closest to his heart. ♪ girl just want to have fun >> then where is she now, the one and only cyndi lauper. she still wants to have fun. >> you have your good times, your bad times and the times you don't talk about. >> this is "piers morgan tonight." ♪ >> one of my favorite pop videos ever, cyndi lauper bursting on to the scene in the mid 80s with her wildly successful album "she's so unusual" had an amazing five top singles including "girls just want to have fun." welcome. >> thank you. >> you were part of my youth but we sort of grew up together. when you were having fun, i wanted to have fun with you. >> i had a great time. captain lou made it so much fun. he was very -- he was just a funny fellow. >> there was a time in the 80s you really were at the van guard of pop video with mtv and everything else. what told you at the time this is going to be the way to go, this is the future? >> well, i think all of us at the time when video happened, you know, i view what i do as a performance art. i think the same for a lot of artists of my time. and when you saw a video, you knew we would never listen, just listen to music again, we would always see it. and for me as -- i spent my whole life one foot in art and one foot in music, so this was a great, you know, a great opportunity. >> were the 80s as good fun for you as i always imagined they had to be? >> when i went to london -- >> you were huge in london. >> it was so much fun. i had never been to london. i didn't know anything. i turned on a tv and there was a program with two people walking cows. you know, and it seemed like they had back yards. and they were just walking the cows and i thought, oh, my god, these english people are so funny. it's just like monty python. you know what i mean? so i thought everything was hilarious. >> we are bit nutty like that. >> one of your good friends is sharon osbourne. she's told me a few stories about you. >> she's awesome. >> i'm glad all the rumors about you i thought were true were true. >> what do you mean? >> well, we had a couple of laughs. >> when you say "girls just want to have fun," what kind of fun did you have in mind and how much of it did you help yourself to? >> when i sang that song, i saw it as an opportunity to reach out to all young women and girls of every color and make a song about entitlement for women. and in humor, with humor and capture the people's imagination and color, capture the people's imagination and present an image of women that wasn't what was out there but more like the people that i knew, the creative types, and offer young women of all races an opportunity to see themselves in a different light and have a song about entitlement, that everyone is entitled to have a joyful experience. and to me is this song, with all the humor, was one of the most revolutionary things that i could have done and i knew that when i asked my mother to be in the video with me because it wasn't popular to be friendly with your mom. and the truth is if you don't know where you came, you don't know where you're going. that's how they concur. you can never lose your history. >> your mother was an extraordinary woman. your parents divorced when you were 5. you grew up in queens, new york. not an exactly an easy play -- >> ozone park seems fitting. >> your mom brings you up and your two siblings, a working single parent. >> and -- >> recovering catholic. i was thrown out of two grade school catholic schools. >> so was my grandmother. >> well, i'm not old enough to be your grandmother but, you know. no, i thought, you know, there was one time i was just praying to leave that place and then i got expelled and i thought there is a guard. >> what did you do to get expelled? >> i don't know, i -- i decided i was talking to a nun and in those days the poor things, they, you know, the men had the breezy clothing and the women had the card board like this and, you know. that always struck me. i love the black and white because it's very french, very stylish but i thought, you know, the card board thing. so i asked her if she went to the beach ever and she said yeah. she said we have a private beach. and i said "and you go in the water"? and she said yes. and i said don't the card board get wet? and there was a two sisters. one of them, carmen, she had like curly -- she curled her bangs and everything was perfect and she had the peter pan collar and the or one, rosetta, she had her hair wild, her cheeks were rosie, she rolled up her skirt a little and she tied her shirt. to me she looked like an italian beauty. and i always admired her. she came up to me after i said that and said now ask her about menstruatin menstruating. and i did. and they got so mad that they expelled me. i felt bad but in a way, i loved this girl -- >> why did you get expelled given? >> no, no, the first time -- >> so this was number two? >> this was number two. >> what was number one? >> nothing really -- my mom had gotten a divorce and we were still in catholic school and there was this priest father cunningham and i really liked him and he would walk up and down by my third grade class. and i would always try and catch up to him. i would say good morning father cunningham. he would say good morning sylvia. i said cynthia. and he would say sylvia. after a while i was like, fine, sylvia. and after a while i went to confession to him because he was my friend. and he started yelling sand saying my mother was going to go to hell because i didn't go to mass. i said to him in the confessional, what do you know about my woman. you doesn't know anything about my mother. she's a good woman, she works hard and she loves us and don't tell me she's going to hell. after that the clutch contacted my mother and they said listen, i think maybe this kind of relationship is not happening. >> i admire the first one. the second one was a bit naughty. >> they were nasty sometimes. they'd hit us and the parents would come and then the parent would come and they would lie. they brought you to the convent school so you