terrible."