Shannon was born in
Washington, D.C., United States. In 1983, she was enrolled at
York College in
New York City and toured with the New York Jazz Ensemble. its unique sound, called "the Shannon Sound", would later come to be known as "
freestyle". It was later ranked #23 among
Billboard's best dance songs of all-time. Her debut studio album,
Let the Music Play, was released on February 1, 1984. "
Give Me Tonight", the follow-up single, reached the number-two spot on the R&B charts and number one on the Hot Dance Club Play charts. The song went to number 46 on the pop charts. In the United States, the third single was "
My Heart's Divided". The single, featuring
Jimi Tunnell as one of the backing vocalists, hit #3 on the Dance Chart. "
Sweet Somebody", a mid-tempo
soul effort, made the Top 20 in a few
European nations. Shannon's studio album
Let the Music Play went on to sell approximately 1.5 million worldwide, with 500,000 of those sold in the United States, earning gold certification. Shannon was nominated for a
Grammy Award and received numerous other awards, including the Dinah Washington (Jack the Rapper) Award, the Hall of Fame Award, the Gold Ampex Reel Award, a certified
gold disc by the
Recording Industry Association of America, and the Best
Billboard Top 10 female R&B vocalist. In 1985, she released her second studio album,
Do You Wanna Get Away. The
title track was the first single and it became her third single to appear on the Hot 100, and her third single to hit #1 on the Dance Chart. She scored three more
dance hits, including "
Stronger Together", a
cover of "
Urgent" by
Foreigner, and "Stop the Noise", with a
video sponsored by
Pepsi and
Black Angus.
Love Goes All the Way, Shannon's third studio album, was released in 1986. Shannon asked to be released from her
recording contract with
Atlantic Records in 1987. She recorded
soundtracks,
jingles, and the track "Criminal", for the
movie Fatal Beauty, starring
Whoopi Goldberg. While touring the world, Shannon attended and graduated from the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts in
New York City. In 1998, she cowrote and sang on multi-tracks produced by
Todd Terry,
Tony Moran, and
Germany's
Sash! and
Les Rythmes Digitales. The Shannon single "Move Mania" (Sash!) became an
EU dance hit. In 1999, Shannon appeared in a segment of
VH1's
One-Hit Wonders.
Entertainment Tonight also taped a special about her life. She was managed for a period of time by Eric Vega producer of shows and events. In 2005 the
NBC TV show
Hit Me, Baby, One More Time aired a full interview on Shannon's life, music, and a pre-taped performance in front of a studio audience for national airing. Shannon's fourth studio album,
The Best Is Yet to Come, was released on March 28, 2000. She is credited as 50 percent writer of the album.
Chris Barbosa served as a producer, along with Andy "Panda" Tripoli and
Tony Moran. This venture thrust Shannon back onto the dance scene and
Billboard Music Charts in the early 2000s with top 10
Billboard Dance Remixes by veteran DJ/Mixer
Junior Vasquez (For "Let the Music Play – The Lost Mixes" – #3 US
Billboard Music Dance Charts), and
Hex Hector for "Give Me Tonight". Shannon later released a
compilation album,
Let the Music Play: The Best of Shannon, in 2004. On April 20, 2006, Shannon participated in the
Freestyle Extranvaganza concert along with artists
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam,
the Cover Girls,
Coro, and
Stevie B The event was sponsored by
WKTU,
WSKQ, and
WCAA in New York. A fifth studio album,
A Beauty Returns, was released in 2006. Today, Shannon is a voting member of the Grammy's (
Recording Academy), and she occasionally performs shows around the world. In 2016,
Carnival Cruise Line ran a national television campaign featuring music performed by her. In 2017, Shannon was a contestant on the
Fox game show
Beat Shazam where she was partnered with former
Stetsasonic member Bobby Simmons. ==Personal life==