You Dropped a Bomb on Me

"You Dropped a Bomb on Me" is a funk song performed by American R&B and funk band The Gap Band, released in August 1982 on producer Lonnie Simmons's label, Total Experience Records. In addition to the single release, it was featured on the band's sixth album, Gap Band IV (1982). It reached No. 2 on the US Billboard R&B charts, No. 39 on the dance charts, and No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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.

A long-standing rumor claimed that "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" 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 confirmed that the rumor was false, although he did express appreciation that it brought attention to the historical event.

In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" No. 96 in their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".