Shannon (American singer) facts for kids

Brenda Shannon Greene (born May 2, 1958), known as Shannon, is an American singer and songwriter. She is famous for her freestyle and dance-pop music. Her biggest hit is "Let the Music Play". This song was number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in 1983. It also sold enough copies to be certified gold.

Shannon has released several studio albums. These include Let the Music Play (1984), Do You Wanna Get Away (1985), and Love Goes All the Way (1986). She also appeared on the TV show One-Hit Wonders in 1999. She returned to music with her album The Best Is Yet to Come in 2000. Her album A Beauty Returns was released in 2006.

Shannon's Music Journey

Shannon was born in Washington, D.C., in the United States. In 1983, she was studying at York College in New York City. She also toured with the New York Jazz Ensemble. A person named Quintin Hicks saw Shannon singing. He introduced her to the production team of Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa.

Shannon auditioned for them with a song. They then showed her a song called "Fire and Ice." This song later became her famous hit, "Let the Music Play." This song had a special sound that became known as "freestyle" music. Shannon's first album, released in 1984, was also called Let the Music Play.

The Success of "Let the Music Play"

"Let the Music Play" was released in July 1983. It quickly became very popular. The song reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also went to number 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. Most impressively, it hit number 1 on the Hot Dance Club Play charts. Billboard magazine even ranked it as one of the top dance songs of all time.

Her first album, Let the Music Play, came out in February 1984. It sold about 1.5 million copies around the world. About 500,000 of these were sold in the United States. This earned the album a gold certification. Shannon was nominated for a Grammy Award and won many other honors. These included the Dinah Washington Award and the Gold Ampex Reel Award.

More Hit Songs

After "Let the Music Play," Shannon released "Give Me Tonight." This song also did very well. It reached number 2 on the R&B charts and number 1 on the Hot Dance Club Play charts. It was also one of Billboard's top dance songs of 1984. Her third single in the U.S. was "My Heart's Divided," which reached number 3 on the Dance Chart. Another song, "Sweet Somebody," was popular in some European countries.

In 1985, Shannon released her second album, Do You Wanna Get Away. The song "Do You Wanna Get Away" was the first single from this album. It became her third song to reach number 1 on the Dance Chart. She had more dance hits, including "Stronger Together" and a cover of "Urgent" by Foreigner. Her third album, Love Goes All the Way, was released in 1986.

Later Career and Appearances

Shannon decided to leave her record company, Atlantic Records, in 1987. She then recorded songs for soundtracks and jingles. She also sang the song "Criminal" for the movie Fatal Beauty, which starred Whoopi Goldberg. While touring, Shannon also studied acting and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

In 1998, she worked with famous producers like Todd Terry and Tony Moran. She also sang on the song "Move Mania" by Sash!, which became a dance hit in Europe. In 1999, Shannon was featured on VH1's One-Hit Wonders TV show. Entertainment Tonight also did a special about her life. In 2005, the NBC show Hit Me, Baby, One More Time featured an interview and performance by Shannon.

Shannon's fourth album, The Best Is Yet to Come, was released in March 2000. She helped write half of the songs on this album. This album brought her back to the Billboard Music Charts in the early 2000s. Famous DJs like Junior Vasquez and Hex Hector created popular remixes of her songs. In 2004, she released a collection of her best songs called Let the Music Play: The Best of Shannon.

In April 2006, Shannon performed at the Freestyle Extravaganza concert in New York. Her fifth album, A Beauty Returns, was released in 2006. Today, Shannon is a voting member of the Grammy's (Recording Academy). She still performs shows around the world. In 2016, Carnival Cruise Line used her music in a national TV ad. In 2017, Shannon was a contestant on the Fox game show Beat Shazam.

About Shannon's Life

Shannon has never married and does not have any children.

Shannon's Music Albums

Studio Albums

Compilation Albums

• Part Time Lovers (1991)
• The Collection (1994)
• The Ultimate Collection (1994)
• Dancefloor Artists Volume 8 – The Best of Shannon (1995)
• The Collection (reissue) (2001)
• Let the Music Play: The Best of Shannon (2004)

Shannon's Singles

Songs Featuring Shannon

See also

In Spanish: Shannon (cantante) para niños

• List of Billboard number-one dance songs
• Artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart