You Don't Know (Cyndi Lauper Song)
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"You Don't Know" is a song by American singer-songwriter
Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...
, released by
Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...
as the first single from Lauper's fifth album, '' Sisters of Avalon'' (1997). Remixes of the song were made by several producers such as Tony Moran and
Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern; August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...
. It peaked at number 27 in the UK, while peaking at number 16 on the US ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart. The song contains the word "bullshit" and was not edited out of the UK singles as is typical. While performing on several UK shows, such as ''
Noel's House Party ''Noel's House Party'' is a BBC light entertainment series that was hosted by Noel Edmonds. Set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo, it ran from 23 November 1991 to 20 March 1999 on BBC One and ...
'', she skipped the word. The music video for the song was directed by Lauper.


Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...
from ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' wrote, "Lauper unveils her new '' Sisters Of Avalon'' collection, offering a tune that is far more biting and intelligent than fluffy past hits like "
Girls Just Want To Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a single made famous in 1983 by the American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, written by Robert Hazard in 1979, with some of the lyrics changed by Lauper. It was released by Portrait Records as Lauper's debut s ...
" and "
She Bop "She Bop" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, written by Lauper, Stephen Broughton Lunt, Gary Corbett, and Rick Chertoff, and produced by the lattermost. It was released on July 2, 1984, via Portrait Records as the third singl ...
". If programmers can move beyond the singer's old cartoonish image, they will discover an artist and music worthy of placement alongside the likes of
Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...
." He added further, "The original version of "You Don't Know" unfolds with a jittery
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
beat and jangly guitars that deserve a listen at
modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...
radio. Redrafted by Tony Moran, the song becomes an anthemic
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
revelation that popsters will love. Add the underground club perspective of remixers Prince Quick Mix and
Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern; August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...
, and you have a single that aims to hit every possible mark. The next step is for people to listen." Kevin Courtney from ''
Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' said, " The unusual girl is back at last, and that
Hazel O'Connor Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", " D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''. Caree ...
-on-helium voice still has that girlie edge, but as the song builds in intensity, she sounds in danger of totally eclipsing
Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...
in the overkill department, and when she prances around in her new video, she looks like she's stuck in a jerky 1980s movement. A pleasant, nondescript attempt at resurgence from a lady out of time." Caroline Sullivan from ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' commented, "And who else could endow the word 'bullshit' with such fervour while denouncing US politics on "You Don't Know"?" A reviewer from ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
'' gave it four out of five, noting that "Lauper's trademark vocal performance is more restrained for this nicely produced, acoustic-style pop song. A certain airplay hit, expect massive sales success, too."


Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was recorded in Washington Square,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in the beginning of September 1996. Lauper directed it herself. The little Japanese boy who closes the video is called Grayson. The 6-year-old boy was hand-picked by Lauper.


Track listing

* US CD single # "You Don't Know" (Radio Edit) – 4:06 # "You Don't Know" ( TM's Single Remix) – 4:23 # " That's What I Think" – 4:38 * US CD maxi-single # "You Don't Know" (Single Mix) - 4:06 # "You Don't Know" (TM's Single Remix) - 4:23 # "You Don't Know" (
Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern; August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...
Remix Edit) - 3:34 # "You Don't Know" (TM's Know It All Mix) - 10:06 # "You Don't Know" (Junior Vasquez Remix) - 7:51 * Japanese CD single # "You Don't Know" (Radio Edit) – 3:59 # "You Don't Know" (Album Version) – 5:14 # "Mother" (Extended Version) – 6:11 * European CD single # "You Don't Know" (Album Version) - 5:14 # "Mother" (Extended Mix) - 6:12 * UK CD single (The Junior Vasquez Mixes) / European CD maxi-single # "You Don't Know" (Radio Edit) – 4:06 # "You Don't Know" (Junior Vasquez Remix) – 7:45 # "You Don't Know" (Junior Vasquez Dub) – 6:45 # "Mother" (Extended Mix) – 6:12 * UK Limited Edition CD single # "You Don't Know" (Album Version) - 5:13 # " Time After Time" - 3:58 # " True Colors" - 3:46 # "
I Drove All Night "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 ...
" - 4:11 * Australian CD single # "You Don't Know" (Radio Edit) - 4:06 # "You Don't Know" (Junior Vasquez Remix) - 7:51 # "You Don't Know" (Tribal Beats) - 4:33 # "Mother" (Extended Mix) - 6:12 * US 12" :A1. "You Don't Know" (TM's Know It All Mix) - 10:00 :A2. "You Don't Know" (TM's Know You're in the Hole Dub) - 5:30 :B1. "You Don't Know" (Prince Quick Mix's Amped Up Pass) - 6:35 :B2. "You Don't Know" (Junior's Riff Dub) - 6:09 * European 12" :A1. "You Don't Know" (Junior Vasquez Remix Edit) - 3:44 :A2. "You Don't Know" (Junior Vasquez Remix) - 7:51 :A3. "You Don't Know" (Junior Vasquez Dub) - 6:46 :B1. "You Don't Know" (Album Version) - 5:14 :B2. "You Don't Know" (TM's Single Remix) - 4:23 :B3. "You Don't Know" (TM's Know It All Mix) - 10:06 :B4. "You Don't Know" (TM's Know You're in the Hole Dub) - 5:33


Official versions

#
Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern; August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...
Dub – 6:45 #Junior Vasquez Remix Edit – 3:34 #Junior's Riff Dub – 6:09 #Prince Quick Mix's Amped Up Pass – 6:35 #Radio edit – 3:59 # Tony Moran's Know It All Mix – 10:00 #Tony Moran's Know You're in the Hole Dub – 5:30 #Tony Moran's Single Remix – 4:23 #Tribal Beats – 4:33


Charts


Release history


References

{{Authority control Cyndi Lauper songs 1997 singles Songs written by Cyndi Lauper Songs written by Jan Pulsford 1996 songs Epic Records singles Pop ballads