Shannon

Shannon went platinum with the trendsetting, pulsating dance classic "Let the Music Play" and other similar-sounding hits in the mid-'80s. Born Brenda Shannon Greene in 1958, she spent her childhood years in Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn, NY. While attending college, she joined the New York Jazz Ensemble as a singer, which led to a chance meeting with drummer Lenny White and some recording sessions. One single, 1983's "Let the Music Play," was issued on the New York-based dance label Emergency Records as a 12" single with Shannon listed as the artist. Produced by Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa, the track's upfront heavy, staccato beats and synth bass marked it as an electro single, The record became a monster club hit, pumped its way up to the pop Top Ten, and sold a million copies. Shannon's debut album, smartly titled Let the Music Play, was issued in February 1984 and went gold, peaking at number 32 pop in March 1984. Shannon followed that up with the Top Ten R&B hit "Give Me Tonight" and "My Heart's Divided."

Do You Wanna Get Away was the title of her second Mirage album, issued in May 1985. The title track single hit number 13 R&B in spring 1985. Her third album Love Goes All the Way was released on Atlantic in 1986, with the singles "Dancin," "Criminal," and "Prove Me Right." Shannon's career was remarkably short-lived, however, due in part to the closing of Emergency Records, some litigation surrounding "Let the Music Play," the decline of dance-oriented radio stations, the loss of club airtime on mainstream radio stations, and the inevitable "Let the Music Play" sound-alike clones that surfaced. Nevertheless, Shannon appeared on a 1999 segment of VH1's Where Are They Now, vowing to return to the top of the charts; the following spring she released the album The Best Is Yet to Come. ~ Ed Hogan, Rovi