Heart

Never


These Dreams

Heart is a rock band whose founding members came from Seattle, Washington, USA in the early 1970s. Going through several lineup changes, the only constant members of the group are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music. After diminishing in popularity by the mid-1980s, the band created a major comeback in 1985 experiencing further success with their power ballads throughout the rest of the decade. By the mid-1990s, Heart left their 1980s' sound and went back to their hard rock roots which they continue to play today. They have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

Heart was ranked #57 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

History
Origins (1967–1974)
In 1967 Steve Fossen formed The Army along with Roger Fisher on guitar, Don Wilhelm on guitar, keyboards and lead vocals, Ray Schaefer on drums and Fossen on bass. They played for several years in and around the Bothell, Washington area (northeast of Seattle). They frequently played Bothell High School, Inglemoor High School and Shorecrest High School, as well as many taverns and club venues. They frequented the club "Parkers" on Aurora Avenue in north Seattle during the 1970s when it was better known as the "Aquarius Tavern". In 1969 the band went through line-up changes (Gary Ziegelman on lead vocals, Roger on guitar, Steve on bass, James Cirrello on guitar, Ron Rudge on drums and Ken Hansen on percussion) (and Debi Cuidon, vocals[citation needed]) and a new name, White Heart (from Tales from the White Hart, a collection of short stories by noted author Arthur C. Clarke). For a brief time in 1970 this line-up shortened its name to Heart; however, the band went through more personnel changes, and when Ann Wilson joined in late 1970 the band was named Hocus Pocus.

Mike Fisher, Roger's brother, was set to be drafted. When he did not report for duty, his home was raided, but he slipped out a rear window and escaped to Canada.
One day in 1971, Mike sneaked across the border to visit family and, by chance, met Ann at a Hocus Pocus show. According to Nancy, that meeting was "when she and Michael fell in love" and Ann decided to follow Mike back to Canada. Steve Fossen finished his college education before he also decided to move to Canada in late 1972, and Roger followed in late 1972 / early 1973 and, along with Mike, Steve and Ann, the band Heart was officially formed.
Nancy joined in 1974, and soon after became involved with Roger. In 1974 the Heart lineup consisted of Ann, Nancy, Roger, Steve, John Hannah (keyboards) and Brian Johnstone (drums).
Ann and Nancy Wilson

The Wilson sisters grew up in Southern California and Taiwan before their Marine Corps father retired to the Seattle suburbs. After Ann graduated from high school, she joined Roger Fisher in the band Hocus Pocus where she met Roger's brother Mike in 1971 and followed him back to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Meanwhile, Nancy finished high school then went to college where she majored in art and German literature. She then played solo gigs until 1974 when she quit college and moved to Canada to join Heart.

Success (1975–1982)
After many one-nighters around their new home, the group recorded a demo tape with the assistance of producer Mike Flicker and session-guitarist and keyboard player, Howard Leese. Hannah and Johnstone had left by this time, and soon after Leese became a full-time member of the group. The same team then cut the debut album, Dreamboat Annie, which attracted the attention of the newly-formed Mushroom Records in 1975, a Vancouver-based label run by Shelly Siegel. Drummers Duris Maxwell, Dave Wilson, Kat Hendrikse and Michael Derosier were among those who played on the sessions for the album. Derosier eventually joined them as their full-time drummer. Upon release in Canada, the album sold an impressive 30,000 copies (no doubt benefitting from Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Canadian content regulations). In the US, Siegel released the album first in Seattle where it quickly sold another 25,000 copies. With two hit singles, "Crazy on You" (#35, 1976) and "Magic Man" (#9, 1976) (written about love interest Herbert L. Becker(Hollywood Insider Feb., 1976), Dreamboat Annie eventually sold over 1 million copies. Songs of this era can be played on Canadian radio to satisfy CanCon content requirements.

The band was able to freely return to the United States after President Jimmy Carter granted amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders upon taking office on January 21, 1977 and the band was able to play outside of Canada. By this time Heart had broken its contract with Mushroom Records and signed with CBS subsidiary Portrait, a move that resulted in a prolonged legal battle with Siegel. In retaliation, he released the partly-completed "Magazine" at the same time that Portrait released Little Queen. A Seattle court ruled that Mushroom Records had to recall "Magazine" so that the group could remix several tracks and redo vocals before re-releasing the disc. Heart had wanted the album taken off the market completely.

Little Queen, with the hit "Barracuda" (#11, 1977), became Heart's second million-seller; "Magazine" was then re-issued in early 1978, peaking in the top twenty and gave forth the hit single "Heartless". In late 1978, the double-platinum Dog and Butterfly followed suit. After the 77-city "Dog and Butterfly" tour, the Wilson-Fisher liaisons ended. Roger was fired from the band after having a breakdown on stage and throwing a guitar near Nancy's head backstage in the fall of 1979. Michael was no longer their manager and left Ann for another woman. Roger Fisher formed his own band in the Seattle area. Longtime guitarist Howard Leese and Nancy filled the guitar slack and her childhood friend Sue Ennis helped with song collaborations. Heart then released "Bebe le Strange" in 1980. It became the bands second top ten hit album and produced two hit singles. By the end of the year, the band scored their highest charted single at the time; a remake of the ballad "Tell it Like it Is" which peaked at # 8.

Comeback (1983–1990)
Following the release of Private Audition in 1982, Fossen and Derosier left the band. Both "Private Audition" and 1983's Passionworks, (featuring new bassist Mark Andes and new drummer Denny Carmassi), failed to go gold (a gold record is 500,000 copies sold) putting Heart at a career crossroads.

In 1984, Ann Wilson recorded a duet with Mike Reno of Loverboy called "Almost Paradise". The song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie, Footloose and hit #7 on the pop charts. Then Heart's first album for Capitol, simply titled, Heart (#1, 1985), sold 5 million copies on the strength of 4 Top-10 hits: "What About Love?" (#10, 1985), "Never" (#4, 1985), "These Dreams" (#1, 1986) and "Nothin' at All" (#10, 1986). By that time, Heart had abandoned their earlier hard rock aspirations to make slick, radio-friendly pop music.

