Shannon’s name will always be synonymous with freestyle music as her hit song “Let the Music play” is regarded as the song that started it all. With disco dead, and the radio stations looking for a new dance sound, “Let the music Play” certainly brought a new type of music in to the mainstream. This new sound had Latin influence in it, had bouncy electro beats, a synthesizer and heavy syncopated drum-machine patterns that gave it a unique sound that would come to be known as freestyle music.

The top songs from Shannon

When “Let the music play” was released in late 1983, it instantly became a hit. As the lead song on the 1984 album titled “Let the music play,” the song hit #1 on the U.S. Dance chart, #2 on the U.S. R&B chart and #8 on the U.S. Chart. The song also had International success as it hit the top 5 in New Zealand and Germany, the top 20 in Canada and the United Kingdom as well as the top 30 in the Dutch and Swiss charts. It is needless to say that the song was a worldwide hit. It should come as no surprise to anybody that “Let the music play” became certified gold in the U.S.

The “Let the music play” album had a few more gems. A song that became very popular was “Give me tonight” which surprisingly only charted at #46 on the U.S. chart. Sure, the song had a similar vibe to “Let the music play,” but the song did have an identity of its own. It was very surprising that “Give me Tonight” didn’t become a top 10 or at least a top 20 hit on the U.S. chart. This was especially true for those that lived in large cities and into the dance club scene as the song was very popular.

Some saw “Give me Tonight” as a thriving underground dance scene song, and the freestyle sound just wasn’t mainstream enough yet on the airwaves for it to rank as high as it should have on the U.S. Billboard chart. The song was basically ahead of its time, and there is no doubt that if it had came out a few years later it would have become a top 10 hit in the U.S. Billboard chart. With all of that said, “Give me tonight” was still able to make it to #6 on the U.S. R&B chart. There’s no doubt that in certain communities, DJs played “Give me tonight” like it was a top 10 hit, and that’s because the song actually did hit #1 on the U.S. dance chart.

The third most successful song from the “Give me tonight” album was “My Heart’s divided.” Despite not making the U.S. chart, the song hit #3 on the U.S. dance chart and #48 on the U.S. R&B chart. The song “Sweet Somebody” also had moderate success, especially in Germany and the UK.

In 1985, Shannon released the “Do you wanna get away” album. The “Do you wanna get away” song was the most successful on the album as it became Shannon’s third song to hit #1 on the U.S. dance chart. The song also hit #13 on the U.S R&B chart as well as #49 on the U.S. chart. The songs “Stronger together” and “Urgent” also had mild success and made the charts. During the next few years, Shannon released a few more albums such as “Love goes all the way” and “Fatal Beauty”, but Shannon enjoyed the height of her career with her first album and will always be known as the artist that created the Shannon Sound (AKA: Freestyle sound.)

Fun Facts about Shannon

How did Shannon begin her singing career?

Before her mainstream success, Shannon was a Jazz singer. One day in 1983, Shannon was performing at someone’s recording studio when she caught the attention of production partners Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa. At the time, Shannon was a college student in her early 20s. Barbosa, digging deep within his Latin roots played a big roll in putting together that freestyle sound by using Arthur Baker as a major influence. Baker was an 80s producer that had put together hit songs from the 80s such as “Planet Rock.”

What is Shannon’s real name?

Shannon’s real name is Brenda Shannon Greene. Of course, we all know the freestyle singer simply as Shannon.

When is Shannon’s birthday?

Shannon’s birthday is may 2, 1958

Where is Shannon from?

Shannon is from Washington D.C., and eventually relocated to New York City and attended York College. It was there that she was discovered while performing with the New York Jazz Ensemble.

Who wrote “Let the Music Play?”

The lyrics to “Let the music play” was very articulate as it used a metaphor of dancing as a relationship. Ann Godwin wrote “Let the music play,” but she did not take credit for it due to a contract that she had with another publisher. What she ended up doing was giving her brother Ed Chisolm credit for writing the song.

Who sings the chorus in the song “Let the music play?”

A lot of people have always thought it was Shannon’s voice singing the chorus of the song, and those that didn’t thought it was a woman. The truth is a man named Jimi Tunnell sings the “Let the music play” hook. For some reason, this guitarist/vocalist was never credited for his work in the song.

Was Shannon a one hit wonder?

If you ask VH-1, Shannon was a one hit wonder with “Let the music play,” but if the truth is told here there is no way that Shannon is a one hit wonder. She had three songs that hit number #1 on the U.S dance chart and many other moderate hits. “Give me tonight” was a giant hit and will always be part of the club scene memories of a lot of people. To those in large cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Miami, it seemed like “Give me tonight” was almost just as big as “Let the music play.” Another interesting fact here is that Jimi Tunnell also did the chorus hook for “Give me tonight.”