Cyndi Lauper Celebrates True Colors 40th Anniversary With Deluxe Edition
Forty years after Cyndi Lauper followed her blockbuster debut with the more adventurous True Colors, the landmark 1986 album is receiving an expanded anniversary edition featuring previously unreleased studio recordings, vintage live performances and rare photography.
Cyndi Lauper is marking the 40th anniversary of True Colors by opening the archives and giving fans something they haven’t heard before.
On September 15, Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, released a new digital deluxe edition of Lauper’s second studio album. The expanded collection contains the original record plus two previously unreleased studio tracks and performances from her 1987 Live at Le Zénith Paris show.
A limited-edition 2LP “Rainbow Sprinkle” vinyl version follows on December 4, 2026.
Two Songs Emerge From the Vault
The most intriguing additions are “The River Cried” and Lauper’s previously unreleased recording of the The Beatles classic “Across the Universe.”
“The River Cried,” written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, was originally considered for True Colors but didn’t make the finished 1986 album. For the anniversary project, Lauper went back and completed the track. She also located the mastered version of “Across the Universe” that she had recorded with True Colors co-producer Lennie Petze.
The discoveries carry additional emotional weight. Lauper noted that both Petze and Steinberg died in 2026, making her return to this period of her career especially meaningful.
The digital edition is substantial: 29 tracks, including live versions of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “She Bop,” “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough,” “Change of Heart” and “True Colors.”
The Difficult Follow-Up That Became a Classic
Originally released September 15, 1986, True Colors arrived after Lauper’s enormous breakthrough with She’s So Unusual. Rather than simply repeating that album’s formula, Lauper became more deeply involved in the new record’s songwriting, arrangements and production.
The sessions also assembled an impressive supporting cast. Nile Rodgers played guitar on “Change of Heart,” while Billy Joel contributed backing vocals to “Maybe He’ll Know.” The Bangles sang on “Change of Heart,” and Aimee Mann appeared on “The Faraway Nearby.”
The result reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200, sold more than seven million copies worldwide and earned double-platinum certification in the United States. Its title song became Lauper’s second No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.
Why ’80s Fans Should Care
True Colors captures an important moment when one of the decade’s biggest pop personalities proved she was much more than the colorful image that initially made her an MTV phenomenon.
“Change of Heart” retained Lauper’s energetic pop side, but songs such as “Boy Blue” and “True Colors” demonstrated a considerably more vulnerable performer.
Four decades later, the anniversary edition provides something better than a simple repackaging. The unreleased recordings, vintage concert material and rare photographs give listeners additional context for an album that helped establish Lauper as a lasting artist rather than a momentary ’80s sensation.
And for anyone who grew up with “True Colors” on the radio, it’s difficult to believe that song—and the album surrounding it—has now been part of pop culture for 40 years.
Image Source: cyndilauper.com.