In June 1986, Nancy Wilson married journalist, screenwriter and director Cameron Crowe. She made a cameo appearance in his movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High in 1982, in a scene where she was driving a Corvette, listed as Beautiful Girl In Car. Heart's next album, Bad Animals (#2, 1987), too, contained a chart-topper, in the power ballad "Alone" (#1, 1987), as well as "Who Will You Run To?" (#7, 1987), and "There's The Girl" (#12, 1987).
In 1989, Ann Wilson and Cheap Trick's lead singer, Robin Zander, had a #6 hit with their duet, "Surrender to Me". Brigade (#3, 1990) became Heart's 6th multi-platinum LP and added 3 more Top-25 hits to its catalogue, the most notable of which was "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You".

1991–1995
Following a 1990 tour, the Wilson sisters put together an informal acoustic group called The Lovemongers with Sue Ennis and Frank Cox. A 4-song EP that included a version of Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore" came out in late 1992, and the quartet performed several times in the Seattle area. The Lovemongers released a full-length album titled "Whirlygig" in 1997.
When Heart re-emerged with "Desire Walks On" (#48) in 1993, Schuyler Deale played bass on the album's sessions. (Mark Andes had left the band by 1992). For the group's subsequent tour, Heart was joined by bassist Fernando Saunders and drummer Denny Fongheiser. The band offered live acoustic versions of its best-known songs on 1995's "The Road Home", which was produced by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones.

In 1995 Nancy decided to take a break from music to concentrate on raising a family with husband Cameron Crowe. Ann toured that year with a band that was alternately called The Ann Wilson Band or Ann Wilson & the Ricola Brothers. This lineup included Leese, Scott Olson (guitars), Jon Bayless (bass) and Scott Adams (sax). Additionally, Lovemongers' members Ben Smith (drums) and Frank Cox (guitars, keyboards, percussion) performed in this lineup. They were joined by Nancy for at least one show at The Joint in Las Vegas on October 16th, 1995, which was billed as a Heart show and later broadcast by the Westwood One Superstars in Concert series. A videotape of the show was also shown on VH1.

1996-2001
In 1998 Ann toured again without Nancy, this time billed as Ann Wilson and Heart. The lineup was the same as it had been in 1995, but without Scott Adams. Nancy kept busy scoring her husband's movies Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, Elizabethtown and Vanilla Sky. She wrote and, along with her husband, produced the song "I Fall Apart" in Vanilla Sky that Cameron Diaz performed, and also composed "Elevator Beat", a non-vocal composition for the film. In 1999 Nancy released a solo album, (Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop). Also in 1999, Nancy and Ann embarked on a tour of their own, this being the first time that they had done so.
2002-2006
In 2002, Ann and Nancy returned to the road with a brand-new Heart lineup that included Scott Olson, Ben Smith, former Alice In Chains bassist Mike Inez, and keyboardist Tom Kellock. In 2003, Heart released their critically acclaimed[citation needed] concert DVD "Alive in Seattle" which has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA The DVD includes such hits as "Alone", "Barracuda", "Crazy on You", "Magic Man", "Straight On", "These Dreams" and many more.
Also in 2003, Gilby Clarke (ex-Guns N' Roses) and Darian Sahanaja replaced Olson and Kellock. These two new men didn't stay very long and were succeeded in 2004 by Craig Bartok and Debbie Shair. (Sahanaja's schedule became very busy after he joined Brian Wilson's touring band, but he returned to play with Heart in 2007 for their "Dreamboat Annie Live" show.) In 2004 the Wilsons released "Jupiter's Darling", their first studio album as Heart since 1993. It featured a variety of songs that include a return to Heart's original sound as well as a blend of pop and new textures. Stand-out tracks included "Make Me", "Enough", "Oldest Story In The World" and "Lost Angel". In 2005 the Wilsons appeared on the CMT Music Awards as a special guest of country singer Gretchen Wilson, (no relation), and performed the Heart classic, "Crazy On You", with Gretchen.
Heart performed with Gretchen Wilson on VH-1's 10 March 2006 tribute to the band, "Decades Rock Live".[17] The special also featured Alice in Chains, Phil Anselmo, Dave Navarro, Rufus Wainwright and Carrie Underwood.[18] Later in the year, bass player Inez left Heart to re-join the reformed Alice In Chains. Ric Markman then became Heart's new bassist.

Controversy
In 1977 Heart's record label, Mushroom Records, fueled rumors that Ann and Nancy were lesbian lovers by running a full-page ad in Rolling Stone showing the sisters bare-shouldered and suggestively captioned "It was only our first time". When a reporter suggested, backstage after a live appearance, that the sisters were sex partners, Ann returned to her hotel room and began writing the lyrics to "Barracuda" to relieve her frustration. The song became one of Heart's biggest hits (#11, 1977).

Members and former members
Artist
Instrument(s)
Period
Fisher MikeMike Fisher
Manager, engineer, producer, light man, and prior to Nancy joining the group, guitar
1973-1979
Fisher RogerRoger Fisher
Lead Guitar, backing vocals
1973–1979
Fossen SteveSteve Fossen
Electric bass guitar, percussion
1973–1982
Hannah JohnJohn Hannah
Keyboards
1974
Johnstone BrianBrian Johnstone
Drums
1974
Wilson AnnAnn Wilson
Vocals (Lead Vocals, backing vocals), flute, guitar, keyboards, percussion, violin
1973–present
Wilson NancyNancy Wilson
Vocals, guitar (acoustic guitars, electric guitars, lead guitar), mandolin, keyboards, synthesizers, harmonica
1974–present
DeRosier MichaelMichael DeRosier
Drums, percussion
1975–1982
Leese HowardHoward Leese
Guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, mandolin, recorder, autoharp, percussion, backing vocals
1975–1998
Andes MarkMark Andes
Electric bass guitar, backing vocals
1982–1992
Carmassi DennyDenny Carmassi
Drums, percussion
1982–1993
Deale SchuylerSchuyler Deale
Electric bass guitar
1993
Fongheiser DennyDenny Fongheiser
Drums, percussion
1993–1995
Saunders FernandoFernando Saunders
Electric bass guitar
1993–1995
Olson ScottScott Olson
Guitar
1995-1998,2002-2003
Cox FrankFrank Cox
Guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
1995-1998
Adams ScottScott Adams
Sax
1995
Bayless JohnJohn Bayless
Electric bass guitar
1995-1998
Kellock TomTom Kellock
Keyboards, synthesizers
2002-2003
Smith BenBen Smith
Drums
1995-1998,2002–present
Inez MikeMike Inez
Electric bass guitar
2002–2006
Clarke GilbyGilby Clarke
Guitar
2003-2004
Sahanaja DarianDarian Sahanaja
Keyboards, synthesizers
2003–2004,2007
Bartock CraigCraig Bartock
Guitar
2004–present
Shair DebbieDebbie Shair
Keyboards, synthesizers
2004–present
Markmann RicRic Markmann
Electric bass guitar
2006–present

