"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	"Lonely Like Me" "Humpin'" (from The Gap Band III) "Early in the Morning" (Germany)
Released	August 1982
Recorded	1982
Genre	Synth-funk, post-disco[1]
Length	4:05 (single version) 5:13 (12" single edit) 13:07 (special disco mix)
Label	Total 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

A notable feature of the song is its use of a synthesizer to imitate the whistling sound, as well as an exploding sound of a bomb being dropped. This is first heard immediately before the first verse, and 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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 Christmas holiday television commercial that started airing in October 2017.^[4]
• The song is frequently played at sporting events. For example, it is played at San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, and Miami Marlins home games when a player from the home team hits a home run.