Chicago Deep House
Encyclopedia
Chicago Deep House is a name given to a sub-genre of house music
coined in the mid- to late 1980s. Whereas house music in a general sense, refers to an original type of music created in Chicago in the 1980s by the likes of Marshall Jefferson
, Chip E.
, and Lil Louis
, Chicago deep house music has its roots in the disco
scene of the late 1970s.
In the early 80s, DJs like Ron Hardy
and Frankie Knuckles
usually would incorporate disco cuts such as First Choice
's "Let No Man Put Asunder" or "Doctor Love", or Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, "Don't Leave Me This Way
" into their sets. Since at the time, these songs weren't too old, the crowd could connect with them and accept them. As time progressed, and disco music fell more and more out of the mainstream, the various house clubs of Chicago like Medusa's and the Riviera on its north side as well as the Warehouse and Music Box downtown, kept spinning those records, keeping the music in the clubgoer's consciousness.
, the term "Chicago Deep House" was given to that style of music. The rationale behind Deep meaning that the more obscure the song, the "deeper" the DJ had to dig into his/her record collection to find that particular song.
"Deep House
" were tracks that were not played on any of the radio stations house mixes in Chicago
and you only heard these "Deep House" tracks in the clubs. There were also a lot of 'house' tracks that were played exclusively in Chicago
only and the only way one could hear those tracks was to be in Chicago
at anyone of those clubs. Also, DJ's such as Ron Hardy
or Frankie Knuckles
could re-edit a track to make it deeper than the original. For example, when Ron Hardy
did the re-edit for Nightlife's Unlimited, "Peaches & Prune" that track (the re-edit) became a "Deep House" Chicago
style house track. You only heard Ron Hardy's version at the Muzic Box and you could not hear or find the re-edit outside of Chicago
during those times.
, resident or "house" DJs for Chicago local radio station WBMX
, carried on the torch and actually made it fashionable to like Disco once again. Songs like "As
" by Stevie Wonder
along with hard to find classics like "Deputy of Love
" by Don Armando's 2nd Avenue Rhumba Band kept people on the dance floor. Newer venues like the Bop Shop, and the PropHouse were, for a time, exclusively house.
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
coined in the mid- to late 1980s. Whereas house music in a general sense, refers to an original type of music created in Chicago in the 1980s by the likes of Marshall Jefferson
Marshall Jefferson
Marshall Jefferson is an American musician, working in house music, in particular, the subgenres of Chicago house and deep house.-Biography:...
, Chip E.
Chip E.
Irwin Larry Eberhart II known as Chip E., is an American DJ and record producer.-Life and career:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Chip E. attended St. Ignatius College Prep, Kenwood Academy, Columbia College and DePaul University. He started spinning records in 1982 and by 1984 he was producing records....
, and Lil Louis
Lil Louis
Lil Louis is the stage name used by Chicago-born house-music producer and DJ Louis Sims. He scored a number of hits on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1980s and 1990s, three of which hit #1....
, Chicago deep house music has its roots in the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
scene of the late 1970s.
In the early 80s, DJs like Ron Hardy
Ron Hardy
Ron Hardy was an instrumental DJ in the development of house music. An innovator and originator of the genre, he is highly regarded not only for his iconic performances at the Muzic Box, a Chicago house music club, but for his pioneering edits and mixes of disco, soul music, funk and early house...
and Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles is an American DJ, record producer and remix artist. He played an important role in developing house music as a Chicago DJ in the 1980s and he helped to popularize house music in the 1990s, with his work as a producer and remixer...
usually would incorporate disco cuts such as First Choice
First Choice
First Choice may refer to:* First Choice * First Choice , owned by TUI Travel PLC** First Choice Airways, its in-house airline* First Choice Haircutters, a Canadian hairdressing company...
's "Let No Man Put Asunder" or "Doctor Love", or Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, "Don't Leave Me This Way
Don't Leave Me This Way
"Don't Leave Me This Way" is an R&B/soul/disco song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. First charting as a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, an act on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1975, "Don't Leave Me This Way" was later a hit single for both...
" into their sets. Since at the time, these songs weren't too old, the crowd could connect with them and accept them. As time progressed, and disco music fell more and more out of the mainstream, the various house clubs of Chicago like Medusa's and the Riviera on its north side as well as the Warehouse and Music Box downtown, kept spinning those records, keeping the music in the clubgoer's consciousness.