External links
Heart's official site

Christopher Cross

Ride Like The Wind


Sailing

Christopher Cross was a solid musician who perhaps arrived at the wrong time. Extremely talented, he enjoyed initial success but that success came at the same time of MTV. Not know for flashy clothing or new wave sound, he was not a regular on MTV video rotation. Perhaps MTV’s success was a determent to Christopher’s. Anyway, we here at The Totally Awesome Big 80’s like Christopher Cross and we hope that you do to.

Christopher Cross (born Christopher Geppert on May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. His debut album earned him all of the "Big Four" Grammy Awards in one year, a feat that is yet to be equaled. He also received an Oscar and a Golden Globe relating to his work with music in hit films.
Career
He is best known by most for his Top Ten hit songs, "Sailing", "Ride Like the Wind", and "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," the latter of which he performed for the film Arthur starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. "Sailing" earned three awards at the 1981 Grammy Awards Ceremony, while "Arthur's Theme" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1981 (with co-composers Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen.)

Cross first played with a San Antonio based cover band named Flash before signing a solo contract with Warner Bros. Cross released his self-titled debut album, Christopher Cross in 1979, which garnered him five Grammy Awards. He is the first and only artist to personally receive all of the "Big Four" Grammy Awards (Best Record, Song, Album, and New Artist) in the same year. Hits from this album included "Sailing", "Ride Like the Wind" (featuring backing vocals by Michael McDonald) and "Never Be the Same".

His second album, Another Page, which came out in 1983, included the hit songs "Think of Laura", "No Time For Talk", and "All Right." "All Right" was used by CBS Sports for its highlights montage following the 1983 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, won in an upset by North Carolina State, which defeated the University of Houston in the championship game, 54-52. Although Another Page sold respectably, it did not nearly live up to the high expectations set by his debut album.

Cross released his third album Every Turn of the World in 1985. However, the album failed to produce any top 40 hits, and did not sell well. He went on to make three more albums in the 90's and although some of his releases have gained critical response, he has failed to catch the mass audience he once enjoyed. After his decline in fame in the mid-1980s, Cross has toured and opened for various acts since the 90's and releasing his second Greatest Hits package in 2002.
Cross completed a new Christmas album and on November 15, 2007, which was released exclusively on iTunes and is slated to be in general distribution for the 2008 season. Christopher has just finished recording a new acoustic album of his hits titled "The Carlye Sessions". He is also working on a new studio album that is expected to be released in the spring of 2009. Today, he does about 100 live performances a year.

In recent years, his daughter, Madison has become a singer and actress.

Singles
Title
US HOT 100
Serial number
Year
From album
"Ride Like The Wind"
#2
Warner 49184
March 1980
Christopher Cross
"Sailing"
#1
Warner 49507
July 1980
Christopher Cross
"Never Be the Same"
#15
Warner 49580
October 1980
Christopher Cross
"Say You'll Be Mine"
#20
Warner 49705
April 1981
Christopher Cross
"Spinning"
-
Warner
1980-1981
Christopher Cross
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"
#1
Warner 49787
August 1981
Arthur (Soundtrack)
"All Right"
#12
Warner 29843
January 1983
Another Page
"No Time For Talk"
#33
Warner 29662
May 1983
Another Page
"Think of Laura"
#9
Warner 29658
December 1983
Another Page
"A Chance For Heaven" (Swimming Theme from 1984 Summer Olympics)
#76
Columbia 04492
1984
Official Music of the XXIIIrd Olympiad (1984)
"Charm The Snake"
#68
Warner 28864
1985
Every Turn Of The World
"Every Turn of the World"
-
-
1985
Every Turn Of The World
Awards
Academy Award for Best Song, 1981, "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, 1981, "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"
Grammy, 1981 - Record of the Year - "Sailing"
Grammy, 1981 - Album of the Year - Christopher Cross
Grammy, 1981 - Best New Artist - Christopher Cross
Grammy, 1981 - Best Arrangement - "Sailing"

Discography
Christopher Cross (1979)
Another Page (1983)
Every Turn of the World (1985)
Back of My Mind (1988)
Rendezvous (1992)
The Best of Christopher Cross (1993)
Window (1995)
Walking in Avalon (1998)
Greatest Hits Live (1999)
Red Room (2000)
The Very Best of Christopher Cross (2002)
A Christopher Cross Christmas (2007)

In popular culture

He is one of the many recurring characters on the Channel 101 series Yacht Rock, which featurized the fictionalized lives of soft/smooth and Yacht rock musicians from 1978-1984. Some of his collaborators, such as Michael McDonald, are also featured on the series.

Many people associate "Think of Laura" with the Luke and Laura plotline of the soap opera, General Hospital, which was very popular at the time, but it was actually written about a friend of Christopher's girlfriend at the time (named Laura) who had recently been killed by a stray bullet while riding in the back of a car.

Chris Griffin of Family Guy, is named after him, as his full name is Christopher Cross Griffin.

In the Seinfeld episode "The Millennium", Newman reveals that he booked Cross for his Millennium Eve party, which he has been planning since 1978.

Cross' single "Ride Like the Wind" is included in the Time Life compilation Soft Rock.

"Ride Like the Wind" was used as a video in an episode of Second City Television. Rick Moranis plays the part of Michael McDonald doing the backing vocals. He rushes to the studio and arrives just in time to sing the background vocals Such a long way to go.

In American Psycho, Patrick Bateman mentions listening to a Christopher Cross compilation tape while working out at a health club.

"Ride Like the Wind" was featured in the movie Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star .
In the show "Home Movies" he is mentioned briefly by Brendon in the episode "Directors Cut"

Performances
Cross contributed backing vocals, (along with The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson,) to David Lee Roth's 1985 hit "California Girls."

