"You Dropped a Bomb on Me" is a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

song performed by

the Gap Band The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets (Greenwood, Archer, and ...

, released in 1982 on producer

Lonnie Simmons Lonnie Simmons (December 12, 1944 - February 6, 2019) was an American record producer from Los Angeles, California. He was founder and president of the now-defunct Total Experience Records. As a composer, he co-wrote several #1 R&B songs for his ...

's label,

Total Experience Records Total Experience Records was a record label founded by Lonnie Simmons. Its two major acts were The Gap Band and Yarbrough & Peoples. It originally began in 1977 as a production company whose albums were released by Mercury Records before becoming ...

. In addition to the single release, the song was featured on the band's 1982 album ''

Gap Band IV ''Gap Band IV'' is the sixth album (contrary to the title) by The Gap Band, released in 1982 on Total Experience Records. The album reached #1 on the Black Albums chart and #14 on the Pop Albums chart, achieved platinum status, and is considere ...

''.

Song information

The song prominently features a synthesizer that imitates the whistling sound of a 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 Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

drum rolls. In the aftermath of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, the song was one of those named on the

2001 Clear Channel memorandum Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), the largest owner of radio stations in the United States, circulated an internal memorandum containing a list of songs that program directors felt were "l ...

of "lyrically questionable" songs.

Chart positions and performance

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

In popular culture

* The song is featured in the 2004 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' on the radio ''Bounce FM''. * The song is featured in a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Christmas holiday television commercial that started airing in October 2017. * The song is frequently played at sporting events. For example, it is played at

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

, and

Oklahoma State University Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Col ...

home games when a player from the home team hits a home run. * The song was included in the teaser trailer for ''

They Cloned Tyrone ''They Cloned Tyrone'' is an upcoming American science fiction comedy mystery film directed by Juel Taylor in his feature film directorial debut, from a screenplay by Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier. The film stars John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, Kief ...

''.

References

External links

You Dropped a Bomb on Me
music video from The Gap Band's

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

page {{Authority control 1982 singles Funk songs The Gap Band songs Songs written by Lonnie Simmons Songs written by Charlie Wilson (singer) Songs written by Rudy Taylor 1982 songs Memphis Grizzlies San Francisco Giants