The Birth of House (1984–86)
In 1984 Jesse Saunders pressed "On and On", widely cited as the first house record. Within two years Chicago producers — with cheap drum machines and a four-on-the-floor kick — had built a whole new genre, and Marshall Jefferson’s "Move Your Body" gave it its anthem.
Part of Chicago House
18 moments in this segment.
- — Z Factor — "Fast Cars" (Vince Lawrence). Vince Lawrence’s pre-house electro-disco group — a direct precursor to the first house records.
- — Jesse Saunders — "On and On" (1984). Widely cited as the first house record pressed to vinyl.
- — Jesse Saunders — "On and On" (1984). Jesse Saunders’ "On and On" is widely cited as the first house record pressed to vinyl — a cheap, drum-machine-driven track that proved anyone could make this music.
- — The machines that made house — the Roland TB-303. How the cheap Roland drum machines and the TB-303 let anyone make house.
- — Jamie Principle — "Waiting on My Angel". An early Jamie Principle / Frankie Knuckles classic.
- — Jamie Principle — "Your Love" (1985). Jamie Principle’s "Your Love" and "Baby Wants to Ride", first heard on Frankie Knuckles’ reel, are foundational early house records.
- — Chip E. — "It’s House" (1985). An early record that helped name the genre itself.
- — WBMX Hot Mix 5 — house on the radio. A vintage WBMX Hot Mix 5 radio mix — how house reached every Chicago bedroom.
- — Club LaRay, Chicago (c. 1986). Period footage from Club LaRay — Chicago house culture on the floor, the dancers and the crowd.
- — Marshall Jefferson pres. Truth — "Open Our Eyes". Marshall Jefferson’s gospel-house anthem.
- — Frankie Knuckles ft. Jamie Principle — "It’s a Cold World". An early Knuckles/Principle collaboration.
- — Mickey "Mixin" Oliver & Ralphi Rosario — WBMX. The Hot Mix 5 DJs whose WBMX mixes spread house across Chicago radio.
- — Marshall Jefferson — "Move Your Body" (1986). Marshall Jefferson’s "Move Your Body (The House Music Anthem)" added piano and song structure — the track that turned house into an anthem.
- — Medusa’s — Chicago’s all-ages club (1989). A 1989 TV report on Medusa’s, the all-ages Chicago club where a young generation discovered house.
- — Jamie Principle — "Bad Boy". More from the elusive early-house auteur.
- — Marshall Jefferson. The former post-office worker whose "Move Your Body" gave house its anthem. The subject dates from 1986; this photograph was taken in 2013.
- — The making of "Move Your Body". Marshall Jefferson on creating the house-music anthem and its piano.
- — The Roland TR-808 drum machine. The TR-808’s booming kick and clap underpinned countless early house and electro records. The subject dates from 1980; this photograph was taken in 2014.