Cross performed the song "Sailing" alongside the pop band 'Nsync at the Fourth Annual Blockbuster Awards in 1999.

Cross also performed lead vocals on "So Far Away", a song from Alan Parsons' album On Air. When Parsons was touring in support of that album, Cross would sometimes join the band onstage to sing the song if he was available.

Cross spent much of his youth living in a home on Newbury Terrace in Terrell Hills, just outside San Antonio, Texas. That home had earlier belonged to the Cummins family and another notable San Antonian, the historian and author Light Townsend Cummins, grew up in that same house a decade earlier. It has since been demolished.

A small snippet of Cross' early hit, "Sailing" was played in the DreamWorks film "Flushed Away"

External links
The Official Website

The Belle Stars

Sign of the times


The clapping song

The Belle Stars were an all female British rock band, founded in London in 1980 by former members of the 2 Tone ska revival band, The Bodysnatchers.

Career
After the Bodysnatchers broke up, guitarists Stella Barker and Sarah-Jane Owen, saxophonist Miranda Joyce, keyboardist Penny Leyton, and drummer Judy Parsons decided to form a new band, recruiting bass player Lesley Shone and lead vocalist Jennie Matthias (also known as Jenny McKeown). Their first performance was on Christmas Day, 1980, before they had chosen a name.

Within a short time, the group became well known around London, notably appearing on the front cover of Sounds magazine early in 1981. Shortly thereafter, they were signed by Stiff Records, then highly successful due to its star act, Madness.

The band's debut single, "Hiawatha"/"Big Blonde" was released in the late spring of 1981, produced by Madness producers Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley. The band promoted the single by playing support for ska acts The Beat and Madness. However, the single failed to chart, despite continuing media attention.

The same production team was responsible for "Slick Trick"/"Take Another Look", the second single. It too failed to chart. Keyboard player Penny Leyton left the band late in the year, to be replaced on saxophone and keyboards by Clare Hirst. Leyton later joined The Deltones.
When the third single, the radio friendly "Another Latin Love Song" again failed to break into the charts, the band tried cover versions instead, with some success. "Iko Iko", a cover of The Dixie Cups' 1965 hit (later featured in the 1988 movie Rain Man), was The Belle Stars' long-hoped-for UK Singles Chart debut, peaking at a modest number 35 in June of 1982. The Belle Stars furthered this with "The Clapping Song" (their first top 20 hit), a remake of the 1965 Shirley Ellis hit, and then "Mockingbird", a hit for Inez and Charlie Foxx in 1969 and James Taylor and Carly Simon in 1974.

In January 1983 the Belle Stars released what would be their signature single, "Sign Of The Times", peaking at number three, and a chart success throughout Europe. The song's music video, showing the Belle Stars in tuxedos, was also played frequently by MTV in the United States. The song went on to become the 30th best selling single of 1983 in the UK.
It was followed a month later by the band's eponymous debut album, which reached number 15 on the UK Albums Chart. As with the band's singles, it was a mix of original songs and cover versions, including Bob and Earl's "Harlem Shuffle" (covered three years later by the Rolling Stones on Dirty Work) and Al Wilson's "The Snake".

However, "Sign Of The Times" proved to be the peak of the band's success. Each follow-up single was less successful than its predecessor: "Sweet Memory", reached number 22 in the charts in April 1983; "Indian Summer" number 52 in August; whilst "The Entertainer" did not chart. It took another year before the band had a minor hit, "80's Romance", which made number 71 in August 1984 before it dropped out after a week. Despite this, the band continued to tour throughout Europe. However, the lack of success took its toll, and McKeown left the band, followed by others, until the band was down to Owen, Joyce, and Shone.

By 1984, Stiff Records was ailing, and it merged with Island Records; in July 1985 it was liquidated and bought by ZTT, the label owned by the husband and wife team of producer Trevor Horn and Jill Sinclair. Under Horn's supervision, the three remaining members recorded a new Belle Stars album with the 4th & Broadway production team in New York City. However, the only tracks to be released were the single "World Domination"/"Just A Minute", a flop in Britain but a Top 5 Billboard Dancefloor chart hit in the U.S. Following this, the band broke up.
However, in 1989, the Belle Stars finally had a big U.S. chart hit, when "Iko Iko" reached number 14 on the Billboard Top 100 in March, after it was included on the soundtrack of the film Rain Man, starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. The song had been a favourite of Hoffman's. Jennie Matthias toured the U.S. to promote the song.

Penny Leyton went on to join the all girl ska band The Deltones in 1984, and they released an album on Unicorn Records in 1989. Jennie Matthias has recently guested on the '1973' album by Skaville UK, and has more recently formed a new ska band with Lee Thompson from Madness called The Dance Brigade.

Personnel
Jennie Matthias: lead Vocals
Sarah Jane Owen: lead guitar
Stella Barker : rhythm guitar
Penny Leyton: keyboards (1981-1982)
Miranda Joyce (born 26 July 1962): alto saxophone
Clare Hirst: tenor saxophone, keyboards (1982-1984)
Lesley Shone: bass
Judy Parsons: drums

Discography
Singles
"Hiawatha" (Stiff Records) 1981 - UK
"Slick Trick" (Stiff Records) 1981 - UK
"Another Latin Love Song EP" (Stiff Records) 1982 - UK
"Iko Iko" (Stiff Records) 1982 - UK # 35, AUS # 7 (in 1989)
"The Clapping Song" (Stiff Records) 1982 - UK # 11, AUS # 4
"Mockingbird" (Stiff Records) 1982 - UK # 51
"Sign of The Times" (Stiff Records) 1983 - UK # 3, AUS # 45
"Sweet Memory" (Stiff Records) 1983 - UK # 22
"Indian Summer" (Stiff Records) 1983 - UK # 52
"The Entertainer" (Stiff Records) 1983
"80's Romance" (Stiff Records) 1984 - UK # 71
"World Domination" (Stiff Records) 1986 - UK, US Dance # 5
"Iko Iko" (Stiff Records) 1989 - US # 14

Albums
The Belle Stars (Stiff Records) 1983 - UK # 15, AUS # 76
CDs
The Belle Stars - The Very Best of (Reportoire Records) 1993
The Belle Stars - The Very Best (Stiff Records) 1994
The Belle Stars - Sign of The Times (Laserlight) 1994
The Belle Stars - The Clapping Song (Edel) 1994
The Belle Stars - Collection (Musicdisc) 1994
The Belle Stars - The Very Best of (The Hit Label Ltd) 1999
The Belle Stars - Belle Issima, Sweet Memories (Edsel) 2004

External links
The Belle Stars fansite

Rick Springfield

Don’ Talk To Strangers


Love Somebody

Rick Springfield (born Richard Lewis Springthorpe on August 23, 1949 in Sydney) is an Australian-American songwriter, musician and actor. As a musician he is most famous for the 1981 #1 single "Jessie's Girl", which became a Grammy Award-winning landmark of 1980s pop-rock and helped establish the emerging music video age. Also an actor, Springfield's best known role is that of the character Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital. He originated the character from 1981-1983 and then returned to play him again from 2005 until present.

