"Let the Music Play" - Shannon

Abagon reports the actual commercial 45 run time of Shannon's "Let the Music Play" is 4:35, not 4:38 as stated on the record label. Currently, the database indicates that commercial copies all run 4:38, but I suspect this is based on the printed record label time.

Steve Sharp wrote: This song marked a turning point in club music on the radio...

W/o a doubt! "Let the Music Play" is the song that is most often cited as launching the popular "freestyle" dance movement of the mid to late '80s, which would later include such groups/artists as Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Expose, The Cover Girls, Taylor Dayne, etc.; it was definitely the FIRST to become a hit on the pop charts, anyway. There's no denying the influence of "LTMP" in changing the course of dance music during the '80s, as it's often listed as one of the ten best of the entire decade (I have to concur)...

I was almost immediately hooked, big time, when the PD at the chr station I worked at, asked me to give this a listen.

"Almost"??? "ALMOST"?!? "Let the Music Play" was one of those songs that I only had to hear ONCE back in early '84 to get me to run out and buy the entire album (also titled "Let the Music Play"), which I did on cassette. And it was worth every penny - trust me, there isn't a bum track on it! In fact, more than 20,000 albums later, that one still ranks in my top 10, all-time. :-) "Give Me Tonight", "My Heart's Divided", "Sweet Somebody", etc. - WOW! Of course, I immediately picked up her two follow-up albums, "Do You Wanna Get Away" (1985) and "Love Goes All the Way" (1986), on cassette as soon as they were released, and I've since added the long-out-of-print U.S. CDs of both to my collection as well. (Hard to believe that the "Let the Music Play" album has NEVER been issued on CD here in the U.S.; however, there is an excellent 15-track import available on the Unidisc label - which I have - that tacks on the 7" versions, 12" versions, and dub mixes of all the album's singles. Highly recommended!) I've actually gone so far as to buy a few of her U.S. 12" vinyl singles over the years as well, although I've never owned any of the 45s. The title track from her '85 album is also a major winner, as is her cover of Foreigner's "Urgent"(!), IMO. To this day, I still get pumped whenever I hear "LTMP" - it's one of those few songs that I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing, lol. VH-1 Classic still plays the video often, and once in a blue moon, they show the one for "Give Me Tonight" as well...

Around 1998-99, as she was attempting a comeback w/ some new singles and later an album (2000's "The Best is Yet to Come"), Shannon made a live appearance at a popular club out on Long Island in NY, where I lived at the time. Of course, when I got wind of it, I knew I was going to be there! Although the performance was fairly brief (only about five or six songs, as I recall, but including "LTMP" and some of her other classics), she sounded as good as ever, and afterward, I had the pleasure of meeting & speaking w/ her for several minutes. I let her know what a classic I felt "LTMP" was; she was very gracious and signed all three of my original '80s cassettes of hers that I'd bought back in the day... :-)

Is the shorter version on the DJ 45 actually the LP version? Or, the 45 version, simply a minute shorter?

I'm almost positive it's actually shorter. After getting my feedback (and adding it), I BEGGED the PD for a copy. I can rummage around for it, and needle drop it, if there's a call for it (John).

Edited by Steve Sharp

Does anyone have the details on creating the DJ edit?