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You Dropped a Bomb on Me

"You Dropped a Bomb on Me"
A-side label of U.S. 12-inch vinyl release
Single by the Gap Band
from the album Gap Band IV
B-side
ReleasedAugust 1982
Recorded1982
GenreSynth-funk[1][2]
Length4:05 (single version)
5:13 (12" single edit)
13:07 (special disco mix)
LabelTotal Experience
Songwriter(s)Lonnie Simmons, Rudy Taylor, Charlie Wilson
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 The Gap Band, released in 1982 on producer Lonnie Simmons's label, Total Experience Records. In addition to the single release, the song was featured on the band's 1982 album Gap Band IV.

Song information

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.

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.[3]

A long-standing rumor claimed that the song 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 denied any connection, although he did express appreciation that the rumor brought attention to the historical event.[4]

Charts

It reached No. 2 on the Billboard R&B charts, No. 39 on the dance charts, and No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]

Chart (1982-1983) Peak
position
US Billboard Dance Club Songs 39
US Billboard Hot 100 31
US Billboard Hot Black Singles 2
  • The song is featured in a Walmart Christmas holiday television commercial that started airing in October 2017.[6]
  • The song appeared in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, where it can be heard on fictional radio station Bounce FM.[7]

References

  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. ^ Foege, Alec (14 April 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.
  4. ^ "The Gap Band's Charlie Wilson discusses hit song's connection to 1921 Tulsa massacre". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  5. ^ "The Gap Band > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  6. ^ "Walmart TV Commercial, 'Standing Ovation' Song by The Gap Band". iSpot.tv. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  7. ^ "Radio Stations and Song List". IGN. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
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