Background
Springfield grew up in a military family and frequently moved as his father was posted to various military bases throughout Australia and Great Britain. Springfield started playing piano at age 9. He began playing the guitar at age 13 and writing songs at 14.

Musical career
In 1967, Springfield dropped out of high school to begin his professional music career. His first appearance in a band was as a singer/guitarist in the band Rock House. In 1968, the band changed the name to MPD, Ltd, then embarked on a tour of Vietnam to entertain the troops stationed there.

In 1969, when Springfield returned to Australia, he formed a band named Wickedy Wak with MPD bandmates Danny Finley and Paul Shannon, along with a keyboardist who went by the name of Ray Wight. Later that year, he joined the band Zoot. Zoot became one of the most popular Australian groups of the late 1960s. Another notable member of Zoot was Beeb Birtles, who in 1975 went on to form the Little River Band. In May 1971, when Zoot broke up, Springfield began a solo career. He had a #1 hit single in Australia, "Speak to the Sky."

After his success in Australia, the 22-year-old Springfield relocated to Hollywood, California in 1972. Capitol Records signed him, and he recorded his first album Beginnings. "Speak to the Sky" was re-released as a single in the US, and reached #14 in the Billboard Top 100. Exposure on American Bandstand, as well as being regularly featured in teen fan magazines such as 16 magazine and Tiger Beat, sparked interest amongst teenage girls. In 1973 a Saturday morning cartoon called Mission: Magic! was centered around Springfield and ran for one year, with a soundtrack album also released.

According to the 2005 A&E documentary Rick Springfield: Behind The Image, radio stations became suspicious of the album "Beginnings" and refused to play it, because of rumors that the record company, Capitol Records, was paying people to purchase it. Capitol denied the rumor, but Springfield was subsequently dropped from the label. However, in 1973 he was signed by Columbia Records, who released his second album Comic Book Heroes (1974). It received very good reviews from Rolling Stone Magazine, but it failed to chart. Springfield was dropped from that label as well, and plans to release an album entitled Springfield were also scrapped.

In 1976, Springfield released a third album Wait for Night under the Chelsea Records label. But while he was out touring to promote the album, the record company went bankrupt. Despite one single, "Take A Hand", grazing the Top 40, the album still fell off the charts. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Springfield performed in various clubs on the Sunset Strip and throughout Los Angeles, but was unable to maintain a career at the top of the charts.

After a break of several years to do some acting (see section below), Springfield returned to music in 1981 with the album Working Class Dog. Most notable on this album were the singles "Jessie's Girl", which went to #1 on the Billboard charts, and "I've Done Everything for You" which was written by Sammy Hagar, and reached #8 on Billboard. Springfield won a Grammy in 1982 for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for "Jessie's Girl". Springfield was also nominated for a second Grammy in 1982 and a third Grammy in 1983. His subsequent release in 1982, the album Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, also contained a string of top 40 hits including the #2 hit "Don't Talk to Strangers" and the ballad "What Kind of Fool Am I?"

His 1983 album Living in Oz contained more serious subject matter, and more of a hard-rock sound. The album went platinum on the strength of the hits "Human Touch", "Souls", and "Affair of the Heart". That same year he won an American Music Award for "Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist" along with John Cougar Mellencamp.

His 1984 single "Love Somebody" (from the soundtrack album to the Hard to Hold movie he starred in that year) was his last top ten hit in the U.S. to date, peaking at #5 on the Billboard singles chart. He stopped touring in 1985, for the birth of his first son, Liam. Also in 1984, Mercury Records released Beautiful Feelings which were unreleased sessions Rick recorded in 1978 but never released. The LP was remixed and additional instrumentation was added without Rick's involvement. Rick attempted to block the release of this LP, but was unsuccessful. Springfield later purchased an ad in several music industry magazines revealing the true nature of this LP, and he did not authorize it's release and his new LP (the afordmentioned "Hard To Hold") would be coming out soon. Despite the controversy, "Beautiful Feelings" reached number 78 on the LP charts, and a single, "Bruce", a song about people mistaking Rick for Bruce Springsteen, hit number 27 on the Hot 100.

Springfield was one of several performers who participated in the Live Aid charity concert. After releasing the album Tao in 1985, Springfield chose to take a break from recording to spend more time with his family, and to deal with the depression that had affected him since his adolescence.

In 1987, Springfield returned to the studio and released the album Rock of Life. The next year, he was seriously injured in an ATV accident. Since he was unable to play the guitar for six months, the planned tour to promote his album was canceled. It would be nearly a decade before Springfield would return to the studio to record the albums Sahara Snow (1997) and Karma(1999).

From 1999 onward, he has held several concert tours throughout North America. In February 2004, he released the critically acclaimed album "Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance" (in short S/D/A/A) on his own "Gomer Record" label. It went up to #8 on the Top Independent Albums chart, and #22 on Top Internet Album Sales chart.

In 2005, Springfield released The Day After Yesterday - a collection of his covers of "songs [he] wish[es] [he] had written."

