Let The Music Play – Shannon | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#8) & R&B (#2); 1984
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
1983 was the year Michael Jackson’s Thriller dominated the dance charts for 11 weeks. Right behind him – with six weeks at #2 – was Brenda Shannon Greene. Born in Washington D.C., Shannon later majored in accounting at Brooklyn’s York University with a minor in music.
While there she took over vocal chores for the New York Jazz Ensemble. Drumming behind Shannon was Lenny White who paved the way for some recording sessions with an R&B group called Brownstone. Among the tracks she laid down with Brownstone was Let The Music Play.
Much to Shannon’s surprise, when Emergency Records released a 12″ single of Music, her name appeared on the label as the recording artist. In a mere four weeks, Music had bumped Madonna’s Holiday out of the #1 slot on the dance chart.
Although Music‘s in-your-face staccato drum and synth bass sound was instantly appropriated for many other dance trax, Shannon was unable to convert its massive popularity into further mainstream success.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Chris Barbosa
- Mark Liggett
Lyrics Written by:
- Chris Barbosa
- Ed Chisolm
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).