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You Dropped a Bomb on Me

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"You Dropped a Bomb on Me"
A-side label of US 12-inch vinyl release
Single by the Gap Band
from the album Gap Band IV
B-side
  • "Lonely Like Me"
  • "Humpin'"
  • "Early in the Morning"
ReleasedAugust 1982
GenreSynth-funk[1][2]
Length
  • 5:13 (album version and 12-inch single)
  • 4:05 (single edit)
  • 13:07 (special disco mix)
LabelTotal Experience
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Lonnie Simmons
The Gap Band singles chronology
"Early in the Morning"
(1982) 		"You Dropped a Bomb on Me"
(1982) 		"Outstanding"
(1983)

"You Dropped a Bomb on Me" is a funk song performed by American R&B and funk band The Gap Band, released in August 1982 on producer Lonnie Simmons's label, Total Experience Records. In addition to the single release, it was included on the band's sixth album, Gap Band IV (1982). It reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot Black Singles chart, No. 39 on the Billboard Dance/Disco Top 80, and No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" No. 96 in their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".[3]

The song prominently features a synthesizer that imitates the whistling sound of an aerial bomb being dropped. This is first heard once immediately before the first verse, and repeats throughout the song from the fourth chorus onward. The song also features timpani drum rolls. A long-standing rumor claimed that "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" was inspired by the Tulsa race massacre, during which bombs were dropped on black neighborhoods and businesses. Tulsa is the Gap Band's hometown. In 2021, 100 years after the massacre, Gap Band frontman Charlie Wilson confirmed that the rumor was false, although he did express appreciation that it brought attention to the historical event.[4]

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the song was one of those named on the 2001 Clear Channel memorandum of "lyrically questionable" songs.[5]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1982) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 31
US Dance/Disco Top 80 (Billboard)[7] 39
US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)[8] 2
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[9] 27

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Terich, Jeff; Blyweiss, Adam (August 27, 2015). "10 Essential Synth-Funk tracks". Treble. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  2. ^ Rolling Stone Staff (February 8, 2024). "The 100 Greatest Jock Jams of All Time: Staff List". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 29, 2024. A synth-funk masterwork, with whistling bomb sound effects equally worthy of Funk Flex and early NES.
  3. ^ Dolan, Jon; Lopez, Julyssa; Matos, Michaelangelo; Shaffer, Claire (July 22, 2022). "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  4. ^ "The Gap Band's Charlie Wilson discusses hit song's connection to 1921 Tulsa massacre". ABC News. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  5. ^ Foege, Alec (April 14, 2009). Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and the Fall of Commercial Radio. Faber & Faber. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-4299-2367-5.
  6. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. September 25, 1982. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  7. ^ "Dance Club Songs". Billboard. October 9, 1982. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  8. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. September 25, 1982. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  9. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 13, 1994. p. 20. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
[edit]
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