01.12 / 20:21
Entertainment
World Aids Day
retro record
Cyndi Lauper’s 1987 single ‘Boy Blue’ is a heartbreaking ode to a young friend lost to AIDS
True Colors.The song proved to be minor hit for Lauper, charting at #71 on the Hot 100, with proceeds going to various AIDS organizations, which were still severely underfunded at the time.Lauper explained that she wrote “Boy Blue” for her close friend, Gregory Natal, who had recently died of AIDS. The song’s title came from a poem by 19th century American poet Eugene Field called “Little Boy Blue.”“I tried to write about my friend. I knew he really loved ‘That’s What Friends Are For.’ I know that maybe he would have liked me to do a song like that,” Lauper later recalled, referring to the Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder collab released in 1985 a charity single for AIDS research and prevention.With a little easy listening and a lot of heart, this quartet raised millions for AIDS Research.Lauper continued, “Instead, I wrote about him personally.