"Let the Music Play" is a song recorded by American singer Shannon and released on September 19, 1983 as both her debut single and the lead single from her 1984 debut studio album of the same name. Written by Chris Barbosa and Ed Chisolm, and produced by Barbosa and Mark Liggett, "Let the Music Play" was the first of Shannon's four number ones on the US Dance Club Songs chart, reaching the top spot in October 1983.[3] It also became a huge crossover hit in the US, peaking at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (behind Patti LaBelle's "If Only You Knew") and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984.[4] It was Shannon's only Top 40 hit in the US. Some mark "Let the Music Play" as the beginning of the "dance-pop" era.
The original version of the song was produced by Chris Barbosa and Mark Liggett. By the early 1980s, the backlash against disco had driven dance music off mainstream radio stations in the United States. The rhythmic ingenuity of "Let the Music Play" was largely due to Barbosa, who wrote and arranged the original demo track. Rob Kilgore played all the instruments on this seminal track. It featured a series of keyboard chords and drum patterns produced by gating a Roland TR-808 drum machine. Specifically, a reverb was placed across the kick and snare and hard gated to change the sounds. Further, it was one of the first tracks to sync together a TR-808 and a Roland TB-303 bassline, notorious in later years for the instrument responsible for creating acid house. The TB-303 plays the bassline for the entire song; however, in this case, the filter is not adjusted, which was typical for acid house music. This technical achievement made the production even more groundbreaking and it also resulted in a unique sound, called "The Shannon Sound", which eventually became known as freestyle.
Composition
"Let the Music Play" is a dance-pop and freestyle song with synthesizer and drum machine-produced rim shot percussion sounds and kick-drum/snare-drum interaction. Critic and journalist Peter Shapiro described the song as a "cross between Gary Numan and Tito Puente."[6] The song's tempo is 116 beats per minute.[7]
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Let the Music Play", directed by British director Nigel Dick and released in November 1983, starts with Shannon in a dressing room applying make-up as if she is getting ready for a performance. She then proceeds to the stage of an empty theater where she proceeds to dance and sing the song. Interspersed throughout these scenes are shots of male and female dancers fashioned in dress shirts and bow ties warming up. The dancers join Shannon by the second chorus of the song and near the end, one of the dancers proceeds to take her in his arms and dance with her. The video ends with the dancers doing a choreographed routine while Shannon continues singing.[8][9]
Impact and legacy
American DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter Armand van Helden picked "Let the Music Play" as one of his "classic cuts" in 1995, adding, "A very powerful record. The first strong vocals over electro music. The first big hit that I can remember that struck me and paved the way for freestyle. Back then it was hip hop, but not considered rap."[10]
VH1 ranked the song number 24 in their list of the 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2000. [1]
Blender ranked it number 465 in their list of The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born in 2005.[11]
Slant Magazine ranked it number 54 in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs list in 2006, adding, "Alongside Madonna's 'Holiday,' D.C.-born jazz vocalist Brenda Shannon Greene's 'Let the Music Play' helped redefine dance music in the anti-disco early-'80s, setting the stage for the troubled genre for the next decade. Producers Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa, considered one of the founding fathers of Latin freestyle, merged the then-hip electro-funk sound with Latin rhythms, unwittingly creating the world's first freestyle song."[12]
VH1 ranked the song number 42 in their 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s in 2009.[13]
ThoughtCo ranked it number nine in their list of 25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time in 2018.[14]
Slant Magazine ranked it number nine in their ranking of The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time in 2020.[15]
Rolling Stone ranked "Let the Music Play" number six in their list of 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time in 2022.[16]
Charts
Weekly charts
1983 weekly chart performance for "Let the Music Play"
In 1996, Mary Kiani covered "Let the Music Play" as her third solo single. The song was remixed in a variety of styles, notably by Paul Oakenfold of Perfecto and Steve Rodway of Motiv8. A video of the song was also released.
Track listings and formats
These are the main formats and track listings of the single release of Mary Kiani's "Let the Music Play."
#
Title
Length
UK CD single MERCD456
1.
