Shannon

An electo-funk legend and Freestyle pioneer, Shannon is the diva behind the heavy-hitting club tune, "Let the Music Play" -- a track that forged the Freestyle genre, this classic club favorite on Emergency Records shot to the top of the Billboard charts in 1983. A debut album with the same title went gold the following year. Although the Washington, D.C. native also sang with the New York Jazz Ensemble, she's noted less for her vocal stylings and more for her innovative electro-synth basslines. Despite the lasting significance of "Let the Music Play," Shannon's career was short-lived.