I'm Gonna Be Strong#Cyndi Lauper version

{{Infobox song

| name = I'm Gonna Be Strong

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Gene Pitney

| album = It Hurts to Be in Love and Eleven More Hit Songs

| B-side = E Se Domani (If Tomorrow)

| released = {{start date|1964}}

| recorded = {{start date|1964}}

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Pop

| length = 2:16

| label = Musicor

| writer = Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil

| producer =

| prev_title = It Hurts to Be in Love

| prev_year = 1964

| next_title = I Must Be Seeing Things

| next_year = 1965

}}

This version was a top ten hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. The song is Pitney's biggest UK solo hit, with only his duet version of "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" with Marc Almond peaking higher.

{{-}}

{{Infobox song

| name = I'm Gonna Be Strong

| cover = Imgonnabestrong1980cover.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Blue Angel

| album = Blue Angel

| B-side =

• "Just the Other Day"
• "Maybe He'll Know"
• "Anna Blue"

| released = {{start date|1980}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Pop

| length = 2:50

| label = Polydor

| writer =

• Barry Mann
• Cynthia Weil

| producer = Roy Halee

| prev_title = You Make Loving Fun

| prev_year = 1977

| next_title = I Had a Love

| next_year = 1980

}}

It was also the most successful single released by the 1980 band Blue Angel from their only album, also called Blue Angel (1980). The vocals were provided by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper. Like the album, the only country the single charted in was the Netherlands, where it reached #37 on the charts.

The artwork and track listing for the single varied depending on the country of origin. An Italian promotional 7" vinyl single with the same catalogue number and track listing as the German version was released with alternate artwork. The original 1980 Dutch release was re-released with identical packaging in 1984 after Lauper's solo success.

• 7" vinyl (Netherlands)

1. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" – 2:50
2. "Just the Other Day" – 2:42

• 7" vinyl (Germany)/Italian promo 7" vinyl

1. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" – 2:50
2. "Maybe He'll Know" – 3:54

• 7" vinyl (Australia and UK)

1. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" – 2:50
2. "Anna Blue" – 3:57

{{Infobox song

| name = I'm Gonna Be Strong

| cover = Cyndi Lauper(' ).jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Cyndi Lauper

| album = Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some

| B-side =

• "Broken Glass"
• "Dear John"
• "A Part Hate"
• "Product of Misery"

| released = {{start date|1995|1|30}} (UK){{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=27|date=January 28, 1995}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Pop

| length =

| label = Epic

| writer =

• Barry Mann
• Cynthia Weil

| producer =

• Cyndi Lauper
• William Wittman

| prev_title = Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun)

| prev_year = 1994

| next_title = Come On Home

| next_year = 1995

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|rbx7ss4F7JE|"I'm Gonna Be Strong"}}}}

}}

Lauper re-recorded the track as a solo artist for her first greatest hits album, Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some (1994). It was released as a single in the United Kingdom in January 1995 by Epic. It peaked at number 37 on the UK Singles chart. The single was not commercially released in the US. Its music video was directed by Lauper.

David Bauder from Associated Press praised the song "among her strongest vocal performances".{{cite magazine|first=David|last=Bauder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PipJAAAAIBAJ|title=12 Deadly Cyns|magazine=The Hour|date=1995-11-29|access-date=2020-03-17}} A reviewer from Cox News Service stated that Lauper "still owns one of the most wide-ranging and dynamic voices in pop music."{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qKlJAAAAIBAJ|title=Lauper changed but still has fun|magazine=Bangor Daily News|date=1995-10-09|access-date=2020-03-17}} Ian Tasker from The Guardian wrote that the singer's voice is "arguably best displayed" on the single, describing it as "a highly emotional song of a relationship breaking down, it's unusual in as much as it doesn't really have a chorus – it just builds and builds, adding layer upon layer of pain and hurt as Lauper's majestic voice grows stronger and more insistent, higher and higher until it reaches a heartbreaking climax."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/mar/08/cyndi-lauper-gonna-be-strong|title=Lauper changed but still has fun|magazine=The Guardian|date=2012-03-08|access-date=2020-03-17}}

