"Funkytown" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Lipps Inc. | ||||
from the album Mouth to Mouth | ||||
B-side | "All Night Dancing" | |||
Released | March 11, 1980 [1] | |||
Studio | Sound 80 (Minneapolis, Minnesota) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | Casablanca | |||
Songwriter(s) | Steven Greenberg | |||
Producer(s) | Steven Greenberg | |||
Lipps Inc. singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Funkytown" on YouTube |
"Funkytown" is a song by American disco-funk group Lipps Inc., written and produced by Steven Greenberg and released by Casablanca Records in March 1980 as the second single from the group's 1979 debut studio album Mouth to Mouth .
The track was met with immediate commercial success, reaching number one on various record charts in different countries including Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, New Zealand, Spain, the United States and West Germany. [6] [7] [8] It quickly became the group's signature song, selling over eight million copies worldwide and becoming their most successful song. [9]
Sung by lead vocalist Cynthia Johnson, the tune features the narrator pining for a metaphorical place that will "keep me movin', keep me groovin' with some energy", while Lipps Inc. members were dreaming of relocating from Minneapolis to New York City. [10] Sheet music for the song is in the key of C major. [11]
In the United States, "Funkytown" entered the Billboard Hot 100 on March 29, 1980 and spent four weeks at number one, from May 31 to June 21, 1980. It also topped the Disco Top 60 chart for four non-consecutive weeks [8] and peaked at number two on the Hot Soul Singles chart for four weeks also, from May 24 to June 21, 1980. [12] "Funkytown" was first certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on May 23, 1980 and later Platinum on July 17, 1980. Billboard magazine ranked the song as the eighth most popular single of 1980. It is Lipps Inc.'s only US Top 40 hit single. [8]
Elsewhere, "Funkytown" was a number-one hit in countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and West Germany, and peaked at number two in Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. [13]
"Funkytown" has at least two music videos. In one, an unidentified black woman lip synching Johnson's vocals dances with some women in a pub. In another video, Doris D, who fronted Lipps Inc. in the Netherlands and West Germany, dances while lip synching the vocals. [14] Johnson's website claims that the singer "was never asked to perform a video of 'Funkytown'". [15]
In 1997, DJ John Acquaviva listed "Funkytown" with his top ten tracks, saying "It's always been one of my favorite songs. It's got an amazing bassline that sounds great on a good system and people love it. Some people in Germany I know are reissuing it." [16] In 2009, VH1 ranked the song at number 37 on its list of the "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 1980s". [17] In 2018, Time Out ranked it at number 44 on its list of "The 100 best party songs".
"Funkytown" expresses a simple, repetitive yearning for the pulse of a bigger city, goosed by a killer ten-note synth riff. "Gotta make a move to a town that's right for me", sings Cynthia Johnson in a robotic, vocoderized voice (a precursor to the Auto-Tune sound) before busting out an unmodified, soulful wail, pleading for a trip to the party destination of her dreams. Released in 1980, "Funkytown" came late to the disco party, but gave it a jolt of electricity. [18]
In 2007, Ubisoft remade this song for the game Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 covered by Franck Chapelat.[ citation needed ]
In 2018, ThoughtCo. ranked the song at number seven on its list of the "25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time". [19]
All tracks were written and produced by Steven Greenberg.
US 7-inch vinyl single (810 326-7)
Australian 12-inch vinyl single (6198 342)
Mexican 12-inch vinyl single (3027)
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [49] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [50] | 2× Platinum | 300,000 [51] |
France (SNEP) [52] | Gold | 500,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [53] | Gold | 500,000^ |
Mexico | — | 1,000,000 [54] |
United Kingdom (BPI) [55] | Silver | 250,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [56] | Platinum | 3,000,000 [9] |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 8,000,000 [9] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
"Funkytown" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Pseudo Echo | ||||
from the album Love an Adventure | ||||
B-side | "Lies Are Nothing" | |||
Released | 17 November 1986 [57] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:54 (Australian single version/video mix) 3:40 (single version) 6:35 (Australian album version/dance mix) | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Steven Greenberg | |||
Producer(s) | Brian Canham | |||
Pseudo Echo singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Funkytown" on YouTube |
In 1986, "Funkytown" was covered by Australian new wave band Pseudo Echo in rock form, including a guitar solo in the middle. It reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and spent seven weeks at number one in Australia and six weeks at number one in New Zealand. Like the original song by Lipps Inc., Pseudo Echo's version of the track is the band's only US Top 40 hit single.
US 7-inch vinyl single (EMI 1883)
12-inch vinyl maxi single (ED 237) / (RCA 5217–7)
Chart (1986–1987) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [21] : 241 | 1 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [60] | 13 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [61] | 40 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [62] | 1 |
Ireland (IRMA) [26] | 12 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [63] | 1 |
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [64] | 2 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [65] | 9 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [66] | 11 |
UK Singles (OCC) [67] | 8 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [68] | 6 |
US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [68] | 4 |
US Dance/Electronic Singles Sales ( Billboard ) [68] | 1 |
US Cash Box Top 100 [69] | 12 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [70] | 16 |
Chart (1986) | Rank |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [71] | 93 |
Chart (1987) | Rank |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [21] : 439 | 19 |
Canada Top Singles (RPM) [72] | 17 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [73] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [74] | 99 |
US Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard) [75] | 37 |
Chart (1988) | Rank |
---|---|
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [76] | 18 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [77] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [78] | Gold | 10,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with only one hit single that overshadows their other work. Some artists dubbed "one-hit wonders" in a particular country have had great success in other countries. Music artists with subsequent popular albums and hit listings are not properly considered a one-hit wonder, although artists with multiple hits have sometimes been erroneously labelled as "one-hit wonders" if one particular hit has become much more well-remembered years or decades later than their other hits. One-hit wonders usually see their popularity decreasing after their hit listing, and most often do not ever return to hit listings with other songs or albums.
