Classic Shannon.
“Let The Music Play” is a famous and critically acclaimed Latin Freestyle record sung by Washington, DC area singer Shannon in 1983.
The record was produced by Chris Barbosa, a Latino from New York who composed it with Ed Chisolm.
He redefined the Electro Funk sound by adding Latin American rhythms and a heavy syncopated drum sound isolating it from sounding like Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock” and Freeez’s “IOU.” This made “Let The Music Play” the first freestyle record in dance music history.
The song played a surprisingly historic role in Western pop music. By the early 1980s, the backlash against disco had driven dance music off mainstream radio stations in the U.S.
“Let The Music Play” (Chris Barbaros, Ed Chisolm)
The rhythmic ingenuity of “Let The Music Play” allowed it to circumvent the prevalent anti-disco bias and become a huge hit, ushering in the dance pop era. “Let The Music Play” and Madonna’s song “Holiday” are considered to be the two songs that opened the door for such other acts as Jody Watley, George Michael and many others.
The song has been remixed numerous times, and several artists have covered the record. In 2006 mexican pop band RBD, covered “Let The Music Play” which is featured on their first English album, Rebels, but only as an iTunes digital download exclusive. The track was not included on the album itself.
“Give Me Tonight” (Chris Barbaros, Ed Chisolm)