Curiously the one global chart market Springfield failed to break into with any great success was the British chart scene, despite having lived in the UK for a period and having a huge following there. This seeming failure was due more to timing than lack of popularity as the genre of soft rock that Springfield was part of remained largely unsuccessful in the new romantic and ska dominated British charts of the early 80s, which also saw the likes of Olivia Newton John and British artists Sheena Easton and Def Leppard fail to enjoy any great success in the period. He is often likened to the modern British act Robbie Williams who has suffered a similar fate in the United States despite global appeal and a decidedly strong American fan base. retrospectively the soft rock explosion in late 80s Britain has ensured that, despite not being a big hit at the time, Jessie's Girl, Springfield's biggest UK hit, is today regarded as an 80's classic with regular airplay in the UK.

Acting career
Because of various issues regarding the management of his recording career and uncertainty with immigration paperwork, in the 1970s Springfield decided to branch off into acting. He had already starred in the cartoon series Mission: Magic, produced by Filmation in 1973, where he appears in the animated format, along with the teacher Miss Tickle and her teenaged students. In 1978, he became one of the last contract actors signed to Universal Studios, and appeared in several guest roles in series such as The Incredible Hulk and The Rockford Files. He also had a brief role as Zac in the 1978 movie Battlestar Galactica, and a small recurring role on the soap opera The Young and The Restless.

In 1981, Springfield became a soap opera star on General Hospital. He had signed a contract with RCA Records and already recorded the album Working Class Dog, which neither he nor his agent had expected would do very well, which is why Springfield took the soap role. But the song "Jessie's Girl" went to #1, and Springfield ended up both playing the role of Dr. Noah Drake from 1981 through 1983, while simultaneously going on tour with his band. The success of the song boosted the ratings of the show, which according to Springfield "became the biggest show on TV for that summer," and the fame from the show likewise boosted the sale of the song.

In 1984, Springfield made one full length feature film Hard to Hold. It was considered a box office failure, but the movie did produce a successful soundtrack with a top ten song "Love Somebody."

Despite the fact that he played a young rock star in Hard to Hold, in real life Springfield was already in his 30s, had become a husband and father, and was growing uncomfortable with the teen idol image he portrayed.

Throughout the 1990s, Springfield acted in several made-for-TV movies, and appeared in television shows such as Suddenly Susan. In 1992, he starred in the suspense detective series Human Target. From 1994 to 1996, he also starred in another detective series, High Tide.

In addition to the roles on television and in film, Springfield also acted in musical theatre. In 1995, he was a member of the original Broadway cast of the musical Smokey Joe's Cafe. This Tony Award-nominated musical featured the songs of rock & roll songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. From February 2000 through December 2002, Springfield performed in EFX Alive!at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada to critical acclaim.

In 2001, he appeared in the film Dying to Dance, which also starred another General Hospital actor, Kimberly McCullough (Robin Scorpio). Springfield also played the role of Nick Knight in the original Forever Knight TV movie, a role later taken up by Geraint Wyn Davies.

General Hospital
In December 2005, Springfield was asked by the General Hospital producers to return to the show, and he returned to his role as Dr. Noah Drake after a 23-year absence. His run was subsequently extended, although as of 2007 he remains a guest star on recurring status, and not a full contract cast member.

In July 2007, a new storyline was introduced with another character also played by Springfield, Eli Love, "a 1980s rock star" who just happens to look exactly like Dr. Drake. The storyline requires Drake, who hates musicians, to fill in for an injured Eli Love at a charity concert. In the summer of 2008, he returned as both Noah Drake and Eli Love. On July 29 2008, he performed his latest single "What's Victoria's Secret" on the show.

Discography
Studio albums
Beginnings (1972) #35 US
Comic Book Heroes (1973)
Mission Magic (1974)
Wait for Night (1976)
Working Class Dog (1981) #7 US
Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982) #2 US
Living in Oz (1983) #12 US
Hard to Hold (1984) #16 US
Tao (1985) #21 US
Rock of Life (1988) #55 US
Karma (1999) #189 US
Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance (2004)
The Day After Yesterday (2005) #197 US
Venus in Overdrive (2008) #28 US
Other releases
Beautiful Feelings (1984) US #78 (New instrumentation of songs originally recorded in 1978, published without Rick's accept)
Sahara Snow (1997)(With Tim Pierce and Bob Marlette)
The Greatest Hits ALIVE (2001)
Platinum & Gold Collection: Rick Springfield (2003)
Written in Rock--Anthology (2005)
Live in Rockford (2006) DVD concert
The Early Sound City Sessions (2007) Original recordings from 1978 that later became Beautiful Feelings in 1984

Singles
Year
Song
1972
"Speak to the Sky"
1972
"What Would the Children Think"
1974
"American Girls"
1976
"Take a Hand"
1981
"Jessie's Girl"
1981
"I've Done Everything for You"
1981
"Love Is Alright Tonight"
1982
"Don't Talk to Strangers"
1982
"What Kind of Fool Am I"
1982
"I Get Excited"
1983
"Affair of the Heart"
1983
"Human Touch"
1983
"Souls"
1984
"Love Somebody"
1984
"Bop 'Til You Drop"
1984
"Don't Walk Away"
1984
"Taxi Dancing" (duet with Randy Crawford)
1984
"Bruce"
1985
"Celebrate Youth"
1985
"State of the Heart"
1988
"Rock of Life"
2004
"Beautiful You"
2008
"What's Victoria's Secret"

External links
RickSpringfield.com
Official myspace page

New Edition

New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1978, that was most popular during the 1980s.

Formation
Guided by producer Maurice Starr, New Edition was originally a trio, but first recorded as a Jackson 5-esque collection of five young black teenage singers, including lead singers Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown, and Ricky Bell and rappers Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe. Like the Jackson 5 before them, New Edition became a pop phenomenon, and were big enough to have Madonna as an opening act during their early days. In the early 1980s, New Edition sold more units in the United States than any other teen singing group.
The group was formed by Bobby Brown, Michael Bivins and Ricky Bell in 1978, while living at the Orchard Park housing projects (or what the group and residents of the area calls them popularly as "The Bricks") in the Bell soon brought his best friend Ralph Tresvant in on the act, who quickly became their lead singer. They would soon meet a young local group manager/choreographer named Brooke Payne, who would give them the name, ‘New Edition.’ . After winning a talent show in 1980, Payne’s nephew, Ronnie DeVoe, was then recruited into the group. , Payne rounded out the line-up by bringing in his nephew, Ronnie DeVoe.

