HOUSE MUSIC HISTORY
House music
It’s an electronic dance music genre, generally recognised by its repetitive 4/4 beats with the off-beats hi-hat
cymbals foundation, notably the prominent kick drum on every beat using drum machine and synthesized bass line.
History
New York
At the end of 1977 era, disco or dance music came out from the underground and it exploded, especially after the
Saturday night fever came along. From the idea if people can dance together they can live together, a club where all
people from all kind of walk of life and colours can come together in unity was established, The Paradise Garage. It had
the biggest dance floor and the best sounds system at that time, founded by Michael Broady in January 1978 on 84 King
Street. The club became legendary through its talented DJ Larry Levan whom could be said that he was the “Godfather
of DJs”
Chicago
Robert Williams a club promoter brought a young New Yorker Frankie Knuckles to play at his new club, called The
Warehouse. Adding to the disco vibes from New York with the classy, groovy, soulful and uplifting underground music
style of Frankie knuckles, The Warehouse club became so sensational in the windy city. It became the city’s flagship
club. It shaped the fashion and culture within the city’s underground music. And more to that, it was just about to give its
name, to a name that no one could have had imagined. It gave a new name to the whole new style of music!
People in Chicago started to look for the music that were played or being played at The Warehouse. The Imports record
shop was “THE” shop at the time that everyone in Chicago go to find records and that was also selling “The Warehouse music” . They labelled their records with “as played or as heard at The Warehouse” Eventually, for the simplicity of
pronunciation, The Warehouse’s music was shortened to HOUSE MUSIC.
DJs in Chicago also became more increasingly creative on the decks by using double copies of the same record to mix,
slam, repeat and manipulate on the certain part or section of the record that they knew would had had made their
audience gone wild. This style of mixing technique was then taken to another level of perfection and popularized it even
more on the city’s airwave by WBMX radio station with its mascot, Scott Smokin Silz, the hot mix 5.
The popularity ripple had continued massively in the city as more new technology had become available such as drum
machine. By this time “HOUSE MUSIC” term in which was to describe music that were or being played at The
Warehouse had begun to evolve to becoming a stand-alone music genre and started to get its form! DJs were making
their own rhythms, beats and remixes. In 1983 a new club in town “The music box ” led by its resident DJ Ron Hardy
had a considerable influence on the growing popularity and demand of HOUSE MUSIC. The box was also where the
slang word “Jackin” became about.
A HOUSE MUSIC demo tape “ Your Love “ by Jamie Principle & Frankie knuckles from The Warehouse (1984) had
spread through in every corner of Chicago like a virus and was truly played significant role in the evolution of house
music. Then followed by “On & On” by Jesse Saunders, the very first house music on vinyl. The evolution was then again
accelerated by Chip E’ s success with his record “Time To Jack”
Within a year, DJs were making more and more HOUSE MUSIC with drum machine and another new music media
electronics including abusing a machine designed for karaoke, in which how the acid house started (pioneered by DJ
Pierre and DJ Earl Spanky Smith) HOUSE MUSIC grew wider and became splintered into different types of house music
genres.
Not to forget Larry Sherman who owned Trax record label. He was responsible for the success of “Can you Feel It” by
Larry Heard in 1986 and the pinnacle, the one and only house music anthem “Move Your Body” by Marshall Jefferson.
Credit also due to Trax record for taking the much variety of house music produced vinyls from all Chicago’s DJs out
from its city wall, across the Atlantic ocean to UK through Ibiza & all over the world, becoming the music genre that is
loved by many until today!
A written summary by HSR from “Pump Up The Volume”
A history of House Music Docoumentary part 1