Lipps Inc’s 1980 song that became a global one-hit wonder is “Funkytown.”
The track was written and produced by Minneapolis musician Steven Greenberg, who formed Lipps Inc as a studio project. Lead vocals were performed by Cynthia Johnson. Its lyrics express a desire to escape to a more exciting place, while the tightly sequenced disco arrangement builds around a memorable synthesizer line and repeated title hook.
“Funkytown” reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in May 1980 and stayed there for four weeks. It also topped charts in countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and West Germany. The record became one of the defining final major disco hits before the style’s commercial decline.
Lipps Inc continued releasing music, but no later single approached the success of “Funkytown.” The title is sometimes treated as a nickname for Minneapolis, but the song’s lyric does not name a specific city. Its enduring popularity has come from dance-floor revivals, sampling, advertising, and appearances in films and television.