Shannon - Let The Music Play (Official Video)
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Shannon (born
Brenda Shannon Greene,[
1][2] May 2,
1958) is an
American singer. She is best known for her
1983 million-selling[2] record, "
Let the Music Play". The record re-defined the electro funk sound that
Arthur Baker and
John Rocca (who produced "
I.O.U" by
Freeez) developed in
1982, which would eventually be called freestyle music
.
In the spring of 1983, Greene was enrolled at
York College and toured with the
New York Jazz Ensemble.
Quintin Hicks, an associate of the production team of
Mark Liggett and
Chris Barbosa, later saw Shannon singing with a live band in her cousin's recording studio. Shannon auditioned for Liggett and Barbosa with the song "She Can't
Love You Like I Do". They introduced her to the track "
Fire and Ice", which would later evolve into Shannon's signature song, "Let the Music Play". This title would also be applied to Shannon's debut
album.
In July 1983, the "Let the Music Play" single was released and Shannon was invited back to record more songs with Liggett and Barbosa. The single reached #8 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the
Billboard"s
United States R&B; and
Hot Dance and
Club Play Chart chart.
Today, it is ranked #23 among Billboard's best dance songs of all time.
Her debut album, Let the Music Play, was released in
February 1984. The follow-up single from the album was "
Give Me Tonight", which hit the top spot on the
Hot Dance, Club Play and R&B; chart. It also became a significant hit on
Urban radio. It was one of Billboard's top 30 dance songs for the year
1985. In the U.S., the third single was "
My Heart's Divided", another
Latin freestyle track, featuring
Jimmy Choo as one of the back up vocalists. "
Sweet Somebody", a mid-tempo soul effort, made the
Top 20 in
Europe.
Let the Music Play went on to sell over 2 million copies worldwide. Shannon was nominated for a
Grammy and received numerous other awards, including the Dianah
Washington (
Jack the Rapper)
Award, the
Hall of Fame Award, the
Gold Ampex
Reel Award, a certified gold disc by the
Recording Industry Association of America, and the
Best Billboard Top 10 female R&B; vocalist.
In 1985, Shannon released her second album,
Do You Wanna Get Away, which sported a sound similar to that of her debut album. The title track became her third #1 on the Dance charts and became her third hit on the Billboard Hot 100. She scored three more dance hits from the album, including "
Stronger Together", a cover of "
Urgent" by
Foreigner, and "
Stop the
Noise", with a video sponsored by Pepsi and
Black Angus. Her third album was
1986's
Love Goes All the Way. This album was not as successful as her previous LPs. Shannon was
Executive Producer against all odds.
Shannon asked to be released from her recording contract with
Atlantic Records in
1987. She recorded soundtracks and jingles,
Criminal", for the movie
Fatal Beauty and budweiser . While touring the world, Shannon attended and graduated from the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts in
New York City.
In the late
1990s interest in Shannon rekindled, when
VH1 spotlighted her on their
One Hit Wonders series.
Entertainment Tonight also taped a special about her life. In
1998, she co-wrote and sang on multi tracks produced by
Todd Terri,
Tony Moran,
Germany's
Sash Les Rythmes Digitales Les Rythmes Digitales
In
1999, Shannon released her fourth studio album,
The Best Is Yet to Come, on which she is credited as 50% writer of the album (contracted by
BMG). Chris Barbosa was invited back as a producer, along with
Andy "Panda"
Tripoli and Tony Moran. A greatest hits album was released in
November 2004 without Shannon's knowledge and agreement.
On April 20,
2006, Shannon participated in the
Freestyle Extranvaganza concert along with
Judy Torres,
George Lamond,
Cynthia,
Lisette Melendez,
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam,
The Cover Girls,
Hanson and Davis,
Coro, and
Stevie B.. The event was sponsored by
WKTU,
WSKQ, and
WCAA in
New York.
A fifth studio album, "A
Beauty Returns", was released in
2007 without the knowledge and agreement of Shannon.
Today Shannon is a voting member of the
Grammy's (
Recording Academy) touring the world (
Kuwait, Badghdad and
Iraq) with the
US Soldiers. She is also in the studio working on new hits for the year
2010.