Music
1982-1985: Beginnings

The group would perform all around Massachusetts and would eventually land a spot at a talent show which ran by Maurice Starr, where the first prize was $500.00 and a recording contract. New Edition came in 2nd place, but Starr decided to bring the group to his studio the following day and would record their debut album, Candy Girl. Recorded in late 1982 and released in 1983, on Starr’s Streetwise Records, the album featured the hits: "Is This The End," "Popcorn Love," "Jealous Girl" and the title track, which went to number one in both the American R&B singles chart and the UK singles chart.

Returning from their first major concert tour, the boys were dropped back off to their homes in the projects and were given a check in the amount of $1.87 a piece for their efforts. Tour budget and expenses were given as the explanation to why they were not paid more. Due to financial reasons, New Edition parted company with Starr in 1984 (Starr responded by promptly creating the group New Kids on the Block; essentially formatted after New Edition, but with white teenagers.) The group, meanwhile, went on to sign a major label deal with MCA Records, which released their self titled second album the same year. Eclipsing their debut album, New Edition spun off the top five hit "Cool It Now," and the top twenty "Mr. Telephone Man," and went on to be certified double platinum in the United States.

Following the success of the New Edition album, the group was dismayed to learn that while they believed they were signed to MCA Records, in truth, they had actually been misled into signing a deal with an outside production company—which had its own deal with MCA. Each group member borrowed five hundred thousand dollars from MCA in order to disentangle themselves from that deal, which would allow them to continue to record for MCA directly. This, however, put the group into liability with the label, and would force them to continually record simply to get out of debt.

New Edition’s third album, All for Love, was released in the latter half of 1985. While not duplicating the success of its predecessor, the album was certified platinum, and spawned the hits: "Count Me Out," "A Little Bit Of Love (Is All It Takes)," and "With You All The Way." The growing popularity of the group led to a guest appearance (as themselves) in the 1985 film Krush Groove, performing "My Secret."

Toward years end, Christmas All Over The World, a holiday EP, was released.

1986: The departure of Bobby Brown
In December 1985, under pressure from MCA and their management, the group was forced to vote Bobby Brown out, due to behavioral problems. Brown embarked on a solo career in 1986, while New Edition continued to promote All for Love as a quartet. In spite of their financial and internal conflicts, New Edition continued to peak. During this era of the group’s evolution, the group (sans Brown) appeared in the episode of Knight Rider titled 'Knight Song', performing “Count Me Out.” As 1986 wound to a close, they recorded a cover of The Penguins 1954 hit, “Earth Angel” for the soundtrack to The Karate Kid, Part II. The song peaked at #21, and inspired the group to record Under the Blue Moon, an album of doo-wop covers.

1987-1989: The introduction of Johnny Gill
After having already lost a member when Bobby Brown was terminated from the group, New Edition’s future became more uncertain when murmurings began to surface that lead singer Ralph Tresvant was eyeing a solo career as well. To pad his potential departure, singer Johnny Gill was voted into the group by Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell and Ron DeVoe in 1987, despite Tresvant’s ultimately deciding to remain in place. A native of Washington, DC, Johnny Gill is the only non-Boston native among the group’s six members. According to IMDB:

New Edition’s fifth studio release, Heart Break—which also featured Gill as the co-lead vocalist—was released in the summer of 1988. Primarily produced by the production team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the album was a departure from the group's previous bubblegum sound, and instead took on a smoother, stronger, and more adult resonance. Spinning off five hit singles: “If It Isn't Love,” “You're Not My Kind of Girl,” “Can You Stand The Rain,” “Crucial” and “N.E. Heartbreak”; Heart Break became New Edition’s most commercially successful album up to that point, certified double platinum in the United States, with worldwide sales of close to four million. The success of Heart Break would launch the group on a very successful concert tour as well in the closing months of 1988; with former member Bobby Brown, and Al B. Sure!, as their opening acts.

Discography
Main article: New Edition discography

Studio albums
1983: Candy Girl #111 (US); #22 (US R&B)
1984: New Edition #6 (US); #1 (US R&B)
1985: All for Love #32 (US); #3 (US R&B)
1986: Under the Blue Moon #43 (US); #11 (US R&B)
1988: Heart Break #12 (US); #3 (US R&B)
1996: Home Again #1 (US); #1 (US R&B)
2004: One Love #12 (US); #4 (US R&B)
2008: Candy Girl 25th Anniversary Edition
TBA: Eighth studio album

References
New Edition Biography
Bobby Brown View the Music Artists Biography Online VH1.com
Billboard.com - Biography - Bobby Brown
Ralph E. Tresvant - Biography

External links
Official Site

Shannon

Let The Music Play

Shannon (born Shannon Brenda Greene on May 2, 1958 in Washington, D.C.), is an American singer. She is best known for her 1983 dance/freestyle record, "Let the Music Play". The record redefined the electro funk sound that Arthur Baker and John Rocca (who produced "I.O.U" by Freeez and "One More Shot/Get Wet" by C-Bank) developed in 1982.

Before music career
In the spring of 1983, a young African American woman named Shannon Greene was enrolled in York College and toured with the New York Jazz Ensemble. Quintin Hicks, an associate of the soon-to-be-renowned production team of Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa later saw Shannon singing with a live band in her cousin's studio. Hicks thought she was perfect for what the duo was looking for. Shannon auditioned for Liggett and Barbosa with the song "She Can't Love You Like I Do" (Little Tony 14yrs., a project prior to Shannon's mainstream success). They liked her and her vocals so much that they introduced her to the track "Fire and Ice," which would later evolve into Shannon's signature song, "Let the Music Play." Under the direction of Chris Barbosa, Shannon added artist contribution (the Shannon stamp to the vocals) thus creating the World Hit "Let the Music Play." This title would also be applied to Shannon's debut album.

Music career
In July 1983, the above video "Let the Music Play" single was released without her knowledge. Shannon was invited back to lay down more songs for Liggett and Barbosa. Barbosa, a Puerto Rican from New York was considered the founder of Freestyle music, and "Let the Music Play" has become widely acknowledged as the first freestyle music track. Its heavy syncopated drum sound with Latin American rhythms has become very commonplace today, such that the "Shannon Sound" considered so innovative at the time now seems not quite as cutting-edge. The single's success led to the number eight Pop position on the Billboard Top 100 and took over the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, temporarily making Shannon the international Dance Queen of the World. Today, the song is well-regarded as one of the most influential dance records of all time #22 best song in the world ever recorded.

