Early Chicago House

Early Chicago House Music

The Neo-Liberal idea that free market competition will result in positive gains for the consumer might be true in the case of early House Music. In the early 80's, two DJ's at two clubs had a healthy rivalry to attract and please the large and discriminating Club Scene.

The Music Industry and Pop Culture had proclaime "Disco Sucks!" and had decided disco was dead. But there were plenty of folks who still wanted to get high and dance to an up-tempo funky groove. Frankie Knuckles at The Warehouse and Ron Hardy at the Music Box were two DJ's willing to give the clubbers what they wanted.

The Music Industry did mostly control what kind of records were made, though. No longer were large recording sessions with skilled musicians, orchestras, and arrangers funded. Besides Italo Disco and New York Garage (Classic Garage), there weren't many disco records being made. But the clubbers had an appetite for new grooves that the DJ's had to feed.

Knuckles and Hardy would loop classic grooves on a reel to reel and synch it to a disco beat programed into the 808 and 909 drum machines from Roland's TR series. This beat became known as a "House Beat" and the music came to be called "House Music." Most say it's called House because it was the stuff Frankie Knuckles played at the club "The Warehouse." But The Music Box's Ron Hardy was just as influential in the creation of this new club sound.



Producers soon re-created the "House Sound" in the studio and Chicago's Trax Records became the first label to put out House Records. Now days, not only are there countless House DJ's, Producers, and Labels, but many various styles of House Music.



Ron Hardy Mixes

Here's a mixtape full of bootleg recordings of Ron Hardy spinning at The Music Box




1. Live at The Muzic Box, Chicago 4/3/1983

2. Live at The Muzic Box, Chicago 12/15/1983

3. Live at The Muzic Box, Chicago 6/19/1984

4. Live at The Muzic Box, Chicago 1986

5. Live at The Muzic Box, Chicago 198?



Frankie Knuckles Mixes

Here's a mixtape of Frankie Knuckle's spinning on the classic Chicago radio station WBMX




1. (w/ Mickey Oliver) 102.7 FM WBMX Friday Night Jams 1985

2. Friday Night Jams on 102.7 FM WBMX 10/31/1986

3. (w/ Frankie Hollywood Rodriquez) 102.7 FM WBMX 1986?

4. 102.7 FM WBMX 1987

5. Friday Night Jams, 102.7 FM WBMX 198?



History of House Music Links:

House Music (Wiki)

History of House (Ele-Mental)

History of House (HyperReal)

History of House (Pulsation)

History of House (TruGroovez)

History of House (Rodney Bakerr)

Chicago House (Hanst-Manchester)

DJ History