Lipps Inc - Funkytown (1979) - with Cynthia Johnson singing the lead



Today in 1980, Lipps Inc went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Funkytown". The disco hit was also a No. 1 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Australia and The Netherlands. It reached No. 2 in the U.K. It was written by musician, composer, and record producer Steven Greenberg and sung by Cynthia Johnson. Fun fact: Greenberg reportedly wrote the song while the band was living in Minneapolis with dreams of moving to New York. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Donna Summer - I Feel Love (1977) - Roller Disco Skating Version

Image
Not only one of the landmark records of the disco era, Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" also anticipated the emergence of techno -- sleek, pulsating, and sensual, its signature galloping bass line and sequencer-driven rhythm established the sonic blueprint for virtually all of the dance music to follow in its wake. Written by Summer in tandem with her longtime production team of Giorgio Moroder and Peter Bellotte, upon its 1977 release "I Feel Love" heralded a massive shift from the lushly orchestral disco records popular during the middle of the decade toward a harder-edged, electronic approach -- completely computer-generated, the song's futuristic sheen combines with its dreamily orgasmic vocal to create an experience that's both clinically remote and primally erotic. Summer's second Top Ten hit, "I Feel Love" ranks alongside Brian Eno's Another Green World and Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express among the era's seminal electronic r
Read more

The Manhattan Transfer - Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone (1979) - Nightlife Dancefloor Disco Version - with Janis Siegel on lead vocals

Image
 When I heard this song on the radio, I thought it was sung by a black African-American queen of the disco, named, Catherine Russell , then I thought Dianne Marie Harvey , then Ednah Holt from Ednah Holt & Starluv , next thing I thought "Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone" was sung by a black American disco queen, Melba Moore , then I thought Suzi Lane, then I also thought Diva Gray . I wish this song, "Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone" would have been sung by Miquel Brown , Joyce Cobb or Debbie Jacobs , but none of those black disco queens wanted to sing it, so instead Janis Siegel wanted to sing this disco tune in a powerhouse disco style. I like this shorter version better without the Halloween sci-fi spoken narrations from "The Twilight Zone" , plus it's more nightlife disco than the full original that's too experimental. Manhattan Transfer "Twilight tone" Lyrics and composition: Jay Graydon, Bernard Herrmann, Alan Paul Here's wh
Read more

Ellie Hope and Liquid Gold

Image
Ellie Hope and Liquid Gold     Two of the "disco-era's" biggest hits came from a group that  never  appeared in America. The U.K. based  Liquid Gold  consisted of Wally Rothe (drums), Ray Knott (bass), Syd Twynham (lead guitar) and Ellie Hope (vocals).          Ray met Ellie in 1976 when both auditioned as replacements for  Babe Ruth.  Babe Ruth had four albums between 1972-1975. Ray and Ellie contributed to  Babe Ruth's  last album  "Kid Stuff,"  before it disbanded.      Ray and Ellie then recruited Syd and Wally to form the  Dream Coupe.  The four played local bars and pubs doing mainly cover tunes while continuing to write there own material and seeking out a recording contract. Producer Adrian Baker happened to catch the group and was so intrigued by Ellie's vocals that he signed the group to Creole records and a one year contract.      As the newly christened  Liquid Gold  they played a few shows in London until their first record was released in O
Read more