Cynthia Johnson (born April 22, 1956) 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 "Funkytown" is a song by the American disco/funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music gen ...

Musical career

Beginnings

Prior to becoming the lead singer of Lipps Inc., Johnson had become well-known locally for winning the 1976 Miss Black Minnesota, USA pageant, and for being the lead vocalist of the well-known Minneapolis band Flyte Tyme for seven years. Being also an accomplished saxophone player, Johnson utilized her saxophone talents in Flyte Tyme, and she was also the songwriter of many of their songs. Johnson also co-wrote some songs with band members

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

, today a multi-Grammy award winning songwriting and producing team. Johnson completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, Morris in 1978, and continued to perform with Flyte Tyme for a brief time. Shortly after she left Flyte Tyme, the band evolved into The Time, a side project of Prince.

Lipps Inc.

Johnson was the lead singer of the popular

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

-based band Lipps Inc., best known for its 1980 song "

". The song hit No. 1 in 28 countries, sold more than 35 million copies worldwide, and earned a place in the "One-Hit Wonders" section of the Rock & Roll Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Other singles include "Designer Music" and "Rock It", but the group never matched the success of "

", which continues to influence popular culture. The group received several awards, among them three

Billboard Music Award The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of t ...

s and "Soul Record of the Year" by the AMOA association. Johnson left the band after the group's third album ''

Designer Music ''Designer Music'' is the third album by American disco act Lipps, Inc., and the last featuring Cynthia Johnson on lead vocals. It was released in 1981 on Casablanca Records. The tracks "Hold Me Down" along with the title track became a hit in 1 ...

'' was released.

Late 1980s to present

Johnson has continued her musical career and remains active as a member of the three-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning gospel group

Sounds of Blackness Sounds of Blackness is a vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the ''Billboard'' R&B and Hot Dan ...

, as a musician on albums by

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many o ...

and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

, on labels such as Motown, and on projects of Grammy-winning producers

. She also has worked as a jingle singer on commercials for products from 3M, Volkswagen, Nissan, Target, FedEx, Ford and McDonald's. She has also sung for U.S. presidents. Johnson was the host of the first episode of the FunkyTown TV series, produced by the Minneapolis-based production company, Megabien Entertainment.

Solo career

In addition to working with others, Johnson continues her career as a solo artist. Her debut album, '' All That I Am'', was released on December 15, 2013 on the Megabien Music label.

Discography

Solo albums and lead vocalist

* 1979 '' Mouth to Mouth'' – Lipps, Inc. – Lead Vocals * 1980 '' Pucker Up'' – Lipps, Inc. – Lead Vocals * 1981 ''

'' – Lipps, Inc. – Lead Vocals, songwriter * 1992 ''Funkyworld'' – Lipps, Inc. – Lead Vocals * 2003 ''

'' – Lipps, Inc. – Lead Vocals, songwriter, composer * 2013 '' All That I Am'' – Main Vocals, songwriter, producer

Additional appearances

* 1978 A Touch on the Rainy Side – Jesse Winchester – Choir/Chorus * 1980 Billboard Top Dance Hits: 1980 – Saxophone, Vocals * 1987 Kiss Serious –

Chico DeBarge Jonathan Arthur "Chico" DeBarge (born June 23, 1966) is an American R&B singer and musician. DeBarge was formally a member (for their final album) of the family musical group DeBarge. As a solo artist he scored a 1986 US Top Forty hit with the s ...

– backing vocals * 1988 Just Like That – Brownmark – backing vocals * 1988 Personal & Attention –

Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw Jackson (née Lattisaw; born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C., United States. Career The 1979 song " Ring My Bell" was originally written for then twelve-year-old Lattisaw, as a teenybopper son ...

– backing vocals * 1988

When the Lights Go Out "When the Lights Go Out" is the second single released from British group Five's debut studio album, ''Five''. It was released in early 1998. The song was co-written by the group alongside Eliot Kennedy, Tim Lever and Mike Percy (from the ba ...

–

Pia Zadora Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' (1964), she came to national attention ...

– backing vocals * 1988 Carry On, Vol. 2 – Ipso Facto – Vocals * 1988 Omaiyo – Robin Adnan Anders – Vocals * 1990 I Am – Elisa Fiorillo – backing vocals * 1990 The Brojos – The Brojos – Rap, backing vocals * 1991 Here It Is –

Jevetta Steele Jevetta Steele (born November 11, 1963) is an American R&B and gospel music singer. Early years Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Steele eventually migrated to Minneapolis, Minnesota to become a criminal lawyer. Steele later embarked upon a sol ...