"Let the Music Play" [Radio Mix]
3:50
2.
"Let the Music Play" [Perfecto Radio Mix]
5:40
3.
"Let the Music Play" [Motiv8 Club Mix]
6:32
4.
"Let the Music Play" [Mr. Spring Contrary Mary Mix]
5:34
5.
"Let the Music Play" [Perfecto Vocal Mix]
8:00
6.
"Let the Music Play" [Argonauts Kiani Do This Mix]
5:42
7.
"Let the Music Play" [Mr. Spring Club Edit]
4:29
UK 12" MERX456
A1.
"Let the Music Play" [Motiv8 Club Mix]
6:33
A2.
"Let the Music Play" [Union Jack Mix]
6:27
B1.
"Let the Music Play" [Perfecto Vocal Mix]
8:01
B2.
"Let the Music Play" [Perfecto Dub Mix]
5:00
UK 12" MERX457 / Fubar12
A1.
"Let the Music Play" [Casio Brothers Mix]
A2.
"Let the Music Play" [George Bowie Mix]
B1.
"Let the Music Play" [Steve Kerr Mix]
B2.
"Let the Music Play" [Tom Wilson & David Livingston Mix]
Cover versions
In 1987, Icelandic punk band Mosi frændi released a cover of the song on their 13-track cassette-only release, "Suzy Creamcheese for president".
In 1991, freestyle artist Tiana did a cover of this song.
Exile, a Japanese boy band, did a cover of this song on their album, titled Asia, released in 2006.
In 2006, Mexican pop band RBD covered "Let the Music Play," which is featured on its first English-language album, Rebels, but only as an iTunes digital-download exclusive. The track was not included on the album itself.
^Shannon "Let the Music Play". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
^"Jock On His Box" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 1995-05-06. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
^. Blender. October 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-03-16. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
^"100 Greatest Dance Songs". Slant Magazine. 30 January 2006. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
^Ali, Rahsheeda (2 May 2013). "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s". VH1. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
^"25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time". ThoughtCo. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
^"The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time". Slant Magazine. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
^Dolan, Jon; Lopez, Julyssa; Matos, Michaelangelo; Shaffer, Claire (22 July 2022). "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ ab"Shannon Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
^"Shannon – Let the Music Play" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
^"Shannon Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^"Shannon Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^"Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending March 3, 1984". Cash Box. from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
^"The Cash Box Top 100 Black Contemporary – Week ending February 4, 1984". Cash Box. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Shannon – Let the Music Play". GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
^"Shannon Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^"Shannon – Let the Music Play (2002 Remix)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
^"Shannon Chart History (Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^"Top 100 Singles of 1984". RPM. Vol. 41, no. 17. January 5, 1985. p. 7. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
^"Top 100 Singles (January 3–December 29, 1984)" (PDF). Music Week. January 26, 1985. p. 37. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
^. Billboard. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^. Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^. Billboard. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^"The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1984 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 29, 1984. from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
^"The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1984 – Top 50 Black Contemporary Singles". Cash Box. December 29, 1984. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
^"Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1984" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
