The House That Chicago Built

Known for its contributions to the blues and jazz, the Windy City is also home to some of the most vital dance music in the world.

BY JEREMY DILLAHUNT

The mid- to late 1980s saw many of Chicago’s South Side Catholic high schools open on the weekends, but teenager Darlene Jackson was not at all upset about it. Class of a different kind was in session, and the instructors had names like Farley Jackmaster Funk.

“The schools needed money back then, and the DJs needed big spaces to throw parties in,” explains Jackson, more commonly known as DJ Lady
D. “So a promoter would rent out the gymnasium on a Friday afternoon, charge $5 a ticket, and 2,000 kids would show up to the party.”

The DJs spinning at the parties had their work cut out for them—keeping the attention of 2,000 teenagers is no easy task. But they had a few tricks up their sleeves—namely an emerging style of music called house.

Born from disco music at a club called The Warehouse in the late ’70s, and taking shape at the Power Plant in the early ’80s, house crept onto the radio, with the legendary “Hot Mix 5” radio team. It also found its way to the party circuit, winning people over with its infectious danceability.

It was from these provincial beginnings that the city’s latest musical creation, Chicago house, came into full fruition locally, setting the stage for its wild success in Europe and its heavy—though oft en unrecognized— influence on American pop music. To put it simply, Madonna wouldn’t be the Madonna we all know and love if not for Chicago house.

To properly explain what Chicago house is, it is important to explain some of the idiosyncrasies of the electronic music scene. Genres within the scene distinguish themselves by the thinnest of margins. What differentiates a Chicago house song from a New York City house song could be as small as the placement of a piano loop. It may seem arbitrary, but there is a purpose. The various styles of electronic music defi ne themselves by looking ahead, and being new and different.

In this way, Chicago house—and all electronic music for that matter—is a close sibling to modern pop. “People like [Puff Daddy], hugely successful Top 40 artists, have Chicago house producers on their payroll,” says Lori Riegler, a jack-of-all-trades in the music industry who has worked as a party promoter, DJ booker and artist manager in Chicago and New York since 1992. The reason is simple: A Top 40 artist looking for an original, infectious hook is likely to fi nd it on the hard drive of someone like producer and DJ Felix Da Housecat, because that’s who is experimenting with new sounds.

“Most kids I knew growing up were DJs,” Lady D says. “But some of them had studios, a keyboard or synthesizer. There were always people over at their house, playing with noise, recording stuff and trying to make something new to play at the clubs or parties.” The VIPs of Chicago house music—Jesse Saunders, Frankie Knuckles, Mr. Fingers, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Adonis and others—essentially started this way, too.

Inspired by each other’s DJ sets and motivated to create the next new, hot sound, Saunders et al set about creating tracks that incorporated a whole night’s worth of music. Taking apart disco tracks—particularly obscure Italo (Italian) ones—and using the beat or bass line, adding some melodies and vocals from soul or gospel, or the blips and beeps of new wave bands like Devo, The B-52s and Kraft werk, these DJs and producers created songs that felt familiar but were different enough to keep the dancers’ attention. Th us, Chicago house was born.

Initially the success was local: Saunders’ prototypical 12-inch recording “On and On” sold out of its initial 500-copy pressing in about a week. But Larry Sherman, who owned the only record press in Chicago at the time, saw opportunity overseas. Europe, particularly England and the island of Ibiza, was experiencing its own cultural revolution—the music and culture that Americans have come to dismissively call “Eurotrash.”

“Records that were selling hundreds of copies in Chicago and New York were selling thousands of copies in Europe,” Lady D says. Not surprisingly, much of Chicago’s talent crossed the ocean for a piece of the musical pie. “You have a guy like Ron Carroll who nobody in the US has ever heard of,” Riegler says. “He sang over a track called ‘Lucky Star’ by the French band Superfunk. It sold more than 2 million copies in Europe.”

Despite house music’s fi nancial successes and worldwide influence, Chicago’s city government has a historically ambivalent relationship with it, satisfi ed to focus on Chicago’s contribution to the blues and jazz instead. Riegler recalls having to hire off -duty police offi cers as security for her parties in order to keep the police from shutting them down. The city has been warming up to its newest genre, though.

“I think it is our responsibility to promote Chicago’s house music scene and its artists,” says Brian Keigher of the Department of Cultural Aff airs. “It’s not part of our job description, but it’s something that I feel I should do personally.”

Mayor Richard Daley also showed his support for the scene by declaring Aug. 10, 2005, “House Unity Day,” in recognition of the genre’s 21st anniversary. And Keigher succeeded in adding house DJs to the city’s popular SummerDance in Grant Park series—a move that turned out to be popular. “The DJ events were a huge success,” he says. “We had thousands of people come out for them.”

It was a personal high for Keigher, a DJ and longtime proponent of the music. “DJs rarely have the opportunity to show their grandparents what it is they do,” he says, “because grandparents don’t get out of bed at 2am to go down to the club.” In fact, the DJ sets were so popular that the city temporarily suspended them until they could relocate to a larger venue.

The originators and creators of Chicago house haven’t given up on their city, either, despite their popularity in Europe. “Chicago is pretty much the only place in the world where you can see [house superstar] Derrick Carter perform in a 70-person room,” Keigher says. “We have people from Europe over all the time who literally cannot believe that they didn’t wait in line for an hour and pay $75 for the privilege.”

PUMP UP THE VOLUME

The days of the “Hot Mix 5” may be in the past, but Chicago radio still showcases the sound that made the city a music mecca. Tune in to excellent mixes on these FM stations.

WZRD, Northeastern Illinois University 88.3
WHPK, University of Chicago 88.5
WLUW, Independent Community Radio 88.7
WNUR, Northwestern University 89.3

HEAD FOR THE DANCE FLOOR

Chicago is a town that loves its house music so much, you can enjoy it almost any night of the week. For the ultimate club tour of the Windy City, we recommend the following nights—and a good pair of earplugs.

MONDAY
Boom Boom Room
at Green Dolphin Street
www.jazzitup.com
773-395-0066

TUESDAY
Berlin
www.berlinchicago.com
773-348-4975

WEDNESDAY
Simply Soul
at Evil Olive
www.evil-olive.com
773-235-9100

THURSDAY
Playground Thursdays
at Maxbar
www.maxbarchicago.com
773-549-5884

FRIDAY
Zentra Nightclub
www.zentranightclub.com
312-787-0400

SATURDAY
Smart Bar Chicago
www.smartbarchicago.com
773-549-0203

SUNDAY
Take a night off!

HOUSE MUSIC’S LEGACY BEGAN WITH A FEW CLASSIC TUNES.

Chicago house’s influence on popular music cannot be understated. Without it, Madonna would sound completely different, and big names like Puff Daddy and Kylie Minogue would have to seek inspiration elsewhere. Here are five tracks that defined the style:

Mr. Fingers
“Can You Feel It”

Jesse Saunders
“On and On”

Farley Jackmaster Funk
“Love Can’t Turn Around”

Frankie Knuckles
“Your Love”

Marshall Jefferson
“Move Your Body”