What's Going On (song) - Cyndi Lauper Cover

Cyndi Lauper Cover

Cyndi Lauper covered "What's Going On" on her second album, True Colors, in 1986. In March 1987, it was released as the third single from the album. On the album version, the song starts off with a series of gunshots in reference to the Vietnam War while the single release is a remix with an alternate vocal used in the intro. It is the single version that most often appears on Lauper compilations. Lauper's cover was a modest hit worldwide. Thanks to club remixes by Shep Pettibone, the song reached #17 on the U.S. dance chart. However, the song failed to reach the US top ten unlike Lauper's previous two singles from her True Colors album including the title track and "Change of Heart", reaching #12. The video for the song, which played an extended mix of the song, received heavy rotation on MTV and was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award.