Cyndi Lauper — Heading West

JUL 01 1989 · 12:00

Cyndi Lauper — Heading West (1989) Director: Lawrence Jordan Era: Late MTV Golden Age / Post-New Wave Adult Pop (1989) - Transitional moment between Lauper's iconic eccentricity of the mid-80s and the more restrained, emotionally introspective adult-contemporary pop of the early 90s; released internationally as the third single from A Night to Remember (Epic Records, May 1989). High curatorial value as a documented transitional artifact in Cyndi Lauper's visual and artistic trajectory. The video's confirmed director (Lawrence Jordan), its verifiable 1989 production context, its internationally-only release status, and its deliberate aesthetic break from Lauper's colorful mid-80s identity make it a meaningful research object for MTV-era pop history. The quantitative metrics strongly corroborate the reported black-and-white visual style, lending additional archival integrity to this annotation. Context: Released in 1989 as the third international single from Cyndi Lauper's A Night to Remember (Epic Records), 'Heading West' represents a significant stylistic pivot from the brightly colored, hyper-eclectic visual identity that defined Lauper's mid-80s breakthrough era. The choice of a black-and-white, open-field visual language signals a conscious maturation—a move toward emotional directness over performative spectacle. The song, co-written with Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly (who also wrote 'True Colors' and 'I Drove All Night'), thematically addresses moving on from a past relationship, the emotional core of the entire album. The single achieved modest chart success in the UK but was never released in North America, reflecting both the album's uneven commercial trajectory and the period's shifting pop landscape as New Wave gave way to adult contemporary and grunge antecedents. The video's stripped-down visual approach anticipates the naturalistic early-90s aesthetic. Director notes: Confirmed as director of the 1989 promotional music video for Cyndi Lauper's 'Heading West' via IMDb (tt7786672). The video was shot in black and white and features Lauper in an empty field, consistent with the song's themes of moving on from a past relationship. The clip was produced to support the third international single from Lauper's third studio album A Night to Remember (Epic Records, 1989). The video was not promoted in North America, as the single itself was not released as a North American single. The quantitative metrics (heavily desaturated saturation score of 20.51, warm color temperature of 1.95, brightness of 113.64/255) are consistent with a late-80s black-and-white or near-monochromatic film-to-video transfer. Jordan's involvement aligns with his established profile directing high-profile music and concert content for major artists of this era.