"Funkytown" is a song by the American

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

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 genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

band

Lipps Inc. Lipps Inc. ( , a pun on the phrase "lip sync") 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 cert ...

, released in 1980 as the second single from their 1979 debut album, '' Mouth to Mouth''. It was successful globally, reaching top spots in places such as the United States, West Germany, Canada, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia.

Composition

It was written by musician, composer, and record producer Steven Greenberg and sung by

Cynthia Johnson 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". Musical career Beginnings Prior to bec ...

. The lyrics pine for a metaphorical place that will "keep me movin', keep me groovin' with some energy", while the band members were dreaming of relocating from

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It is in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

Music videos

"Funkytown" has at least two music videos. In one, a black singer mimes the vocals and some women dance in a pub. In another video, Debbie Jenner, who fronted the band in the Netherlands and West Germany, dances while miming the vocals. Johnson claims on her website that she "was never asked to perform a video of 'Funkytown'".

Track listings

* 7" single #"Funkytown" – 4:00 #"All Night Dancing" – 3:10 * 12" single #"Funkytown" – 7:50 #"All Night Dancing" – 8:20

Reception

Critical

In 1997, Canadian DJ

John Acquaviva John Acquaviva (born 1963) is an Italian Canadian DJ, producer, artist, and musical entrepreneur. Music career Acquaviva began his career in Detroit where he performed under the name of J'acquaviva+8. He met fellow DJ Richie Hawtin at The Shelter ...

listed it with his top 10 tracks, saying, "It's always been one of my favourite 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." In 2009, VH1 ranked it at number 37 on its list of the ''100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s''. In 2018, '' Time Out'' listed it number 44 of "The 100 best party songs". In 2018, ''

ThoughtCo Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

'' placed it seventh on its list of "25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time".

Charts

"Funkytown" entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on March 29, 1980, and spent four weeks at number one, from May 31 to June 21, 1980. It hit the number one spot on the

chart in 1980. It reached no. 2 in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the US soul chart. The song is Lipps Inc's only American Top 40 hit.

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Certifications and sales

Pseudo Echo version

In 1986, "Funkytown" was covered by Australian band

Pseudo Echo Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that formed in 1982 by founding mainstay Brian Canham on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Other original members were Pierre Gigliotti (as Pierre Pierre) on bass keyboards and bass guitar, and Tony Lugt ...

in rock form, including a

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

in the middle. It reached no. 6 on the US Hot 100 chart and spent seven weeks at no. 1 in Australia. Like Lipps Inc, it is Pseudo Echo's only US Top 40 hit.

Track listings

7" single (EMI 1883) #"Funkytown" – 3:40 #"Lies Are Nothing" – 3:58 12" / Maxi (ED 237) / (RCA 5217–7) *Side A: "Funky Town" (Dance Mix) – 6:32 *Side B: "Funkytown" – 3:40 *Side B: "Lies Are Nothing" – 3:58

Charts

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Certifications

References

External links

Composition

Music videos

Track listings

Reception

Critical

Charts

Weekly

Year-end

All-time

Certifications and sales

Pseudo Echo version

Track listings

Charts

Weekly

Year-end

Certifications

See also

References

External links