Global Legacy & Today
House went global — to New York, the UK, Ibiza and the world — became the foundation of modern dance music, and Chicago’s pioneers were finally honoured. The city named a street for Frankie Knuckles; the sound never stopped.
Part of Chicago House
42 moments in this segment.
- — Gospel house — "Promised Land" lives on. Joe Smooth’s gospel-house anthem, still sung by choirs decades on.
- — Raze — "Break 4 Love" (1988). A house anthem that crossed the Atlantic.
- — Acid house rave, UK (1988). Chicago acid house crossed the Atlantic — warehouse raves, smiley-face tees and the UK’s Second Summer of Love.
- — Spectrum, London (1988). A live recording from Spectrum, one of the London nights that broke acid house in Britain.
- — Dance Britannia — the acid house revolution. A BBC look at how Chicago’s acid house transformed British youth culture.
- — Frankie Knuckles’ Grammy & honours. Frankie Knuckles won a Grammy and, in 2004, Chicago named a stretch of street "Frankie Knuckles Way" — recognition for the pioneers at last.
- — UK acid house rave footage (1989). The rave explosion in full swing — fields, warehouses and a cultural revolution born from Chicago house.
- — Frankie Knuckles — "The Whistle Song" (1991). Frankie Knuckles’ biggest solo hit, a worldwide house standard.
- — CeCe Peniston — "Finally" (1991). A Chicago-rooted vocal-house smash that crossed to the global pop charts.
- — Lidell Townsell — "Nu Nu". A Chicago house-dance crossover hit.
- — Marshall Jefferson — "Mushrooms". With the Salt City Orchestra remix, a UK-loved deep classic.
- — Felix Da Housecat — "Thee Dawn". A second-generation Chicago artist who went global.
- — Green Velvet — "Flash". Curtis Jones as Green Velvet — a darker, wittier Chicago classic.
- — Traxmen — Dance Mania. Dance Mania ghetto-house tracks.
- — DJ Sneak — "Keep On Groovin’". Filtered disco-house that linked Chicago to the French touch.
- — Roy Davis Jr. ft. Peven Everett — "Gabriel". A Chicago garage-house crossover classic that broke in the UK.
- — Paul Johnson — "Feel My M.F. Bass". Raw, filtered Chicago house from the late-90s master.
- — DJ Deeon — "Freak Like Me" (Dance Mania). Dance Mania ghetto house — Chicago’s raw, hard, late-90s strain.
- — Jammin’ Gerald — Dance Mania ghetto house. Raw, percussive, hard Chicago ghetto house.
- — Derrick Carter — "Dream States". The second-generation Chicago DJ’s deep production.
- — Cevin Fisher — "Chicago". A tribute to the city that made house.
- — DJ Sneak — "You Can’t Hide From Your Bud". Filtered disco-house that became a global anthem.
- — Green Velvet — "La La Land". Curtis Jones’ witty, dark club anthem.
- — Paul Johnson — "Get Get Down". The filtered Chicago house global smash.
- — DJ Gant-Man — ghetto house medley. Old-school Chicago ghetto house, the bridge from house to juke.
- — Doc — "Pump Up the Volume: The History of House". The landmark documentary on the birth and rise of house music.
- — Hieroglyphic Being (Jamal Moss). A raw, experimental heir to the Ron Hardy / Trax tradition.
- — DJ Spinn & DJ Rashad — Teklife. The Teklife crew who took Chicago footwork worldwide.
- — Traxman — footwork / Teklife. Traxman’s deep crate-digging footwork, descended from ghetto house.
- — RP Boo — the birth of footwork. RP Boo on inventing footwork — house’s hyper-speed Chicago descendant.
- — Footwork — "I’m Tryna Tell Ya". A documentary feature on the Chicago footwork scene.
- — The sound that conquered the world. From Chicago to New York, the UK, Ibiza and every dancefloor on earth, house became the foundation of modern dance music. When Frankie Knuckles died in 2014, the world mourned the man who gave it house.
- — Frankie Knuckles — Boiler Room. Frankie Knuckles behind the decks for Boiler Room — the Godfather of House, decades on, still moving the floor.
- — Gene Hunt — Boiler Room Chicago. A first-generation Chicago DJ keeping the house tradition alive.
- — Derrick Carter — all-disco set @ Smartbar. The Chicago DJ’s DJ at his home club Smartbar.
- — Derrick Carter on the dance. The Chicago house DJ on why the dancefloor matters.
- — Duane Powell — Boiler Room Chicago. A Chicago selector carrying the city’s deep tradition forward.
- — Marshall Jefferson — house set. The originator still working the floor decades on.
- — Lil Louis on Chicago house. Lil Louis reflects on the birth of Chicago house music.
- — Mark Farina — Mushroom Jazz. The Chicago-born DJ’s laid-back, downtempo-house Mushroom Jazz series.
- — Derrick Carter. A second-generation Chicago house hero and one of the most respected DJs in the world. The subject dates from 1995; this photograph was taken in 2023.
- — Acid house ignites the UK (1988). Chicago acid house crossed the Atlantic and lit the UK’s "Second Summer of Love" — warehouse raves, smiley faces, and a cultural revolution.
