Steven Greenberg (musician)

Steven Greenberg (b. October 24, 1950) of Saint Paul, Minnesota is a musician, record producer and the owner of the independent October Records label. He is best known for his 1980 hit song "Funkytown," recorded under the name Lipps Inc (which was also a huge hit for Australian band Pseudo Echo). Many of his songs are classics on the dancefloor such as "Addicted to the Night", "How Long", "Designer Music" and "Choir Practice". His music is an inspiration to the new dance music genres. Steven Greenberg's son, Nile, was featured on the MTV show "Made" where he wanted to be made into a rapper. He went by the name Blizzard.

Before hard funksters like Prince and The Time hit the national stage, before groundbreaking alternative rockers Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, Minneapolis was barely a blip on America's musical radar – that is until Lipps Inc. broke out with one of disco's most monumental singles, the number one smash "Funkytown." The brainchild of producer/songwriter Steven Greenberg, Lipps Inc. (meant to be pronounced as a pun on "lip sync") wound up as one-hit wonders, but that one hit still stands as one of disco's all-time classics; its computerized feel and lean, spare arrangement contrasted sharply with the perceived excesses of most disco music, yet its longing for escape (specifically, from Minneapolis, whose music scene was still in its infancy) fit the spirit of the era perfectly, sending it to the top of the charts for a full month in 1980. When the Minneapolis music scene exploded in the early 80s, the song took on a different meaning, embraced by the energetic, enthusiastic rockers of the Twin Cities as a symbol of their cities' new-found energy. "Funkytown" became a state of mind, the seething cauldron of creative and artistic juices that sparked the newly christened "Minneapolis Sound."

A multi-instrumentalist, Greenberg had played in several bands and had been trying for some time to secure a production deal. He finally caught the Casablanca label's interest with a disco track called "Rock It," which became something of a hit locally. Casablanca asked Greenberg for a full album, and he gathered a cast of session players that initially included guitarists David Rivkin and Tom Riopelle, keyboardist Ivan Rafowitz, synth and vocoder programmer Roger Dumas, and bassist Terry Grant. Most importantly, he recruited lead vocalist Cynthia Johnson, the 1976 Miss Black Minnesota, who had been performing with an early version of The Time. Released nationally in late 1979, "Rock It" failed to catch on; the group's debut album, "Mouth To Mouth", was released in early 1980 and when "Funkytown" was pulled as a second single, it was an instant hit, climbing to number one just a couple months later and spending four weeks on top. In the wake of its success, "Rock It" was re-released, but flopped again. The six-song release "Pucker Up" followed, featuring a disco remake of the British pub rock group Ace's hit ballad "How Long." It didn't attract much attention, however; neither did the next Lipps Inc. full-length, "Designer Music". Johnson was already decreasing her involvement with the group, with Melanie Rosales picking up some of the slack; Johnson left for good in 1983. By the time Lipps Inc. threw in the towel, though, they'd begun to open things up on the Minneapolis music scene, not to mention giving valuable early experience to several future members of Prince's band The Revolution. Greenberg eventually moved into web design, and owns Designstein, a profitable company still based in Minneapolis.

ee also

* Music of Minnesota

External links

* [http://www.funkytown.com The Official Funkytown web site]
* - "note:" IMDB combines credits for Steven Greenberg and Steve Greenberg (record producer)
* [http://www.mnhs.org/places/historycenter/exhibits/music/greenberg.html Minnesota Historical Society article on Steven Greenberg]