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton said, "This new single turns down the tempo and lets Cyndi's voice come to the fore with another of the overwrought ballads she is so fond of."{{cite web|last=Masterton|first=James|title=Week Ending February 11th 1995|url=https://chart-watch.uk/archives/1995/week-ending-february-11th-1995|website=Chart Watch UK|date=1995-02-05|access-date=2021-09-18|author-link=James Masterton}} Paul Mathur from Melody Maker viewed it as "a paean to self confidence that doesn't even seem to want to get nearer than the foothills of the blinding, snow-capped Everest that was "Time After Time"."{{cite magazine|first=Paul|last=Mathur|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53375719163/|title=Singles|magazine=Melody Maker|date=1995-02-04|page=31|access-date=2023-12-10}} A reviewer from Music Week deemed it "a dramatic ballad [that] bears Lauper's trademark roar but doesn't perhaps have the hit quality of her more successful work.{{cite magazine|first= |last= |title= Reviews: Singles |magazine= Music Week |date= 1995-01-21 |page= 10 |access-date= 2021-05-04 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1995/Music-Week-1995-01-21.pdf}} Gerald Martinez from New Straits Times called it a "broadway style ballad", stating that "she's got a unique voice — too high pitched — with a vast range of dynamics, from a whisper to operatic crescendos. Just listen to her final note".{{cite magazine|first=Gerald|last=Martinez|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Df9OAAAAIBAJ|title=Cyn and heard with great grooves|magazine=New Straits Times|date=1994-10-30|access-date=2020-03-17}}

The accompanying music video for "I'm Gonna Be Strong" was directed by Lauper herself.{{cite web |title=Cyndi Lauper: I'm Gonna Be Strong |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7786718/ |publisher=IMDb |access-date=2021-09-18}} It features a lonely Lauper walking around in an old house. She wears a red dress and her hair is curly and strong-yellow, almost orange. In the beginning, the singer stands by a wooden table, making a cup of tea while she sings. The windows are covered with blonde curtains. Other scenes show her glancing out of one window, sitting on a bed or looking at herself in a mirror. The video was later made available on Lauper's official YouTube channel in 2009, and had generated more than 2.5 million views as of January 2023.{{cite web |title=Cyndi Lauper – I'm Gonna Be Strong |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbx7ss4F7JE |publisher=YouTube |access-date=2023-01-31}}

{{div col}}

• Europe 2-track CD single

1. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" – 3:46
2. "A Part Hate" – 4:54

• Europe CD maxi-single / Australian CD single

1. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" – 3:46
2. "Broken Glass" – 3:52
3. "Dear John" – 3:40
4. "A Part Hate" – 4:54

• UK CD1

1. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" – 3:46
2. "Broken Glass" – 5:31
3. "Dear John" – 3:37

• UK CD2

1. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" – 3:46
2. "A Part Hate" – 4:53
3. "Product of Misery" – 4:08

• Japan CD single

1. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" – 3:50
2. "Sally's Pigeons" – 3:46
3. "Feels Like Christmas" – 4:36

{{div col end}}

Jackie DeShannon covered the song on her 1965 album This is Jackie DeShannon. Del Shannon covered this song on his 1965 album One Thousand Six Hundred Sixty One Seconds.{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Del-Shannon-One-Thousand-Six-Hundred-Sixty-One-Seconds/master/439166 |title=Del Shannon – One Thousand Six Hundred Sixty One Seconds |website=Discogs.com |year=1965 |access-date=2016-09-27}}

Tim Rose released the song as single with the B-side "I Got a Loneliness" (Columbia USA 4-43958, 19 Dec 1966) and on his selftitled album 1967.

Juice Newton included the song on her albums Quiet Lies (1982) and Greatest Hits (1984).

Guitarist Ronnie Montrose created an instrumental version of this song on his Territory album (1986).

Dutch singer Glennis Grace covered the song in 1994, peaking at 13 on the Dutch Top 40.{{cite web|author=Steffen Hung |url=http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Glennis+Grace&titel=I%27m+Gonna+Be+Strong&cat=s |title=Glennis Grace – I'm Gonna Be Strong |publisher=dutchcharts.nl |access-date=2011-09-26}}

Buddy Miller covered the song on his 1999 album Cruel Moon, with Joy Lynn White on backing vocals.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.cyndilauper.com/ Official Cyndi Lauper website]

{{Gene Pitney}}

{{Cyndi Lauper singles}}

{{Cyndi Lauper}}

{{Frankie Laine|state=autocollapse}}

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Category:1963 singles

Category:1964 singles

Category:1980 singles

Category:1995 singles

Category:Songs written by Barry Mann

Category:Frankie Laine songs

Category:Del Shannon songs

Category:Gene Pitney songs

Category:Blue Angel (band) songs

Category:Juice Newton songs

Category:Cyndi Lauper songs

Category:Columbia Records singles

Category:Musicor Records singles

Category:Polydor Records singles

Category:Epic Records singles

Category:Songs with lyrics by Cynthia Weil

Category:1963 songs

Category:Song recordings produced by Roy Halee

Category:Pop ballads