"Do Ya Wanna Funk" is a 1982 dance song recorded by American recording artists Sylvester and Patrick Cowley. It was produced by Cowley, who incidentally died the same year. The song was mostly successful in Europe, especially in Belgium, Finland and Norway, where it became a top-10 hit. It also reached the top 20 in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and made it to the top 30 in West Germany and Australia, and the top 40 in the United Kingdom.[2][3] The song was inspired by "I'm Your Jeanie",[4] a single by Jeanie Tracy, who was a background vocalist for Sylvester.[5] It was also featured in the film Trading Places (1983) and Argylle (2024). In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "Do Ya Wanna Funk" number 179 in their list of 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time.[6]
| "Do Ya Wanna Funk" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Sylvester and Patrick Cowley | ||||
| from the album All I Need | ||||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:29 (Radio version) | |||
| Label | Megatone (US) London (UK) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Patrick Cowley, Sylvester James | |||
| Producer(s) | Patrick Cowley | |||
| Sylvester and Patrick Cowley singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Track listing
edit- 12", US'
- "Do Ya Wanna Funk" - 6:47
- "Do Ya Wanna Funk" (instrumental) - 6:47
- "Do Ya Wanna Funk" (radio version) - 3:29
- 12", UK
- "Do Ya Wanna Funk" - 6:47
- "Do Ya Wanna Funk" (instrumental) - 6:47
- "Do Ya Wanna Funk" (radio version) - 3:29
- 12", Lebanon
- "Do Ya Wanna Funk" - 5:30 remixed By Dj petro 1994
Charts
edit| Chart (1982-83) | Peak position[2][3] |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] | 24 |
| Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[8] | 5 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] | 5 |
| France (SNEP)[10] | 40 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | 14 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] | 17 |
| Norway (VG-lista) | 8 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[8] | 12 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[11] | 32 |
| US Dance Music/Club Play Singles (Billboard) | 4 |
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[8] | 30 |
Personnel
edit- Sylvester - voices
- Patrick Cowley - synthesizers, drum machine and sequencer
Appearances in film and television
editThe song is heard throughout the entire scene where Billy Ray Valentine hosts a party in Trading Places, a comedy movie starring Eddie Murphy as Billy Ray Valentine and Dan Aykroyd as Louis Winthorp III.[12] The song also appears in the 1989 AIDS drama Longtime Companion, as well as the 2001 TV miniseries Further Tales of the City, and in both cases its use is an anachronism, being heard in scenes set a year before the song was even released. The song was also featured in the 1984 Oscar-winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk. The song is covered by Sandra Bernhard in the 1990 film version of her stage show, Without You I'm Nothing. It is used on multiple occasions in the 2024 movie Argylle (Sometimes reedited). It is also featured in the 2021 Channel 4 TV series It's a Sin during a club scene whilst Ritchie explains the various theories around the origins of HIV.
The song appeared in the "lip sync for the crown" segment of the season 8 finale of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars where contestants and finalists Jimbo and Kandy Muse performed it to impress RuPaul and ultimately win the competition.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (September 27, 2022). "100 Best Songs of 1982". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
...Sylvester was a grande dame by 1982, but still innovating in "Do Ya Wanna Funk". It's a blast of hi-NRG disco...
- ^ a b "Sylvester at SwissCharts". Swiss Charts. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
- ^ a b "Search for "Do You Wanna Funk" on EveryHit.com". EveryHit.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
- ^ Jeanie Tracy Interview. Disco Disco. Retrieved on April 3, 2019
- ^ Jeanie Tracy Biography Archived 2020-02-23 at the Wayback Machine. Bredband. Retrieved on April 3, 2019
- ^ Dolan, Jon; Lopez, Julyssa; Matos, Michaelangelo; Shaffer, Claire (2022-07-22). "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 303. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ a b c d "PATRICK COWLEY FEAT. SYLVESTER - DO YA WANNA FUNK". Single Top 100. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Sylvester". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 252. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
- ^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par S". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Trading Places - The Soundtrack)". imdb. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
- ^ P. Frank, Jason (2023-07-21). "RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars Season-Finale Recap: And So It Ends". Vulture. New York Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-10.