Let the Music Play (Shannon song)

Last updated

"Let the Music Play"
LtmpShannon.jpg
Single by Shannon
from the album Let the Music Play
ReleasedSeptember 19, 1983 [1]
Recorded1983
Genre
Length
  • 3:34 (album version)
  • 5:45 (12-inch version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Chris Barbosa
  • Mark Liggett
Shannon singles chronology
"Let the Music Play"
(1983)		"Give Me Tonight"
(1984)
Music video
"Let The Music Play" on YouTube

"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. [6] 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. [7] 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" was ranked 43rd on the 2009 VH1 Special 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s, [8] while Rolling Stone and Billboard featured it in their lists of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" [9] and "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" [10] in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The song also appears in the film Totally Killer and the video games Dance Central 3 and Scarface: The World Is Yours .

Contents

Background and recording

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 with Rob Kilgore playing all instruments. 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, famous in later years as the instrument responsible for creating acid house. The TB-303 plays the bassline for the entire song; in this case, the filter is not adjusted, which was typical for acid house. This technical achievement made the production even more groundbreaking and it resulted in a unique sound, called "The Shannon Sound", which eventually became known as freestyle.

The vocal on the chorus is by session guitarist/vocalist Jimi Tunnell, who is uncredited. [11]

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. The song's tempo is 116 beats per minute and is in the key of C minor. [12]

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. [13] [14]

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." [15] VH1 ranked the song number 24 in their list of the "100 Greatest Dance Songs" in 2000. Blender ranked it number 465 in their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" in 2005. [16] 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." [17]

VH1 ranked the song number 42 in their "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s" in 2009. [8] ThoughtCo ranked it number nine in their list of "25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time" in 2018. [18] Slant Magazine ranked it number nine in their ranking of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time" in 2020. [19] Rolling Stone ranked "Let the Music Play" number six in their list of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in 2022. [9] Billboard ranked it number 417 in their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in October 2023, saying, "The seductive and wildly ahead of its time club perennial that preached to girls out on the dancefloor that all they needed to get the guy they wanted was to leave it up to the DJ." [10]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Let the Music Play"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [48] Gold1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Mary Kiani version

"Let the Music Play"
LtmpKiani.JPG
Single by Mary Kiani
from the album Long Hard Funky Dreams
ReleasedApril 1, 1996
Label 1st Avenue, Mercury Warehouse Records, Leeds UK
Songwriter(s) Chris Barbosa, Ed Chisolm
Mary 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

These are the main formats and track listings of the single release of Mary Kiani's "Let the Music Play".

#TitleLength
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

Related Research Articles

Freestyle, or Latin freestyle is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the New York metropolitan area, Philadelphia, and Miami, primarily among Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Italian Americans.

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References

  1. ↑ "Shannon [USA] - Let the Music Play".
  2. ↑ Hogan, Ed. "Artist Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  3. ↑ Echols, Alice (March 29, 2010). "One Nation under a Thump?: Disco and Its Discontents". Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 228. ISBN   978-0-393-06675-3 . Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  4. ↑ Molanphy, Chris (July 16, 2022). "Point of No Return Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate . Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  5. ↑ Stanley, Bob (September 13, 2013). "Highs in the Mid-Eighties: Prince and Madonna". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 557. ISBN   978-0-571-28198-5.
  6. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 231.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 521.
  8. 1 2 Ali, Rahsheeda (May 2, 2013). "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s". VH1 . Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Dolan, Jon; Lopez, Julyssa; Matos, Michaelangelo; Shaffer, Claire (July 22, 2022). "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone . Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard . October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Key Tracks: Shannon's "Let the Music Play"" . Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  12. ↑ Brusca, Donny (2006). BPM List 2006: Main Edition. Lulu.com, 2006. p. 542. ISBN   978-1-84728-860-8.
  13. ↑ "Site Maintenance".
  14. ↑ Shannon "Let the Music Play". YouTube . Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Jock On His Box" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). May 6, 1995. p. 5. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  16. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". Blender. October 2005. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  17. ↑ "100 Greatest Dance Songs". Slant Magazine . January 30, 2006. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  18. ↑ "25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time". ThoughtCo. May 1, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  19. ↑ "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time". Slant Magazine. June 15, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  20. 1 2 "Shannon Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  21. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
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  24. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  25. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved June 7, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Shannon".
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  32. ↑ "Shannon Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
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  34. ↑ "The Cash Box Top 100 Black Contemporary – Week ending February 4, 1984". Cash Box. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Las canciones más populares en América Latina". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). January 20, 1984. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
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  38. ↑ "Shannon – Let the Music Play (2002 Remix)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Shannon Chart History (Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales)". Billboard . Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  40. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 1984". RPM. Vol. 41, no. 17. January 5, 1985. p. 7. ISSN   0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  41. ↑ "Top 100 Singles (January 3–December 29, 1984)" (PDF). Music Week . January 26, 1985. p. 37. ISSN   0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  42. ↑ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1984". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  43. ↑ "Dance Club Songs – Year-End 1984". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  44. ↑ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1984". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  45. ↑ "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.
  46. ↑ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1984 – Top 50 Black Contemporary Singles". Cash Box. December 29, 1984. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  47. ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1984" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  48. ↑ "American single certifications – Shannon – Let the Music Play". Recording Industry Association of America.
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