Shannon

Shannon, whose birth name is Brenda Shannon Greene, was born on May 2, 1958, in Washington, D.C. She grew up in Brooklyn and pursued higher education at New York University, where she majored in accounting and minored in music. At the age of 20, she began her professional singing career, joining the New York Jazz Ensemble as a vocalist. It was during this period that she met drummer Lenny White. Her early involvement with Brownstone led to recording opportunities, setting the stage for her entry into the music industry.

Her career breakthrough came in the fall of 1983 with the release of “Let The Music Play” on Emergency Records. Shannon discovered her name on the 12-inch single unexpectedly. The track, produced by Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa and written by Barbosa and Ed Chisolm, introduced a new dance sound characterized by a prominent, staccato bass drum and electro-synth bass, accented with “steel-drum” like synthesizers. This distinctive style, later termed “the Shannon Sound” and subsequently “freestyle,” rapidly gained popularity, becoming a significant dance-club hit. Mirage Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, then signed her, further propelling the song’s success. “Let The Music Play” achieved remarkable commercial success, selling a million copies and reaching number 2 on the R&B charts and number 8 on the Billboard Pop charts in late 1983. Her debut album, also titled “Let The Music Play,” released in February 1984, went gold and peaked at number 32 on the Pop charts in March 1984. She followed this success with singles such as “Give Me Tonight,” which reached number 6 R&B and number 46 Pop in the spring of 1984, and “My Heart’s Divided,” which charted at number 48 R&B in the summer of 1984.

Throughout her career, Shannon made notable advancements beyond her initial hits. She released her second studio album, “Do You Wanna Get Away,” in 1985, with the title track becoming her third single to hit number 1 on the Dance Chart. Her third album, “Love Goes All the Way,” followed in 1986. After seeking release from her contract with Atlantic Records in 1987, she expanded her work into soundtracks and jingles, contributing the track “Criminal” to the movie “Fatal Beauty.” In 1998, she collaborated on several multi-tracks with producers Todd Terry, Tony Moran, and Germany’s Sash!, resulting in the EU dance hit “Move Mania.” Shannon also pursued acting, graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. She released her fourth studio album, “The Best Is Yet to Come,” in 2000, and a fifth, “A Beauty Returns,” in 2006. Today, Shannon is a voting member of the Grammy’s Recording Academy and continues to perform globally. Her song “Let the Music Play” was featured in a 2016 national television campaign for Carnival Cruise Line. In 2017, she appeared as a contestant on the Fox game show “Beat Shazam.”