Let the Music Play (Shannon song)

"Let the Music Play"
"Let the Music Play"
Single by Shannon
from the album Let the Music Play
Released	September 19, 1983
Recorded	1983
Genre	Dance-pop; electropop; freestyle;
Length	3:34 (album version); 5:45 (12-inch version);
Label	Mirage; ATCO; Atlantic;
Songwriter(s)	Chris Barbosa; Ed Chisolm;
Producer(s)	Chris Barbosa; Mark Liggett;
Shannon singles chronology
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.^[5] 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.^[6] 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,^[7] while Rolling Stone and Billboard featured it in their lists of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time"^[8] and "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time"^[9] 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.

^ "Shannon [USA] - Let the Music Play".
^ Molanphy, Chris (July 16, 2022). "Point of No Return Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
^ Stanley, Bob (13 September 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.
^ 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&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 521.
^ Ali, Rahsheeda (2 May 2013). "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s". VH1. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
^ Dolan, Jon; Lopez, Julyssa; Matos, Michaelangelo; Shaffer, Claire (22 July 2022). "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

[1] "Shannon [USA] - Let the Music Play".

[Molanphy_2022-2] Molanphy, Chris (July 16, 2022). "Point of No Return Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 30, 2024.

[Stanley_2013-3] Stanley, Bob (13 September 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.

[4] Hogan, Ed. "Artist Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved October 15, 2014.

[5] Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 231.

[6] Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 521.

[100-greatest-one-hit-wonders-of-the-80s-7] Ali, Rahsheeda (2 May 2013). "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s". VH1. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2016.

[rollingstone200greatestdancesongs-8] Dolan, Jon; Lopez, Julyssa; Matos, Michaelangelo; Shaffer, Claire (22 July 2022). "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 October 2022.

[billboard500bestpopsongs-9] "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

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