Billy Steinberg originally wrote "True Colors" about his own mother. Tom Kelly altered the first verse and the duo originally submitted the song to Anne Murray, who passed on recording it, and then to Cyndi Lauper.[4] Their demo was in the form of a piano-based gospel ballad like "Bridge over Troubled Water". Steinberg told Songfacts that "Cyndi completely dismantled that sort of traditional arrangement and came up with something that was breathtaking and stark."[3] Other songs they wrote for Lauper include "I Drove All Night" and "Unconditional Love".
Music video
The accompanying music video for the song, which received heavy rotation on MTV, was directed by American choreographer Patricia Birch. In the video, Lauper sings on a dark soundstage, sitting beside a drum and holding a black flower. A young girl who explores a beach takes the flower and ends up seeing two women, one light-skinned and one dark-skinned, drinking tea on a boat. Lauper appears on the beach in an elaborate jeweled headdress with a shell in her hand. She is then seen lying on a white sheet, which a long haired man (David Wolff) proceeds to pull. They eventually share a kiss. Lauper is then seen walking on the beach with a skirt made of newspaper while she walks past a class of schoolchildren. At the end of the video, she leans over a pool of water, in a scene reminiscent of the album photo cover. The video ends as it began, only now, Lauper is beating on the drum four times, in time with the music.
Critical reception
Jerry Smith of the Music Week magazine deemed that "Lauper's fragile little girl voice" perfectly matches with this "effective ballad with its sympathetic, sparse accompaniment", but also added that this "downbeat style" was unlikely to make the song memorable.[5] Di Cross of Record Mirror was strongly critical of "True Colors", stating that Lauper "does nothing to restore her flagging credibility rating with a dire, slushy attempt at an emotional ballad, the mixture curdled further by some appalling little girl vocals, complete with whispering asides and chest beating passion play".[6]
The pan-European magazine Music & Media named "True Colors" one of its "records of the week" in the issue dated September 6, 1986.[7]
Chart performance
"True Colors" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 25, 1986. It also peaked at number three in Australia and New Zealand, and number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. In Mexico's Notitas Musicales (Hit Parade) "True Colors" stayed several months on the Top 10, reaching #5 on January 15, 1987.
Legacy
The single has become a popular anthem in the gay community. In various interviews, Lauper elaborated that the song had resonated with her because of the recent death of her friend, Gregory Natal, from HIV/AIDS.[8] Years later, Lauper co-founded the True Colors Fund,[9] a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating LGBT youth homelessness. On December 13, 2022, Lauper performed the song at the ceremony where U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law.[10]
"True Colors" was also featured in a 1999 promo for PBS Kids, a children's programming brand of the American public television network PBS.[11]
In 2003, Australian singer-songwriter Kasey Chambers' recording of "True Colors" became the theme song for the 2003Rugby World Cup. The song peaked at number four, was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and went on to be the 76th best-selling single in Australia that year. As of 2025, it is Chambers' second-highest-charting single in Australia, after "Not Pretty Enough".
In 2009, Jenna Ushkowitz performed it on the television program Glee, and this version was included on the compilation album Glee: The Music, Volume 2, released on December 4, 2009. The single charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and reached number 15 in Ireland, number 35 in the United Kingdom,[80] number 38 in Canada[81][82] and number 47 in Australia.
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 173. ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and June 12, 1988.
^"Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved January 23, 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Cyndi Lauper".
^Canada, Library Archives (December 26, 2017). "RPM Weekly - Top Singles of 1986". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
^"European Hot 100 Singles"(PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 51/52. December 27, 1986. p. 28. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
^True Colors (UK cassette single sleeve). Phil Collins. Virgin Records, Face Value Records. 1998. VSC1715, 7243 8 95383 42.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^True Colors (UK CD2 liner notes). Phil Collins. Virgin Records, Face Value Records. 1998. VSCDG 1715, 7243 8 95384 2 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^True Colors (European CD single liner notes). Phil Collins. WEA, Face Value Records. 1998. 3984 24775-9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^True Colors (Australian CD single liner notes). Phil Collins. WEA, Face Value Records. 1998. 3984 24774-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