music, play, shannon, song, music, play, song, recorded, american, singer, shannon, released, september, 1983, both, debut, single, lead, single, from, 1984, debut, studio, album, same, name, written, chris, barbosa, chisolm, produced, barbosa, mark, liggett, . Let the Music Play is a song recorded by American singer Shannon and released on September 19 1983 as both her debut single and the lead single from her 1984 debut studio album of the same name Written by Chris Barbosa and Ed Chisolm and produced by Barbosa and Mark Liggett Let the Music Play was the first of Shannon s four number ones on the US Dance Club Songs chart reaching the top spot in October 1983 3 It also became a huge crossover hit in the US peaking at number two on the Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs chart behind Patti LaBelle s If Only You Knew and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984 4 It was Shannon s only Top 40 hit in the US Some mark Let the Music Play as the beginning of the dance pop era Let the Music Play Single by Shannonfrom the album Let the Music PlayReleasedSeptember 19 1983 1 Recorded1983GenreDance pop freestyle 2 Length3 34 album version 5 45 12 inch version LabelMirage ATCO AtlanticSongwriter s Chris Barbosa Ed ChisolmProducer s Chris Barbosa Mark LiggettShannon singles chronology Let the Music Play 1983 Give Me Tonight 1984 Music video Let The Music Play on YouTube Let the Music Play was ranked 43rd on the 2009 VH1 Special 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 1980s 5 The song also appears in the video games Dance Central 3 and Scarface The World Is Yours Contents 1 Background and recording 2 Composition 3 Music video 4 Impact and legacy 5 Charts 5 1 Weekly charts 5 2 Year end charts 6 Certifications 7 Mary Kiani version 7 1 Track listings and formats 8 Cover versions 9 ReferencesBackground and recording EditThe original version of the song was produced by Chris Barbosa and Mark Liggett By the early 1980s the backlash against disco had driven dance music off mainstream radio stations in the United States The rhythmic ingenuity of Let the Music Play was largely due to Barbosa who wrote and arranged the original demo track Rob Kilgore played all the instruments on this seminal track It featured a series of keyboard chords and drum patterns produced by gating a Roland TR 808 drum machine Specifically a reverb was placed across the kick and snare and hard gated to change the sounds Further it was one of the first tracks to sync together a TR 808 and a Roland TB 303 bassline notorious in later years for the instrument responsible for creating acid house The TB 303 plays the bassline for the entire song however in this case the filter is not adjusted which was typical for acid house music This technical achievement made the production even more groundbreaking and it also resulted in a unique sound called The Shannon Sound which eventually became known as freestyle Composition Edit Let the Music Play is a dance pop and freestyle song with synthesizer and drum machine produced rim shot percussion sounds and kick drum snare drum interaction Critic and journalist Peter Shapiro described the song as a cross between Gary Numan and Tito Puente 6 The song s tempo is 116 beats per minute 7 Music video EditThe accompanying music video for Let the Music Play directed by British director Nigel Dick and released in November 1983 starts with Shannon in a dressing room applying make up as if she is getting ready for a performance She then proceeds to the stage of an empty theater where she proceeds to dance and sing the song Interspersed throughout these scenes are shots of male and female dancers fashioned in dress shirts and bow ties warming up The dancers join Shannon by the second chorus of the song and near the end one of the dancers proceeds to take her in his arms and dance with her The video ends with the dancers doing a choreographed routine while Shannon continues singing 8 9 Impact and legacy EditAmerican DJ record producer remixer and songwriter Armand van Helden picked Let the Music Play as one of his classic cuts in 1995 adding A very powerful record The first strong vocals over electro music The first big hit that I can remember that struck me and paved the way for freestyle Back then it was hip hop but not considered rap 10 VH1 ranked the song number 24 in their list of the 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2000 1 Blender ranked it number 465 in their list of The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born in 2005 11 Slant Magazine ranked it number 54 in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs list in 2006 adding Alongside Madonna s Holiday D C born jazz vocalist Brenda Shannon Greene s Let the Music Play helped redefine dance music in the anti disco early 80s setting the stage for the troubled genre for the next decade Producers Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa considered one of the founding fathers of Latin freestyle merged the then hip electro funk sound with Latin rhythms unwittingly creating the world s first freestyle song 12 VH1 ranked the song number 42 in their 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 