B-side "All Night Dancing" Genre Discofunk | Released 1980 (1980) | |
Length 4:00 (single version)7:50 (extended 12" version) |
"Funkytown" is a song by American disco act Lipps Inc. from their debut album Mouth to Mouth (1979). It was released as the album's lead single in 1980.
Contents
- Background and composition
- Chart performance
- Track listings
- Pseudo Echo version
- TV shows
- Movies
- Commercials
- Video games
- Miscellaneous
- References
"Funkytown" held a unique record for reaching the number one spot in 28 countries, more than any other single release until Madonna's "Hung Up" reached number one in 41 countries in 2005. It reached the top spot in the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia, among many others.
Background and composition
Written by Steven Greenberg and sung by Cynthia Johnson, the song expresses the singer's pining for a metaphorical place that will "keep me movin', keep me groovin' with some energy". It was written while the band lived in Minneapolis with dreams of moving to New York.
Chart performance
"Funkytown" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 on March 29, 1980 and spent four weeks at number one, beginning May 31. It also hit the number one spot on the disco chart in 1980. It also reached no. 2 in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and on the U.S. soul chart. The song was Lipps Inc.s only American Top 40 hit.
Track listings
7" single
- "Funkytown" – 4:00
- "All Night Dancing" – 3:09
12" single
- "Funkytown" – 7:51
- "All Night Dancing" – 3:09
Pseudo Echo version
In 1986, "Funkytown" was covered by Australian band Pseudo Echo, who gave the song a different sound, with a guitar solo in the middle of their version. Pseudo Echo's version spent seven weeks at no. 1 in Australia (Lipps Inc.'s was at no. 1 for only two weeks in Australia), and was also a no. 6 US hit in July of the following year, and in August a no. 1 hit in Canada. Mirroring Lipps Inc.s experience, Pseudo Echo's version was that group's only US Top 40 hit. This version of "Funky Town" by Pseudo Echo was played in the 1987 sequel comedy film Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise.
Track listings
7" Single (EMI 1883)
- "Funkytown" – 3:40
- "Lies Are Nothing" – 3:58
12 / Maxi (ED 237) / (RCA 5217-7)
TV shows
Movies
The song appears in the movie "Selena" (1997) as a disco medley.