Beginning Of House Music
Early House To trace the origins of today’s house music, one needs to time
travel back to the 80’s, following a bizarre trail that spans the Atlantic
ocean, hits the Mediterranean dance floors of Ibiza, sneak into the backdoors of
New York’s recording studios, and have V.I.P. passes to the clubs of Chicago and
London. Since we can’t deliver any of that, here’s a brief retelling of the
birth of modern dance music. House music’s earliest roots are found in the
musical hotspots of Chicago around 1985. Transplanted New York DJ Frankie
Knuckles had a regular gig at a club called The Warehouse. Knuckles would tinker
with soul and disco tunes by laying down a drum machine-generated 4/4 beat on
top of them. The clubbers loved this new sound and “house” music, named for the
club, was born. More DJs took to the tables and the studios, and soon there was
an abundance of new house tracks penetrating both the clubs and airwaves of
Chicago. The new sound found its way to the East Coast, where DJs in Philly and
New York spun their own interpretations of classic dance tunes with a house beat
on top. But the biggest fans of the Chicago sound weren’t in the U.S. at all…
Simultaneously, pirate radio in Britain took to the Chicago sounds.
Incidentally, at the time pirate stations were the only ones playing black music
of any kind in the U.K. Before long, house was the new soundtrack of the
underground clubs of London. The first house tune to break the underground
ceiling was Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk’s cover of Isaac Hayes’ “Love Can’t Turn
Around,” which reached the national charts in September 1986. The UK couldn’t
seem to get enough. Soon, commercial success beckoned several of the early
artists. Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley was the first to reach the ultimate accolade, the
UK No.1, with “Jack Your Body” in January 1987.
This success paved the way for a
house-flavored single to hit internationally. The collaboration of British
artists Colourbox and A.R. Kane, known as M/A/R/R/S, hit the big time with “Pump
up the Volume.” Considered lightweight by many house purists, the track
nonetheless took over dance floors worldwide and delivered house beats to the
planet’s masses for the first time. But many fans weren’t receptive of house’s
sudden commercial success, and they went looking for a sound to drive it back
underground. One inspiration for a house mutation came in the form of the Roland
TB 303 synthesizer. One of the earliest instigators of this new sound was
Britain’s DJ Pierre, whose work with the Roland dated back to 1985. Pierre cut
drums on top of the 303’s bassline, and gave the results to a DJ working at
Chicago’s Music Box club named Ron Hardy. Hardy renamed it “Acid Trax” (after a
well-fabled incident in which the club’s water supply was dosed with LSD) and
played it incessantly. It barely made a ripple outside Chicago in 1986, but
“Acid Trax” was a sign of things to come. Acid, as it came to be known, was a
hybrid of house with its roots on both sides of the Atlantic, and would define a
new generation of dance music. “Acid House parties” sprang up over the U.K.,
scaring parents senseless with its double-entendre. Of course, the drug
inferences and the trademark t-shirt symbol, a smiley face with a bullethole in
the forehead, increased acid music’s popularity with the kids, and the music
world took note. Mainstream pop artists began exhibiting acid influence in their
records, and more crossovers from the underground appeared on the charts.
Chicago’s house masterminds were busier than ever finding new grooves to lay
down. College buddies Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, and Derrick May all
produced records both influential and resonating (May’s “The Dance” was sampled
countless times for years to come) throughout the Windy City.