would go to heaven because obviously she was going to hil. >> what did your mother make of your career as it began to unfold. >> the first time she said, you ne, cindy, i didn't know. as a kid the nuns told her i should have sung opera. we didn't have mb so she was ready to look for better parents. i said, look, ma, i don't think we should go that route. i think we should stick together. i said, hey irks it's not important to me. i'm going to be who i'm going to be anyway. i thought i was -- i was different. sharon told you. everything i said and did and i tried so hard to fit in. i think it's not worth trying to fit in. i think you're different from the inside out or the outside inn. >> let's take a little break and talk about other people who are like that. the lady ga-ga brigade, who i think got their ining sprigs you. hold that thought. coming back after break and tell me about big mama thorn done. ♪ girls just want to have fun ♪ all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about making sense out of tdd# 1-800-345-2550 what's happening right now. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we're ready with objective insights about tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the current market and economic conditions. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and we can help turn those insights into a plan tdd# 1-800-345-2550 of action that's right for you. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck and turn complexity tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 into clarity. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first, it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. the best part? it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. test how fast it works for you. love it, or get your money back. ♪ if you fall, i will catch you, i'll be waiting ♪ time after time ♪ if you're lost and you look, you will find it ♪ time after time another absolute classic. these are like part of my life. you had an effect on me, cyndi lauper. but you like that. you like the fact that a lot of people through the 80s and 90s, sort of in their teens or whatever, they just loved the kind of spirit that came with your -- the music, the videos, the whole thing. we all wanted to be in cyndi lauper's game. >> some people want to go the lady ga-ga route. >> what do you mean? i think she's fantastic. >> there's nothing she does really you haven't already done. from the fashion to the videos. you were there first. >> look, deborah harry there was first and big mama thornton. big mama thornton and ma rainy was known and the gold chaened woman. she was doing that in 1904. >> are you a ga-ga fan? >> there's some stuff i really like and i saw her do this thing when we were doing the viva glam campaign where she did like a george segal sculpture, where she looked like a george segal sculpture. i really love the bus driver. i really thought she looked like the bus driver. but she didn't. she had a motorcycle cap but it was painted. and that part of it i just love because i always view what we do as performance art. whether it's ga-ga or nicky menage or caty perry or me or madonna or annie lenox or deborah harry, it's performance art. >> is part of it the ability to take risks and occasionally fail? i watch ga-ga and times i absolutely love what she does. other times i think this is completely crackers. but i like the fact that she's constantly trying new things. >> you got to try. what are you going to do, never grow? you know, the younger artists look to the older artists just like i do but you also look to the younger artist. there's new music happening all the time. there's old music to still discover. there's older artists making new music. music is a great medium. and the great thing about the fact that video happened and the visual happened and there's tv is that we now hear and see it. it is a moving art form. and i think -- i think that's fantastic because i feel like i was born in the right time for it because i love art and i love music and i research everything i do. i don't just show up. you know, maybe i'm not like as a gifted sendinger as most because i don't -- i can't like just walk in and sing on top of a band. because if i hear something that disturbs me, i can't think. >> but you have got one of the most distinctive voices that modern music has ever heard. you could not be anywhere in the world and when one of your records comes on not instinctively know it's you. and there aren't many singers like in a. >> well, i arrange the music around my voice. >> it's a great voice. it's like a straight dark side of the queen's voice, isn't it? >> i don't know. where is that? >> i don't know. some dark street in queens. >> really? >> because we grew up, mother, daughter, sister, brother house that had shingles the color of good & plenty candy. i always wanted to eat it but now i know what made that color was asbestos. >> when you go back to queens, you must like a her heroine. >> i always felt embarrassed. i always tried to learn how to talk and everybody's tried to help me. >> why would you want to change it? >> because sometimes i feel like i could hear the sheets being pulled from the clotheslines. that's what it sounds like to me. but i don't know. i've tried, though. i have tried this pe say you need to relax your mouth and speak softly. >> nobody wants to hear you talk in any other way but this. >> i don't talk like that. >> yes, you do. let's throw politics around because you're little fire brand about everything else and i bet you are about politics. the current big debate is president obama, should he get another go or has he basically blown it? has always the hope that he came into power with evaporated? >> all right. may i show them what i googled? >> this is fascinating. it like, listen, i sell music, right? but i try and make it real so that i can actually really help people and make them feel better. but, you know, you watch the advertisement and you listen to a speech with the way they talk. here's some fact. when clinton left, we were $127 billion surplus, okay? when bush left we were $1.2 trillion in debt, okay? now that's -- that's a lot of money that got spent and we -- and the republicans, pardon me, were in charge. so now i'm supposed to think -- and of course it's typical, blame the black guy. get the black guy in in the worst condition ever and blame him. >> you think it's as simple as that? >> hon, i'm a woman. i know from day one it doesn't matter what color you are, they blame the woman all the time sh it's her fault. it's just the way society is. yeah, that i think so. i think he's trying really hard. what is important what i see in all the political nonsense is on? nonsense. it's all who's vying. it's like why don't you trust grow up. it's our kwi kri. >> you're sitting in going look at all the wall street protesters. it people, it americans who want to go back to america. they don't want to be hoodwinked anymore. you know, i'm supposed to believe in your religion? no thank you. you don't want to believe in mine, i don't want to believe in yours. that's no why we live in this country. separation of such and state, you know? i don't want to know anything else. i'm not going to tell you what to believe, dent you dare tell me what to believe. >> you've done an amazing thing for almost every minority group in this country. >> do you know this guy i'm working with,y did a give a damn campaign and doing the true colors campaign, we did research and what came back was disturbi disturbing, that most of the homeless are kids and a third of them lbgt kid, which means their parents, kicking them out of the house. when does it come to life that your dog -- you can't throw people away, not the little ones. the kid are our future. >> they will me quickly about your own son. he's 14. >> but he doesn't like me talking about him. >> despite your reputation, u been a very domestic kated loyal, loving ways for 24. >> look how cute he is. he's a cutie, my husband. >> he is. what's been your secret to a lasting marriage and given you're a huge star and that means you've had about 13 marriages in this country. >> i i got married late. you see a lot of people, there's a lot people and you know, you have your rocky times and your good times. i have a friend who said you have i don't good times, your bad times and your times can don't know about it. you know, at one point we were coming to bouts and as i said, well, i'm going to, you know, live here and i'm trying to figure out my schedule and i realized that i was looking at my schedule really trying to schedule most of my time with them. and i love them. and i don't think anything else is better than that. nothing's better than family. and i always wand a real life. i don't want a fake life. i want a real life. i want to write about real things answered want to live. i sound that like susan heywood movie "i want to live"! >> i want to live and i want to live the cyndi lauper way. it's an absolute pleasure. you have this new dvk coming out. >> you should look up susan haywood. the masters still play. . >> it's been a a real pleasure. thanks. [ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna... i've tried it. but nothing's helped me beat my back pain. then i tried this. it's salonpas. this is the relief i've been looking for. salonpas has 2 powerful pain fighting ingredients that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told me it's the only otc pain patch approved for sale using the same rigorous clinical testing that's required for prescription pain medications. proven. powerful. safe. salonpas. can i help you? yeah, can i get a full-sized car? for full-sized cars, please listen to the following menu. for convertibles, press star one. i didn't catch that. to speak to a representative, please say representative now. representative. goodbye! you don't like automated customer service, and neither do we. that's why, unlike other cards, no matter when you call chase sapphire preferred, you immediately get a person not a prompt. chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. (phone ringing) chase sapphire preferred, this is julie in springfield. you did it. 19 years, baby. i want to thank you very much. that's why i'm telling you first i'm about to retire. love you. talked to you soon. >> that was shaquille o'neal's retirement announcement. pretty hard to imagine he won't be playing this year at all. now he's an author. the new book "shaq uncut." he joins me now. with all the names you have attracted over the years, super man, diesel, the big daddy, the real deal, the big shamrock and shaq. i like the shaktus but which one do you like? >> i have a new name that you just gave me. >> which one? >> the big duke. >> in england you would be the big duke or the very big duke. >> that's right. >> how does it feel? you're not playing basketball. >> it feels good. i've been playing 19 years, accomplished a lot. would have loved to accomplish more. but there comes a time in life whether you have to do something else. >> did it feel right, the moment to leave? i know it wasn't the perfect scripted ending, but did you feel it was the time to go on? >> it felt right. i left on sort of a sour note. i tore my achilles in half basically, and rehab for that would have been a year and a half. so you know, at the age of 40, trying to come back and play at a high level probably would have been, you know -- i would have had very, very low chances of doing that. i just decided to give it up after 19 great years. >> taking up golf yet? >> no, not at all. >> that's the natural thing i would have thought for you, shaq. >> i live on a golf course, too, but i haven't played in a while. >> i should imagine you could hit it a long way. get a big bertha out and boom. tell me about the nba strike because for somebody who is not an american watching this great american sport on strike because a bunch of multimillionaires were having an argument with another bunch of multimillionaires over the odd million here or ther