Lipps Inc

Lipps, Inc.
Origin	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Genres	R&B, disco, dance
Years active	1979–1985
Labels	Casablanca
Past members
Steven Greenberg Cynthia Johnson Melanie Rosales Margaret Cox

Lipps Inc. (pronounced like "lip sync") was a studio band that achieved two significant hits, "Funkytown", in 1980 and "Designer Music", in 1981.

The group was formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Steven Greenberg, who wrote and produced all of the group's music, and who also played several musical instruments. The lead singer and saxophonist was Cynthia Johnson, and the rest of the group consisted of a changing group of session musicians, including guitarist David Rivkin.

Lipps Inc. released their debut album Mouth to Mouth in late 1979. The second single from this album, "Funkytown", spent four weeks at number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts in the United States and was awarded a platinum record. It reached number two in the United Kingdom and was a hit throughout the world. Their further singles failed to match their initial success (their only other Hot 100 entry was "Rock It", which peaked at #64), however they had more dance hits throughout the 1980s, including "How Long?" (originally a big hit for Ace) in 1981, which reached #4 on the U.S. dance chart. Lipps Inc. released their final full-length album, 4, in 1983.

Cover versions

• The Australian group called Pseudo Echo had a very successful cover version of Funky Town in the summer of 1987. It reached #6 in the US, #8 in the UK, and topped the charts in Australia for 7 weeks from December 1986, as well as charting high in New Zealand and many other countries around the world.
• The British band World Domination Enterprises had a cover version of the song on their album Let's Play Domination in 1998.
• The Mexican Rap/Rock group Molotov made a cover version of the song "Designer Music" on their album Con Todo Respeto.
• The French Industrialist outfit Treponem Pal covered this song on its 1997 album Higher.
• The novelty comedy duo 2 Live Jews made a satire on the song with the title Bargain Town from their album Disco Jews.

Discography

Albums

• 1979: Mouth to Mouth
• 1980: Pucker Up
• 1981: Designer Music
• 1982: 4
• 1985: Hit The Deck/Does Anybody Know Me

Compilation album

• 1992: Funkyworld: The Best of Lipps, Inc., Island Records
• 2003: Funkytown, Universal Music Enterprises

Singles

• 1979: "Rock It"
• 1979: "How Long"
• 1980: "Funkytown"
• 1980: "Designer Music"
• 1981: "All Night Dancing"
• 1981: "Jazzy"
• 1981: "There They Are"
• 1982: "Tight Pair"
• 1982: "Addicted To The Night"
• 1983: "Hold Me Down"
• 1983: "Choir Practice"
• 1983: "Hit The Deck"
• 1984: "Does Anybody Know"
• 1985: "Power"
• 1985: "Gossip Song"

See also

• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

External links

• Official website