Lipps Inc.

Lipps Inc. was a late 70s studio group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band combined tasty elements of disco, R&B, and New Wave music into a uniquely catchy, funky, and arresting sound. Lipps Inc. was formed in 1979 by producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Steven Greenberg. The group was fronted by singers Cynthia Johnson (Miss Black Minnesota 1976), Dana Greenberg, and Joyce Lepinsky. Other band members were: Terry Grant (bass), Peter Johnson (keyboards), Bobby Vandell (drums), Ivan Rafowitz (keyboards), Bobby Schnitzer (guitars), Tom Riopelle (guitars), and David Rivkin (guitars). Lipps Inc. released their debut album "Mouth to Mouth" in early 1980 on the Casablanca Records label. The group scored a massive smash hit with the incredibly bouncy, groovy, and infectious "Funkytown": The song spent four weeks at #1 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts, soared to #2 in the United Kingdom, and reached the #1 spot in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, and the Netherlands. One of the most beloved and memorable of early 80s #1 hit songs, "Funkytown" has been covered by Pseudo Echo, Selena, and Alvin & the Chipmunks. Moreover, this song has not only been featured on the soundtracks for a handful of movies and episodes of various TV shows, but also has been used as a jingle in TV commercials for such products as Cocoa Puffs, Avera Energy, Volkswagen, and the Nissan Altima automobile. Alas, Lipps Inc. was unable to match or surpass the monumental success of "Funkytown;" for example, the rousing "Rock It" only made it to #64 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts. However, the band's cool syncopated cover of Ace's "How Long?" did pretty well; it climbed to #4 on the US dance chart and went to #29 on the US souls single chart. Lipps Inc. released their fourth and final album "4" in 1983. The group stopped recording altogether in 1985.