– backing vocals * 1991 Imperial Bells of China – Hubei Song & Dance Ensemble – Photography * 1993 Here It Is –

– backing vocals * 1994 African-American Music in Minnesota – Vocals * 1995 It Must Be Christmas – Debbie Duncan – Choir/Chorus, Vocals * 1996 Best of the Singer's Voice – Performer, Primary Artist * 1996 Greatest Hits – Georgia Mass Choir – Choir/Chorus * 1998 Lonnie Hunter & The Voices of St. Mark – Lonnie Hunter – Alto Vocals * 1998 Lost in the Blues – Doug Maynard – backing vocals * 1998 River of Song: A Musical Journey Down the Mississippi – Producer * 1999 Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions – Shannon Curfman – backing vocals * 1999 Billboard Top Dance Hits: 1976–1980 – Saxophone, Vocals * 2002 Solid Gold Funk – Vocals * 2002 Soul Symphony –

– Alto Vocals * 2003 Angels on the Freeway –

Kevin Bowe Kevin Bowe is a songwriter, record producer and musician from Minneapolis. He is most well known for his work with prominent rock and blues artists including Paul Westerberg and the Replacements, writing songs for hit albums by Jonny Lang and K ...

– Vocals * 2003 Cross N Water – Ford – Vocals, backing vocals * 2003 David Young – David Young – backing vocals * 2003 Made by Maceo –

– backing vocals * 2003 Sweet Talk – Reneé Austin – backing vocals * 2004 Deliverance – Shane Henry – backing vocals * 2005 In the Fellowship – Patrick Lundy – Tenor Vocals * 2005 Right About Love – Reneé Austin – Vocal Harmony, backing vocals * 2005 School's In! –

– Vocals, backing vocals * 2005 Unity –

– Alto Vocals, Primary Artist, Vocals * 2005 Unity

005 ''005'' is a 1981 arcade game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings". It is one of the first examples of a ...

– Unity – Alto (Vocals), Primary Artist, Vocals * 2006 I'll Play All Night Long – John McAndrew – backing vocals * 2006 Overflow – Kevin Davidson – Banjo * 2007 Between Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – Mick Sterling – Main Personnel, Vocals, backing vocals * 2007 Kings and Queens: Message from the Movement – Sounds of Blackness – Alto Vocals * 2007 The One Who's Leavin' – Doug Spartz – backing vocals * 2010 Chinese Whispers – Alison Scott – backing vocals * 2010 Life's a Party: the Best of In Between – Primary Artist * 2011 Hope One Mile – G.B. Leighton – Vocal Harmony * 2011 Sounds of Blackness –

– Alto Vocals, Group Member, Vocals * 2012 Natchez Trace –

– Vocal Harmony * 2012 Nothing But a Breeze/A Touch on the Rainy Side – Jesse Winchester – Choir/Chorus * 2013 He's Faithful – James Pullin & Remnant – Soprano vocals * 2013 Purple Snow, Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound – Lead Vocals, Songwriter (1970s recording on compilation)

Filmography

* Live performance "Higher Ground" with ABC Youth Choir, Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, 2001 * ''Funkytown'', TV series, 2013 * ''Les Annees Bonheur'', French TV show, 2014

Awards and recognitions

* Miss Black Minnesota USA, 1976 * Induction into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame as a member of

Lipps Inc Lipps may refer to: *Lipps, Virginia * Lipps Island * Lipps Inc Lipps is the surname of: * Jere H. Lipps * Louis Lipps * Theodor Lipps Theodor Lipps (; 28 July 1851 – 17 October 1914) was a German philosopher, famed for his theory regarding ...

* Recipient of Platinum in the US, Double Platinum in Canada, Gold in France and Germany, Silver in the UK, among others, as the lead singer on "Funkytown" * Three Billboard Music Awards, 1980 * Three time Grammy Award Winner as a member of

, 1991, 1993 and 1998

References

External links

*
Cynthia Johnson is credited as a saxophonist on this compilation (containing "Funkytown")
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20181204084910/http://www.funkytown.us/ TV show Funkytown (Video Production by Megabien Entertainment – Sept. 2012)br>Washington Post article "Funkytown: Digging on the rise of soul music in 1980s Minneapolis"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Cynthia 1956 births Living people 20th-century African-American women singers Musicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota American dance musicians American television personalities American women television personalities American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Minnesota 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers American funk singers American disco singers American women pop singers African-American rock singers University of Minnesota Morris alumni 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American women singers