Let the Music Play (Shannon song)

"Let the Music Play"
Song

"Let the Music Play" is a song recorded by Shannon in 1983.

The original version of the record was produced by Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa. By the early 1980s, the backlash against disco had driven dance music off mainstream radio stations in the US. The rhythmic ingenuity of "Let the Music Play" was largely due to [Chris Barbosa]], who wrote and arranged the original demo tra ck [Rob Kilgore]]played all the instruments on this seminal track. It featured a series of keyboard chords and drum patterns produced by gating a Roland TR-808 drum machine. The song reached #1 on the US Dance chart in November 1983 and #8 on the US Singles Chart in February 1984. Some mark this as the beginning of the dance-pop era.

"Let the Music Play" was Shannon's only US Top 40 hit. It was ranked 43rd on the 2009 VH1 Special 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s.

Chart peaks

Chart (1983)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	14
US Billboard Hot 100	8
US Hot Dance Club Songs	1

Cover versions

• In 1991, Latin freestyle artist Tiana did a cover of this song.
• In 1996, Scottish singer Mary Kiani covered the song and hit the #19 spot on the UK singles chart.
• There is a cover by Music Instructor on its album Electric City of Music Instructor released in 1998.
• Exile, a Japanese boyband did a cover of this song in their album titled Asia released in 2006.
• In 2006, Mexican pop band RBD covered "Let the Music Play," which is featured on its first English-language album, Rebels, but only as an iTunes digital-download exclusive. The track was not included on the album itself.
• "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)," the second single from the 2009 album Battlefield by Jordin Sparks, contains lyrics and melodies from the song.
• In 2003 the Danish production team AEROSOL (Tommy Scott & Remo Münch) covered the song, which featured Anne Murillo on vocals.

Mary Kiani version

"Let the Music Play"
Song

In 1996, Mary Kiani covered "Let the Music Play" as her third solo single. The song was remixed in a variety of styles, notably by Paul Oakenfold of Perfecto and Steve Rodway of Motiv8. A video of the song was also released.

Track listings and formats

These are the main formats and track listings of the single release of Mary Kiani's "Let the Music Play".

#	Title	Length
UK CD single MERCD456
1.	"Let the Music Play" [Radio Mix]	3:50
2.	"Let the Music Play" [Perfecto Radio Mix]	5:40
3.	"Let the Music Play" [Motiv8 Club Mix]	6:32
4.	"Let the Music Play" [Mr. Spring Contrary Mary Mix]	5:34
5.	"Let the Music Play" [Perfecto Vocal Mix]	8:00
6.	"Let the Music Play" [Argonauts Kiani Do This Mix]	5:42
7.	"Let the Music Play" [Mr. Spring Club Edit]	4:29
UK 12" MERX456
A1.	"Let the Music Play" [Motiv8 Club Mix]	6:33
A2.	"Let the Music Play" [Union Jack Mix]	6:27
B1.	"Let the Music Play" [Perfecto Vocal Mix]	8:01
B2.	"Let the Music Play" [Perfecto Dub Mix]	5:00
UK 12" MERX457 / Fubar12
A1.	"Let the Music Play" [Casio Brothers Mix]
A2.	"Let the Music Play" [George Bowie Mix]
B1.	"Let the Music Play" [Steve Kerr Mix]
B2.	"Let the Music Play" [Tom Wilson & David Livingston Mix]