"Come On Eileen" is a song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners, released in the United Kingdom in June 1982 as a single from their second studio album Too-Rye-Ay. It reached number one in the United States and was their second number one hit in the UK, following 1980's "Geno". The song was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley and was initially claimed to be written by Kevin Rowland, Jim Paterson and Billy Adams, although Rowland later stated that the essence of the tune should be attributed to Kevin Archer.
"Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album The Game (1980). It was a worldwide hit, charting at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, from 4 October to 18 October. The song spent 15 weeks in the Billboard top 10, including 13 weeks in the top five, and 31 weeks total on the chart. It reached number two on the Hot Soul Singles chart and the Disco Top 100 chart, and number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The song is credited as Queen's best-selling single, with sales of over 7 million copies. This version was ranked at number 34 on Billboard's All-Time Top Songs.
Lipps Inc. was an American disco and funk group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group is best known for the chart-topping 1980 worldwide hit single "Funkytown", which hit No. 1 in 28 countries and was certified as double platinum in sales.
Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that were formed in 1982 by Brian Canham, Pierre Gigliotti, and Tony Lugton (keyboards). Later members included Anthony Argiro (drums), James Leigh (keyboards), and Vince Leigh (drums). In the 1980s, Pseudo Echo had multiple Australian top 20 hits with "Listening", "A Beat for You", "Don't Go", "Love an Adventure", and "Living in a Dream". Their 1986 cover of "Funky Town" was an international success, peaking at No. 1 in Australia and New Zealand and becoming a top ten hit in Sweden, Canada, the United States, and in the United Kingdom.
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently focuses on dance and electronic music under the direction of Brett Alperowitz.
Steven Greenberg is an American musician, record producer and the owner of the independent label October Records. He is best known for his band Lipps Inc.'s 1980 hit song "Funkytown".
"Good Vibrations" is a song by American group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featuring Loleatta Holloway. It was released in July 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, Music for the People (1991). The song became a number-one hit in the United States, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.
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"Rock with You" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones. It was first offered to Karen Carpenter, while she was working on her first solo album, but she turned it down. It was released in October 1979, by Epic Records as the second single from Jackson's fifth solo studio album Off the Wall (1979). It was also the third number-one hit of the 1980s, a decade in which the pop singles chart would quickly be dominated by Jackson.
"Stars on 45" is a song medley issued in January 1981 by Dutch studio group Stars on 45. In some countries, including the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand, the band was credited as 'Starsound' and only the medley itself was named "Stars on 45".
Cynthia Johnson is an American singer, songwriter and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the band Lipps Inc. with the worldwide smash hit "Funkytown".
"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on the recording included lead singer Parissi, electric guitarist Bryan Bassett, bassist Allen Wentz, and drummer Ron Beitle, with session players Chuck Berginc, Jack Brndiar (trumpets), and Joe Eckert and Rick Singer (saxes) on the horn riff that runs throughout the song's verses. The single hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 18, 1976; it was also No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 2 million records and eventually sold 2.5 million in the United States alone.
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"Xanadu" is the title song from the soundtrack of the 1980 musical film of the same name. Written by Jeff Lynne of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the song is performed by English-born Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John, with Lynne adding parenthetic vocals in the style of his other songs on the Xanadu soundtrack, and ELO providing the instrumentation. It was Lynne's least favourite of his own songs. Released as a single in June 1980, it reached number one in several European countries and was the band's only UK number-one single when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It also peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Mouth to Mouth is the debut studio album by the American disco/funk group Lipps Inc., released in November 1979 by Casablanca Records. It spawned the worldwide platinum hit "Funkytown", which reached #1 in 28 countries. The album was mostly arranged, produced and written by Steven Greenberg, who also played multiple instruments on the album.
Love an Adventure is the second studio album by Australian new wave band Pseudo Echo, released in 1985 by EMI Australia. The album peaked at No. 14 in Australia and produced three Australian top twenty singles, including "Don’t Go", which peaked at No. 4.
Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band formed in 1982, best known for their 1986 single "Funky Town". They released three studio albums before disbanding in 1989. The band reformed in 1998 and have released four further studio albums, and continue to tour Australia. They have released 6 studio albums, 2 live, and 7 compilation albums.
"Rock It" is the debut single by Minneapolis band Lipps Inc. and the lead single from their debut album Mouth to Mouth. The song peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1980 following a second launch.
The Minneapolis Sound jam that makes moving to another city sound about 10000x more fun than it is in practice, and proof that disco didn't go the way of the dodo as soon as the calendar turned to 1980.
...but it does bridge eras in a similar way, connecting the dying embers of disco to the bleepy synthpop that was still taking shape in 1980... yet the song's chilly sparseness...look[s] forward into the coming synthpop explosion of the '80s.