6 Best Moments from Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Grammy Salute’ Special Featuring Joni Mitchell, Cher, SZA & More: ‘A Once-in-a-Lifetime-Badass’

Forty years after Cyndi Lauper won the Grammy for best new artist, CBS is set to air A Grammy Salute to Cyndi Lauper: Live From the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, Oct. 5 (8-10 p.m. ET/PT). The special was filmed in August as she concluded her year-long Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour, billed as her last show on the road. Guests include Joni Mitchell, Cher, Angélique Kidjo, John Legend, SZA, Mickey Guyton, Trombone Shorty and Jake Wesley Rogers, with video testimonials from Brandi Carlile (who hails her as “a once in a lifetime badass”) and Billie Eilish.

A video montage at the top of the special includes a vintage clip of Lauper posing the question “Who is this girl Cyndi Lauper and why is she so unusual?” The two-hour special effectively answers that question – she’s a gifted singer and songwriter (she co-wrote “Time After Time,” which received a Grammy nod for song of the year); she has a strong visual sense; she’s versatile; she has solid musical chops (she plays flute on “She Bop” and Zydeco rubboard on Mitchell’s “Carey”).  

Though Lauper’s pop hits were concentrated in the 1980s, she has had a long and fruitful career. In 1995, she won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for Mad About You. In 2013, she became the first woman to win a Tony on her own for best original score for Kinky Boots. Lauper was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015 and will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 8.

This is CBS’ second Grammy Salute special in two weeks. A Grammy Salute to Earth, Wind & Fire Live: The 21st Night of September aired on Sept. 21. Earth, Wind & Fire was joined by the LA Philharmonic, as well as Stevie Wonder, Jonas Brothers, Jon Batiste and Janelle Monáe. Both the EWF and Lauper specials were filmed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

The Grammy Salute specials have gotten much better. It used to be that the honoree was serenaded by artists performing their songs, with little apparent creative input on their part. Now they are the stars of the show, as it should be.

Ken Ehrlich, Lauper and Harvey Mason jr, served as executive producers of Lauper’s special. Ehrlich was executive producer of the Grammy telecast for 40 years. Mason is CEO of the Recording Academy.

Here are the six best moments from A Grammy Salute to Cyndi Lauper: Live From the Hollywood Bowl.