Her debut album, titled Let the Music Play after the big hit single, was released February 1984. The follow-up single from the album, "Give Me Tonight" was noted as the best song of the year Billboard, as it received the same wild enthusiasm as its predecessor and also hit the top spot on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It also became a significant hit on Urban radio. In the US, the third single was "My Heart's Divided". This was a latino-freestyle track, which again featured Jimmi Tunnel on the refrain vocals, and the woo-woo-wooowoo synth baseline. The song was a club smash and could be heard on boomboxes and out of IROC-Z's and Monte Carlos around any major urban area. In Europe, the superior "Sweet Somebody", a mid tempo soul jam, made the lower regisers of the top 40. It may have faired well here had it been the fourth US single.

The Let the Music Play album would go on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide. It is widely considered the first freestyle album in history. Shannon was nominated for a Grammy and received numerous other awards, including the Dianah Washington (Jack the Rapper) Award, Hall Of Fame Award, Gold Ampex Reel Award, Certified Gold Single, Best Billboard Top 10 female R&B vocalist.

In 1985, Shannon released her second album Do You Wanna Get Away, which sported a sound similar to that of her debut album. The title track charted on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was also embraced by the club/dance music community. She scored three more Dance music hits from the album, including "Stronger Together", a pop single perfect for radio, a straight ahead cover of "Urgent" by Foreigner, and "Stop The Noise", which was the lone second video single from the album despite it's lowest chart position. The choice of this video, it's re-mastering for the single edit, and the subsequent slow sell to make it a hit hint that perhaps Shannon's label did not market her successfully. Non-singles from the album were interesting and may have had hit potential if properly marketed - including the lover gone wrong anthem "Doin' what your doin'" and the soulful B-side to "Stronger Together," a track called "Let Me See Your Body Move," which featured the type of throaty dance diva singing Shannon fans had come to look for.
By 1986, her success was waning. Her third album, Love Goes All The Way, released that year, did not bring the same success as previous albums. The title track had a sweet, soulful sound reminiscent of a cross between a Chaka Kahn and a Whitney Houston ballad of the time, and may have been a big hit if it had been released. Aside from the minor R&B hit "Prove Me Right" with a bass heavy dance floor sound, Shannon also released a 12" called "Dancin'". The single mix differed from the album mix, and was beat driven, but sounded less melodic that previous singles and fizzled on the charts. Perhaps fans of earlier Shanon dance singles were looking for something more freestyle or soul based. "Dancin'" was neither particularly soulful or freestyle sounding - it was more of a pop dance song. A 45 of the single featured the mid-tempo "Right Track" from the album on a double A side single, but despite being perhaps the best song from Love Goes All The Way, it disappeared quickly. "Right Track" could potentially blend well today on a CD smooth jazz station. Singles from Love Goes All The Way were released without the ever-important (in the 80s) video, or even picture sleeves for the singles. Again, it seemed that Atlantic was riding out their contract without much enthusiasm for promoting the album.
Politics within the Atlantic/Warner Bros. Records Record Company were affecting the atmosphere, and Shannon sought a release from her recording contract in 1987. Earlier that year, she had managed to record one last single, "Criminal," for the movie Fatal Beauty. This track was a pop-sounding single typical of the era, and lacked the soulful punch of other Shannon recordings. The single had a flip side by the R&B act Madame X.

While touring the world, Shannon attended and graduated from The American Academy Of Dramatic Arts (NYC) for acting, now adding several off broadway plays to her career (making her very well-rounded, as a singer, dancer, and actress). Some claim she is the most Freestyle emulated performer of all times.

The 1990s
In the late 1990s interest of Shannon rekindled VH1’s spotlight her on their One Hit Wonders series, Entertainment Tonight taped there one hour special about her life. There were enormous amount of remixes of "Let the Music Play", and "Give Me Tonight".

Featured recordings with Sash! and Todd Terry. In 1998, she co-wrote and sang on the track Take a Little Time by Les Rythmes Digitales.

2000 to present
In the year 2000, Shannon released her fourth studio album, The Best Is Yet To Come, on which she is credited as a co-writer. Chris Barbosa was invited back as a producer to recapture the sound of her 1980's hits "Let The Music Play" and "Give Me Tonight." Many notable producers, including Andy Panda and Tony Moran were also featured on the new album. An Hex Hector remix 2000 AD (After The Decade) "Give Me Tonight" from the set made the song a colossal club hit again while its follow-up, an update of "Let the Music Play", though still a hit, interestingly proved to be less popular - a role reversal of when she debuted with the songs in the 80's).

The Greatest Hits album released in November 2004.
On April 20, 2006 Shannon participated in the Freestyle Extranvaganza concert along with fellow Freestyle acts like Judy Torres , George Lamond, Cynthia, Lisette Melendez, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, the Cover Girls, Hanson and Davis, Coro, Stevie B. and more. The event was sponsored by WKTU, WSKQ, and WCAA in New York.

Singles Title (Year)
"Let the Music Play" (1983)
"Give Me Tonight" (1984)
"My Heart's Divided" (1984)
"Sweet Somebody" (1984)
"Do You Wanna Get Away?" (1985)
"Stronger Together" (1985)
"Stop the Noise" (1985)
"Urgent" (1985)
"Love Goes All the Way" (1986)
"Prove Me Right" (1986)
"Dancin'" (1987)
"It's Got To Be Love" (1995)
"Do the Wrong Thing" *(1996)
"It's Over Love" **(1997)
"Move Mania" ***(1999)
"Give Me Tonight 2000" (2000)
"Let the Music Play 2000" (2000)
*-"Do the Wrong Thing" with Afrika Bambaataa **-Todd Terry featuring Shannon ***-Sash! featuring Shannon

Albums
1984 Let the Music Play - Mirage/Atlantic Records
1985 Do You Wanna Get Away - Mirage/Atlantic Records
1986 Love Goes All the Way - Atlantic Records
1996 Essential Dancefloor Artists - Deep Beats
2000 The Best Is Yet to Come - Contagious Records
2004 Let the Music Play: The Best of Shannon - Shout Factory
2007 A Beauty Returns - Diggin4Brown

External links
Shannon's brief biography