1980s in 2009 13 ThoughtCo ranked it number nine in their list of 25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time in 2018 14 Slant Magazine ranked it number nine in their ranking of The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time in 2020 15 Rolling Stone ranked Let the Music Play number six in their list of 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time in 2022 16 Charts EditWeekly charts Edit 1983 weekly chart performance for Let the Music Play Chart 1983 PeakpositionUS Dance Club Songs Billboard 17 11984 weekly chart performance for Let the Music Play Chart 1984 PeakpositionAustralia Kent Music Report 18 62Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 19 30Canada Top Singles RPM 20 12Finland Suomen virallinen lista 21 20Italy Musica e dischi 22 15Netherlands Dutch Top 40 23 17Netherlands Single Top 100 24 25New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 25 2Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 26 23UK Singles OCC 27 14US Billboard Hot 100 28 8US Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard 29 2US Cash Box Top 100 Singles 30 8US Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles Cash Box 31 2West Germany Official German Charts 32 52000 weekly chart performance for Let the Music Play Chart 2000 PeakpositionUS Dance Club Songs Billboard 17 32US Dance Singles Sales Billboard 33 Let the Music Play Give Me Tonight The Lost Mixes Collection 292002 weekly chart performance for Let the Music Play 2002 remix Chart 2002 PeakpositionGermany Official German Charts 34 832020 weekly chart performance for Let the Music Play Chart 2020 PeakpositionUS Dance Electronic Digital Song Sales Billboard 35 21 Year end charts Edit Year end chart performance for Let the Music Play Chart 1984 PositionCanada Top Singles RPM 36 91UK Singles Gallup 37 90US Billboard Hot 100 38 49US Dance Club Songs Billboard 39 15US Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard 40 9US Cash Box Top 100 Singles 41 68US Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles Cash Box 42 11West Germany Official German Charts 43 58Certifications EditCertifications for Let the Music Play Region Certification Certified units salesUnited States RIAA 44 Gold 1 000 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone Mary Kiani version Edit Let the Music Play Single by Mary Kianifrom the album Long Hard Funky DreamsReleasedApril 1 1996Label1st Avenue Mercury Warehouse Records Leeds UKSongwriter s Chris Barbosa Ed ChisolmMary Kiani singles chronology I Give It All To You I Imagine 1995 Let the Music Play 1996 100 1996 In 1996 Mary Kiani covered Let the Music Play as her third solo single The song was remixed in a variety of styles notably by Paul Oakenfold of Perfecto and Steve Rodway of Motiv8 A video of the song was also released Track listings and formats Edit These are the main formats and track listings of the single release of Mary Kiani s Let the Music Play Title LengthUK CD single MERCD4561 Let the Music Play Radio Mix 3 502 Let the Music Play Perfecto Radio Mix 5 403 Let the Music Play Motiv8 Club Mix 6 324 Let the Music Play Mr Spring Contrary Mary Mix 5 345 Let the Music Play Perfecto Vocal Mix 8 006 Let the Music Play Argonauts Kiani Do This Mix 5 427 Let the Music Play Mr Spring Club Edit 4 29UK 12 MERX456A1 Let the Music Play Motiv8 Club Mix 6 33A2 Let the Music Play Union Jack Mix 6 27B1 Let the Music Play Perfecto Vocal Mix 8 01B2 Let the Music Play Perfecto Dub Mix 5 00UK 12 MERX457 Fubar12A1 Let the Music Play Casio Brothers Mix A2 Let the Music Play George Bowie Mix B1 Let the Music Play Steve Kerr Mix B2 Let the Music Play Tom Wilson amp David Livingston Mix Cover versions EditIn 1987 Icelandic punk band Mosi fraendi released a cover of the song on their 13 track cassette only release Suzy Creamcheese for president In 1991 freestyle artist Tiana did a cover of this song The soundtrack of Neil Jordan s The Crying Game released in 1992 includes a cover by Carroll Thompson produced by Pet Shop Boys In 1996 Scottish singer Mary Kiani covered the song and hit the 19 spot on the UK singles chart See below A cover version by Music Instructor was included on its album Electric City of Music Instructor released in 1998 Exile a Japanese boy band did a cover of this song on their album titled Asia released in 2006 In 2006 Mexican pop band RBD covered Let the Music Play which is featured on its first English language album Rebels but only as an iTunes digital download exclusive The track was not included on the album itself S O S Let the Music Play the second single from the 2009 album Battlefield by Jordin Sparks contains