Let the Music play
by Shannon
“New York,1984. We are walking in Times Square, where we can hear some Boombastic electro beats playing from a distance.”
We became curious, so we followed the music and got closer to a big crowd. The music is playing louder and louder as we get closer to this crowd.
We try to make our way through the crowd, and we see a group of black and Latino youngsters dancing to these beats that are coming from a big radio called "Boombox" playing on a cassette tape. These guys are making super-duper acrobatic and intricate moves over these beats, and the crowd is clapping and screaming out of excitement.
Here is what I imagine when I hear this song playing. It reminds me of early 80s hip-hop, especially one of the four elements of this fantastic culture: Breaking. I am sure that countless b-boys from all over the world danced to this song numerous times, and it became an anthem for many of them. It's indeed a classic b-boy song.
“Shannon’s big hit “Let the music play” is among my favorite songs of the 80s and the progenitor of a music style called “Freestyle.” This song started a whole new genre! ”
It was released in 1983 on the Italian-American label Emergency Records, owned by Italian DJ and producer Sergio Cossa. At that time, dance music was no longer popular as it used to be at the end of the last decade. It was often snubbed by record labels and not taken very seriously, especially after the decline of Disco that happened a couple of years before.
Hip-hop wasn't the only genre that came out of the Bronx; Freestyle also originated in the big apple. Freestyle music usually has an upbeat tempo and incorporates heavy rhythms played with a Roland 808 or other drum machines, syncopated basslines, synth arpeggios, Latin percussions like clave or maracas, and pitched-up vocals. The most prominent bands of this genre are Shannon, Stevie B, TKA, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Trinere, and Exposé.
Legendary Bronx music producer Chris Barbosa was only a teenager when he created this hit.
At the beginning of the 80s, he got signed as a producer by the new dance label Emergency Records. One day he was messing around with sounds and beats at his home in the Bronx in the early 80s with a Roland JX-3P, a TB-303 Bass Line, an MC-202 synth, and a CR-8000 CompuRhythm drum machine eventually recorded a demo called "Fire and Ice."
He was inspired by producers John Robie and Arthur Baker, especially after listening to "Planet Rock," a song released by Baker, and legendary Bronx DJ Afrika Bambaataa in 1982, which was influenced by German electro pioneers Kraftwerk.
Italy's Emergency Records owner Sergio Cossa found Barbosa quite funny and thought about recording a rap record with another fellow DJ friend of Chris named Nelson Cruz. Chris and his friend were not rappers, so they were not very convinced about the song.
Cossa then hired music producer & audio engineer Mark Liggett to record the song. Still, the song production later went in a completely different direction than Cossa expected, and maybe for good.
During the recording session of that rap song, Chris played Liggett his "Fire and Ice" demo. They all loved it and thought about hiring a singer and completing the demo. Shannon came to the studio and recorded her phenomenal vocals. Another singer called Jimi Tunnell, did the adlibs and sang on the hook.
They recorded that song, and in the coming months, they ended up having a full "Shannon" album. It was released in September 1983.
Let the Music Play" became a huge hit. Number one on the Dance Club chart and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart!
Also, legendary NYC DJ Jellybean Benitez got the promo, immediately falling in love with it and playing it every night at his DJ sets at the Funhouse, helping make it a cult classic.
This was Shannon's biggest hit ever and a classic gem that never gets old. Still played and danced to these days by DJs and b-boys from all over the world!
