The Warehouse

In 1977, at the height of Disco, Frankie Knuckles was enticed to leave his successful DJ work in New York to help open a new club in Chicago. Chicago was not a dance music city in the late 1970's and was known primarily for its world-class blues. Many clubs still were relying on jukeboxes for music and rarely used live DJs. Into this void stepped Frankie Knuckles to help begin the House movement which would revolutionize dance music in the mid 1980's. The origin of the name House to describe the music has often been disputed, but it seems the most reliable explanation is a shortening of the name of Knuckles' club the Warehouse. According to Frankie, much of the music he played in the late 1970's at the Warehouse was standard East Coast disco, Philly soul, and Salsoul. By 1981 he had begun to reconstruct and remix records live with additional percussion effects. The House sound was beginning.

The evolution of House music can not (and should not) be attributed solely to Frankie Knuckles. There were a number of DJs and other music industry figures who played key roles and helped to cross-pollinate the sound that was developing. In 1981, a group of DJs formed the Hot Mix 5 to give their music a radio outlet on Chicago's legendary WBMX-FM. Among the DJs ere Farley Keith, better known as Farley "Jackmaster" Funk and Ralphie Rosario, who remains a top dance music performer and producer today. Farley would later become resident DJ at the Playground club, a crosstown rival of Frankie Knuckles' Warehouse.

Farley "Jackmaster" Funk House music would introduce a powerful beat to mainstream dance music. The beat became strong and hard. Often early house music was as much about rhythm as it was about any vocals or other aspects of the recording. House also became a showcase for the talents of DJs and remixers. Elements of wide ranging recordings from found voices to classic soul would weave in and out to help work the dancefloor crowd into a frenzy.

By 1983 Jesse Saunders was emerging as a key figure in the development of House music in Chicago by releasing some of the first commercial recordings. Jesse had begun DJing in Chicago after returning from the University of Southern California in 1981. He eventually became resident DJ at the Playground, one of the key large clubs for early House. After having one of his favorite mixes stolen, he decided to recreate and rerecord it himself with his own synthesizers and drum machine. The result was the single Fantasy, released in 1983. Later in the year he released On and On on his own Jes-Say Records label. It is considered by many to be the first commercially released House recording.

Jesse Saunders Among the sounds used by Jesse Saunders in his groundbreaking recording were the bass line from Space Invaders, the "toot toot hey beep beep" loop from Donna Summer's Bad Girls, and the horn chart from Funkytown. After Jesse Saunders' seminal recordings, House music began to develop quickly. Larry Sherman soon opened Chicago's legendary Trax Records label. Ron Hardy at the Powerplant, Frankie Knuckles at the Warehouse, and Farley Keith at the Playhouse reigned supreme among DJs spinning new records for their devoted crowds. Locally produced House ecordings began to be released at a furious pace in Chicago as producers and entrepreneurs battled for the city's House crown.

In 1986, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk released Love Can't Turn Around, the first House record to have a major chart impact. Later Steve "Silk" Hurley had the first House #1 with Jack Your Body. By the end of the 1980's House music had become one of the key sounds in dance music around the world.

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