# Lipps Inc.
**Lipps, Inc.** (pronounced "lip sync", a pun on the phrase) was an American disco and funk group from [Minneapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/minneapolis), Minnesota, formed in 1979 by producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Steven Greenberg. The group is best known for the 1980 worldwide chart-topping single "[Funkytown](https://www.edgepedia.org/funkytown)", sung by lead vocalist Cynthia Johnson, which spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the final major hits of the disco era.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932) • [2](https://stereogum.com/2077732/the-number-ones-lipps-inc-s-funkytown/columns/the-number-ones)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Steven Greenberg; name is a pun on "lip sync"[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932) |
| Lead vocalist | Cynthia Johnson, Miss Black Minnesota 1976, formerly of the Minneapolis funk band Flyte Tyme[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932) |
| Signature hit | "Funkytown" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 31, 1980, and stayed there 4 weeks[2](https://stereogum.com/2077732/the-number-ones-lipps-inc-s-funkytown/columns/the-number-ones) |
| International reach | No. 1 in 28 countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and West Germany; No. 2 in the United Kingdom[3](https://www.startribune.com/funkytown-minneapolis-one-hit-wonder-steve-greenberg-david-rivkin-sound-80-cynthia-johnson/601460826) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4005599/) |
| Albums | Mouth to Mouth (1979), Pucker Up (1980), Designer Music (1981), 4 (1983)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932) |
| Active years | 1979 to 1985, disbanded after Johnson's 1983 departure[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932) |
## Formation and "Rock It"
Steven Greenberg, a part-time record producer and DJ for parties and weddings, wanted a vehicle to get a record out and settled on the name Lipps, Inc., explaining that he "always had a thing about lips" and needed a name.[5](https://routes-mag.com/issue-1980-6-1/) In 1979 he wrote the disco track "Rock It" and auditioned singers for it. Cynthia Johnson, then a 24-year-old police department secretary, heard about the auditions and sent a demo; Greenberg recruited her as lead vocalist.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/Radio-Programming/Billboard-Book-of-Number-One-Hits-1988--221117.pdf) Johnson had sung lead and played saxophone for Flyte Tyme, a Minneapolis funk band that later evolved into the Time.[2](https://stereogum.com/2077732/the-number-ones-lipps-inc-s-funkytown/columns/the-number-ones)
"Rock It" got the group signed to [Casablanca Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/casablanca-records) and did well in clubs, peaking at number 64 on the Hot 100 after its national release in late 1979.[2](https://stereogum.com/2077732/the-number-ones-lipps-inc-s-funkytown/columns/the-number-ones) The debut album *Mouth to Mouth* followed on [Casablanca](https://www.edgepedia.org/casablanca) in early 1980.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4005599/)
## "Funkytown"
"Funkytown", the second single from *Mouth to Mouth*, was crafted by Greenberg and engineer David Rivkin at Sound 80 studio in south Minneapolis, with Johnson as featured vocalist.[3](https://www.startribune.com/funkytown-minneapolis-one-hit-wonder-steve-greenberg-david-rivkin-sound-80-cynthia-johnson/601460826) Greenberg wrote the song out of boredom with Minneapolis and a desire to move somewhere else; the lyric tells of getting away to a "Funkytown".[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/Radio-Programming/Billboard-Book-of-Number-One-Hits-1988--221117.pdf)
The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 31, 1980, and spent four weeks on top; it also spent four weeks at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.[2](https://stereogum.com/2077732/the-number-ones-lipps-inc-s-funkytown/columns/the-number-ones) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4005599/) It topped the charts in 28 countries and reached number two in the United Kingdom.[3](https://www.startribune.com/funkytown-minneapolis-one-hit-wonder-steve-greenberg-david-rivkin-sound-80-cynthia-johnson/601460826) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4005599/) The song was certified platinum by the RIAA.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/Radio-Programming/Billboard-Book-of-Number-One-Hits-1988--221117.pdf) The group's own promotional site states the 2x platinum single sold over 20 million copies in over 40 countries.[7](https://www.funkytown.com/)
Musically, the song adapts the synthetic Euro-disco sound of [Giorgio Moroder](https://www.edgepedia.org/giorgio-moroder) into a sparse, computerized arrangement: Johnson sings the intro through a vocoder that turns her voice robotic, and nearly every element sounds programmed and processed, including the guitar and saxophone.[2](https://stereogum.com/2077732/the-number-ones-lipps-inc-s-funkytown/columns/the-number-ones) The synthesizer work was performed by Roger Dumas, a figure in the Minneapolis musical instrument retail scene.[8](https://artsandculture.google.com/story/discovering-moog-in-funk-and-r-amp-b-moogseum/MgVhhcFJU45HHQ?hl=en) Commentators have noted that the record arrived as obituaries for disco were being written and crossed from dance charts to the black and pop charts.[7](https://www.funkytown.com/)