lyrics and melodies from the song In 2006 Let The Music Play was also recorded by Sisaundra Lewis from NBC s The Voice House DJ producer Secondcity sampled the lyrics on his track Let The Music References Edit Shannon USA Let the Music Play Hogan Ed Artist Biography Allmusic Retrieved October 15 2014 Whitburn Joel 2004 Hot Dance Disco 1974 2003 Record Research p 231 Whitburn Joel 2004 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 2004 Record Research p 521 Ali Rahsheeda 2 May 2013 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s VH1 Retrieved 1 October 2016 Jamieson Teddy 28 October 2013 Not Fade Away 1983 Let the Music Play Shannon HeraldScotland Retrieved 2014 10 01 Brusca Donny 2006 BPM List 2006 Main Edition Lulu com 2006 p 542 ISBN 978 1 84728 860 8 Site Maintenance Shannon Let the Music Play YouTube Archived from the original on 2021 12 11 Jock On His Box PDF Music Week in Record Mirror Dance Update Supplemental Insert 1995 05 06 p 5 Retrieved 2021 05 09 The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born Blender October 2005 Archived from the original on 2008 03 16 Retrieved 29 July 2020 100 Greatest Dance Songs Slant Magazine 30 January 2006 Retrieved 22 March 2017 Ali Rahsheeda 2 May 2013 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s VH1 Retrieved 1 October 2016 25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time ThoughtCo 1 May 2018 Retrieved 6 October 2018 The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time Slant Magazine 15 June 2020 Retrieved 27 July 2020 Dolan Jon Lopez Julyssa Matos Michaelangelo Shaffer Claire 22 July 2022 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time Rolling Stone Retrieved 30 October 2022 a b Shannon Chart History Dance Club Songs Billboard Retrieved May 26 2022 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Shannon Let the Music Play in Dutch Ultratop 50 Retrieved October 1 2016 Top RPM Singles Issue 6304 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved October 1 2016 Pennanen Timo 2006 Sisaltaa hitin levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 in Finnish 1st ed Helsinki Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava ISBN 978 951 1 21053 5 Classifiche Musica e dischi in Italian Retrieved June 7 2022 Set Tipo on Singoli Then in the Artista field search Shannon Nederlandse Top 40 Shannon in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved May 26 2022 Shannon Let the Music Play in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved October 1 2016 Shannon Let the Music Play Top 40 Singles Retrieved October 1 2016 Shannon Let the Music Play Swiss Singles Chart Retrieved October 1 2016 Shannon Artist Chart History Official Charts Company Retrieved May 26 2022 Shannon Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved May 26 2022 Shannon Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard Retrieved May 26 2022 Cash Box Top 100 Singles Week ending March 3 1984 Cash Box Archived from the original on October 1 2012 Retrieved May 14 2017 The Cash Box Top 100 Black Contemporary Week ending February 4 1984 Cash Box Retrieved May 26 2022 Offiziellecharts de Shannon Let the Music Play GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved October 1 2016 Shannon Chart History Dance Singles Sales Billboard Retrieved May 26 2022 Shannon Let the Music Play 2002 Remix in German GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved October 1 2016 Shannon Chart History Dance Electronic Digital Song Sales Billboard Retrieved May 26 2022 Top 100 Singles of 1984 RPM Vol 41 no 17 January 5 1985 p 7 ISSN 0033 7064 via Library and Archives Canada Top 100 Singles January 3 December 29 1984 PDF Music Week January 26 1985 p 37 ISSN 0265 1548 via World Radio History Hot 100 Songs Year End 1984 Billboard Archived from the original on January 2 2021 Retrieved May 26 2022 Dance Club Songs Year End 1984 Billboard Archived from the original on June 3 2020 Retrieved May 26 2022 Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Year End 1984 Billboard Archived from the original on January 13 2021 Retrieved May 26 2022 The Cash Box Year End Charts 1984 Top 100 Pop Singles Cash Box December 29 1984 Archived from the original on September 30 2012 Retrieved May 14 2017 The Cash Box Year End Charts 1984 Top 50 Black Contemporary Singles Cash Box December 29 1984 Retrieved May 26 2022 Top 100 Single Jahrescharts 1984 in German GfK Entertainment Retrieved 1 October 2016 American single certifications Shannon Let the Music Play Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Let the Music Play Shannon song amp oldid 1119511699, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
