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 in the 1980s, as the first Freestyle Song “let the music play” was created by a black American woman named “Shannon”. It experienced its greatest popularity from the late 1980s until the early 1990s. A common theme of freestyle lyricism originated as heartbreak in an urban environment typified by New York City.
Exposé is an American freestyle vocal group formed in 1984 in Miami, Florida. The group primarily consisted of lead vocalists Jeanette Jurado, Ann Curless, and Gioia Bruno. They achieved much of their success between 1984 and 1993, and became the first group to attain four top 10 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, including their 1988 number one single "Seasons Change." Exposé’s seven consecutive Top 10 hits on the US Hot 100 landed them only behind The Supremes for most Top 10 hits by an all-female group. In March 2015, Billboard magazine named the group the eighth most-successful girl group of all time.
The Cover Girls are a New York City based American freestyle music girl group whose original line-up consisted of Louise "Angel" Mercado, Caroline Jackson, and Sunshine Wright. Formed in 1986, The Cover Girls peaked at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their debut single "Show Me", taken from their debut studio album of the same name. Shortly after the release of their second single "Spring Love", Wright departed from the group and was replaced with Margo Urban. The group's second studio album We Can't Go Wrong was released in 1989, producing the #8 hit single of the same name.
Brenda Shannon Greene, known professionally as Shannon, is an American singer and songwriter of freestyle and dance-pop music. She is best known for her single "Let the Music Play", which topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in 1983 and was certified gold.
C+C Music Factory was an American musical group formed in 1989 by David Cole and Robert Clivillés. The group is best known for their five hit singles: "Gonna Make You Sweat ", "Here We Go ", "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...", "Just a Touch of Love", and "Keep It Comin'". The band stopped recording in 1996, following Cole's death. In 2010, C+C Music Factory reformed with Eric Kupper replacing Cole. Original member Freedom Williams acquired trademark rights to the name in 2003 and still tours under that moniker.
"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. It also became a huge crossover hit in the US, peaking at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984. 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, while Rolling Stone and Billboard featured it in their lists of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" and "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" 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.
Robert Manuel Clivillés is an American record producer, songwriter, arranger, and music video director most noted for his work with C+C Music Factory, a group he founded with musical partner David Cole. He is of Puerto Rican ancestry.
"I'm Every Woman" is a song by American singer Chaka Khan, released in September 1978 by Warner Bros. as her debut solo single from her first album, Chaka (1978). It was Khan's first hit outside her recordings with the funk band Rufus. "I'm Every Woman" was produced by Arif Mardin and written by the successful songwriting team Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. The single established Chaka's career outside the group Rufus, whom she would leave after their eighth studio album, Masterjam, was released in late 1979.
Rachel Alexandra Mercaldo, known professionally as Rockell, is an American freestyle, hi-NRG and pop singer-songwriter, best known for her 1997 hit single, "In a Dream". She is Puerto Rican.
"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" is a song by American dance music group C+C Music Factory, released by Columbia Records on November 18, 1990 as the lead single from their debut album, Gonna Make You Sweat (1990). The song is sung by Martha Wash and rapped by Freedom Williams; it was written by Robert Clivillés, Williams, and David Cole, and produced by Clivillés and Cole. The song charted internationally and achieved great success in Austria, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and the United States, where it reached number one on the dance charts. The accompanying music video was directed by Marcus Nispel, and features singer/dancer Zelma Davis lip-syncing to Wash's vocal parts. Billboard magazine ranked "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" No.402 among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2023.
"Mony Mony" is a 1968 single by American pop rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 in the U.S. Written by Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, Bo Gentry, and Tommy James, the song has appeared in various film and television works such as the Oliver Stone drama Heaven & Earth. It was also covered by English singer-songwriter Billy Idol in 1981. Idol's version, which took in more of a rock sound, became an international top 40 hit and additionally revived public interest in the original garage rock single. Idol recorded a live version in 1985 which was ultimately released in 1987 where it became an even bigger hit than the Shondells' 1968 original, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" is a song by British musical group Baby D. It was written and produced by band member Floyd Dyce and the vocals were sung by Dorothy Fearon. It was originally released by Production House Records in October 1992, when it reached No. 76 on the UK Singles Chart. In November 1994, London Records subsidiary Systematic re-released the song, and it subsequently became a UK No. 1 hit for two weeks. A partially black-and-white music video was produced to promote the single.
"Fascinated" is a song by the freestyle girl group Company B. It was the first single released off their 1987 self-titled debut album. It was written and produced by Ish Ledesma, mixed by Ciro llerenea and Randy Miller and released by Atlantic Records.
We Can't Go Wrong is the second album from the New York-based R&B–dance trio The Cover Girls. Although the album only made it to #108 on the Billboard album chart, by the end of 1990 it had been certified platinum and become the group's biggest-selling album. We Can't Go Wrong features songwriting and production by Albert Cabrera, Andy "Panda" Tripoli, David Cole, "Little" Louie Vega, Robert Clivilles, and Tony Moran.
"Two to Make It Right" is a song by the American girl group Seduction, released as a single in late 1989. It appears on the group's first album, Nothing Matters Without Love featuring April Harris and Michelle Visage on lead vocals. "Two to Make It Right" peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video was directed by Stu Sleppin and produced by Bob Teeman.
"Come Go with Me" is a song by American girl group Exposé from their debut studio album Exposure (1987). Composed and produced by Lewis A. Martineé, the song was released in January 1987 as the third single from Exposure. The group’s second lineup recorded "Come Go with Me", with Jeanette Jurado singing lead vocals, and Gioia Bruno and Ann Curless singing backup. Some vocals from the original lineup of Exposé remain in the released track.
Robert Clivillés and David Cole (1962–1995), known collectively as Clivillés and Cole, were American record producers, songwriters, and remixers active from the late 1980s who achieved success in the 1990s.
Trilogy is an American freestyle and hip hop group from the Bronx, New York City, founded in 1985 by Carlos "CNR" Rivera, Duran Ramos and J.R. Mansanet. The group pioneered freestyle music and scored several hit songs including "Love Me Forever or Love Me Not", "Good Time", and "Do You Wanna Get Funky".
"A Deeper Love" is a song written by American producers Robert Clivillés and David Cole, and performed by them as Clivillés & Cole featuring vocals by Deborah Cooper. Released by Columbia Records in 1991, the song was the duo's fifth number-one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. On other US charts, "A Deeper Love" peaked at number 83 on the soul singles chart and number 44 on the pop chart. Overseas, especially in Europe the single charted higher, going to number 15 in the UK and number eight on the Dutch Top 40.
Show Me is the debut album by the R&B–dance trio the Cover Girls released on independent label Fever Records. The album would produce the hit title track, "Show Me", as well as the Top 40 singles "Because of You" and "Promise Me". This would be the only album to feature original member Sunshine Wright, who would depart the group after the unsuccessful release of second single "Spring Love" and would be replaced by Margo Urban for the remainder of the album's singles. The other two members of the original lineup for this album were Angel Mercado and Caroline Jackson. The album peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 200 on 26 February 1988 and No. 74 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on 4 March 1988.