## Later albums and breakup
After the hit, Greenberg assembled a touring band with Johnson as lead vocalist.[3](https://www.startribune.com/funkytown-minneapolis-one-hit-wonder-steve-greenberg-david-rivkin-sound-80-cynthia-johnson/601460826) The six-song release *Pucker Up* (1980) included a disco remake of the British pub rock group Ace's ballad "[How Long](https://www.edgepedia.org/how-long-ace-song)", which reached number four on Billboard's club chart.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932) *Designer Music* (1981) attracted little attention, and the final album, *4*, appeared in 1983, the year Johnson left for good, with Melanie Rosales picking up vocal duties.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932) Although "Funkytown" was certified platinum, Lipps, Inc. made the singles chart only one more time.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/Radio-Programming/Billboard-Book-of-Number-One-Hits-1988--221117.pdf) The group disbanded in 1985.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932)
## Place in Minneapolis music history
Before Prince and the Time, before [Hüsker Dü](https://www.edgepedia.org/husker-du) and the Replacements, Minneapolis was barely a presence on America's musical radar until Lipps, Inc. broke out with "Funkytown".[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932) The group gave early experience to several future members of Prince's band the Revolution, and many argue the Lipps, Inc. sound preceded the Minneapolis Sound of the 1980s.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932) • [7](https://www.funkytown.com/) Local radio was slower to follow: when the group released "Funkytown" in 1980, no station in Minneapolis would play it until it had become a national hit.[9](https://www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/2017/other/c170047.pdf)
## Legacy
"Funkytown" has remained in circulation through film and television, appearing in *Shrek 2* (2004), the television series *South Park*, *Malcolm in the Middle*, and *Friends*, and most recently in 2022's *Cha Cha Real Smooth*; it was also featured in a rotating one-hit-wonders exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.[3](https://www.startribune.com/funkytown-minneapolis-one-hit-wonder-steve-greenberg-david-rivkin-sound-80-cynthia-johnson/601460826) A 2025 Star Tribune report placed it as the fourth biggest one-hit wonder since 1970 in a Spin Genie ranking based on sales, streaming, and search activity, behind [Eiffel 65](https://www.edgepedia.org/eiffel-65)'s "Blue (Da Ba Dee)", Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know", and [Lou Bega](https://www.edgepedia.org/lou-bega)'s "Mambo No. 5".[3](https://www.startribune.com/funkytown-minneapolis-one-hit-wonder-steve-greenberg-david-rivkin-sound-80-cynthia-johnson/601460826) [The Australian](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-australian) band Pseudo Echo's rocked-up 1986 cover was a number one hit in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada and peaked at number six in the United States.[2](https://stereogum.com/2077732/the-number-ones-lipps-inc-s-funkytown/columns/the-number-ones) Greenberg later moved into web design and owns a company based in Minneapolis.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932)
## References
1. [Lipps, Inc. Biography by Steve Huey, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lipps-inc-mn0000243932)
2. [The Number Ones: Lipps, Inc.'s "Funkytown", Tom Breihan, Stereogum (2020)](https://stereogum.com/2077732/the-number-ones-lipps-inc-s-funkytown/columns/the-number-ones)
3. [Where does 'Funkytown' rank on the list of one-hit wonders?, Jon Bream, Minnesota Star Tribune (2025)](https://www.startribune.com/funkytown-minneapolis-one-hit-wonder-steve-greenberg-david-rivkin-sound-80-cynthia-johnson/601460826)
4. [Lipps Inc. Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4005599/)
5. [Lipps Inc.: Looking For Funkytown, Routes magazine (June 1980)](https://routes-mag.com/issue-1980-6-1/)
6. [LIPPS, INC., The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (1988), WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/Radio-Programming/Billboard-Book-of-Number-One-Hits-1988--221117.pdf)
7. [Funkytown, official Lipps, Inc. site](https://www.funkytown.com/)
8. [Discovering Moog In Funk and R&B, Bob Moog Foundation / Moogseum, Google Arts & Culture](https://artsandculture.google.com/story/discovering-moog-in-funk-and-r-amp-b-moogseum/MgVhhcFJU45HHQ?hl=en)
9. [Minnesota music history report, Minnesota Legislative Reference Library (2017)](https://www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/2017/other/c170047.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Choirs and vocal groups › Gospel, barbershop, and popular vocal groups › Soul, R&B, and Motown vocal groups*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license