"Do Ya Wanna Funk" is a 1982

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

song recorded by American recording artists Sylvester and

Patrick Cowley Patrick Joseph Cowley (October 19, 1950 – November 12, 1982) was an American disco and hi-NRG dance music composer and recording artist. Along with Giorgio Moroder, he often is credited as a pioneer of electronic dance music. Early life Patr ...

. It was produced by Cowley, who incidentally died the same year. The song was mostly successful in Europe, especially in Belgium, Finland and Norway, where it became a top-10 hit. It also reached the top 20 in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and made it to the top 30 in West Germany and Australia, and the top 40 in the United Kingdom. The song was inspired by "I'm Your Jeanie", a single by

Jeanie Tracy Jeanie Tracy is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as a background singer of Sylvester, an American disco singer. Her first album, '' Me and You'' (1982), featured post-disco hits "I' ...

, who was a background vocalist for Sylvester. It was also featured in the film ''Trading Places'' (1983). In 2022, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked "Do Ya Wanna Funk" number 179 in their list of ''200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time''.

Track listing

* 12", US' # "Do Ya Wanna Funk" - ''6:47'' # "Do Ya Wanna Funk" (instrumental) - ''6:47'' # "Do Ya Wanna Funk" (radio version) - ''3:29'' * 12", UK # "Do Ya Wanna Funk" - ''6:47'' # "Do Ya Wanna Funk" (instrumental) - ''6:47'' # "Do Ya Wanna Funk" (radio version) - ''3:29'' * 12", Lebanon # "Do Ya Wanna Funk" - ''5:30'' remixed By Dj petro 1994

Charts

Personnel

*Sylvester - voices *Patrick Cowley - synthesizers and sequencer *James Wirrick - synthesizers and drum machine

Appearances in film

The song is heard throughout the entire scene where Billy Ray Valentine hosts a party in ''

Trading Places ''Trading Places'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis, with a screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the fi ...

'', a comedy movie starring

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

as Billy Ray Valentine and

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

as Louis Winthorp III. The song also appears in the

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AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

Longtime Companion ''Longtime Companion'' is a 1989 American romantic drama film directed by Norman René and starring Bruce Davison, Campbell Scott, Patrick Cassidy, and Mary-Louise Parker. The first wide-release theatrical film to deal with the subject of AIDS, th ...

'', as well as the 2001 TV miniseries '' Further Tales of the City'', and in both cases its use is an

anachronism An anachronism (from the Ancient Greek, Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronology, chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time per ...

, being heard in scenes set a year before the song was even released. The song was also featured in the 1984 Oscar-winning documentary ''

The Times of Harvey Milk ''The Times of Harvey Milk'' is a 1984 American documentary film that premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and then on November 1, 1984, at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. The film was directed by Rob Epstein, ...

''. The song is covered by

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, singer, comedian and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. She is perhaps b ...

in the 1990 film version of her stage show, '' Without You I'm Nothing''. It is also featured in the 2021 Channel 4 TV series “It’s a Sin” during a club scene whilst Richie explains the various theories around the origins of HIV.

References

{{authority control 1982 singles Sylvester (singer) songs Songs written by Patrick Cowley London Records singles 1982 songs