The name "Deep House"
Since these songs were being played and kept "alive", in the house music clubs of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, the term "Chicago Deep House" was given to that style of music. The rationale behind Deep meaning that the more obscure the song, the "deeper" the DJ had to dig into his/her record collection to find that particular song.
"Deep House
Deep house
Deep house is a subgenre of house music that fuses elements of Chicago house into the 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. In the early compositions , influences of jazz music were most frequently brought out by using more complex chords than simple triads which are held for many bars and...
" were tracks that were not played on any of the radio stations house mixes in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and you only heard these "Deep House" tracks in the clubs. There were also a lot of 'house' tracks that were played exclusively in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
only and the only way one could hear those tracks was to be in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
at anyone of those clubs. Also, DJ's such as Ron Hardy
Ron Hardy
Ron Hardy was an instrumental DJ in the development of house music. An innovator and originator of the genre, he is highly regarded not only for his iconic performances at the Muzic Box, a Chicago house music club, but for his pioneering edits and mixes of disco, soul music, funk and early house...
or Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles is an American DJ, record producer and remix artist. He played an important role in developing house music as a Chicago DJ in the 1980s and he helped to popularize house music in the 1990s, with his work as a producer and remixer...
could re-edit a track to make it deeper than the original. For example, when Ron Hardy
Ron Hardy
Ron Hardy was an instrumental DJ in the development of house music. An innovator and originator of the genre, he is highly regarded not only for his iconic performances at the Muzic Box, a Chicago house music club, but for his pioneering edits and mixes of disco, soul music, funk and early house...
did the re-edit for Nightlife's Unlimited, "Peaches & Prune" that track (the re-edit) became a "Deep House" Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
style house track. You only heard Ron Hardy's version at the Muzic Box and you could not hear or find the re-edit outside of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
during those times.
The next generation
From the late-80s into the 90s, after star DJs like Hardy (death) and Knuckles (relocation), and clubs (Music Box, Warehouse, edge of the lookingglass) left the scene, others stepped up to take their place. DJs such as Mike Dunn (house music DJ), DJ Phatmike, and a DJ collective known as the Hot Mix 5Hot Mix 5
The Hot Mix 5 were an American DJ crew originating from Chicago, Illinois and formed in 1981. The founding members were Farley "Funkin" Keith , Mickey "Mixin" Oliver, Scott "Smokin" Silz, Ralphi Rosario and Kenny "Jammin" Jason...
, resident or "house" DJs for Chicago local radio station WBMX
WVAZ
WVAZ, known locally as "V-103", is an urban adult contemporary radio station that is licensed to Oak Park. WVAZ is owned by Clear Channel, alongside sister stations WGCI-FM and WGRB-AM. In 2005, WVAZ began broadcasting in IBOC digital radio, using the HD Radio system from iBiquity.- History :The...
, carried on the torch and actually made it fashionable to like Disco once again. Songs like "As
AS
AS may refer to:-Science and technology:* A. S. , a small French car in the 1920s* A.S. Design, a French car* A. S. , a Dutch truck made in the 1920s to 50s* AS One, a German-build, but Liechtenstein-based sportscar...
" by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
along with hard to find classics like "Deputy of Love
Deputy of Love
Deputy of Love is a 1979 disco single by Don Armando. The words and music were composed by Ronald Bruce Rogers a/k/a Ron Rogers. The composer, a native New Yorker born in the South Bronx, NYC. U.S.A...
" by Don Armando's 2nd Avenue Rhumba Band kept people on the dance floor. Newer venues like the Bop Shop, and the PropHouse were, for a time, exclusively house.
Today
Even though Chicago Deep House is still popular in certain circles, it no longer is played exclusively in most clubs. The people that grew up "househeads" are getting older and the generation behind them did not necessarily grow up listening to it, so they generally don't have the same connection to it. But with the number of native Chicagoans living elsewhere, the term Deep House is now more widely known than before. With clubs popping up in other cities that before didn't have them, and the various "Old School" theme nights in most places, Deep House is enjoying a renaissance.Example list of Deep House tracks
- I'm A Big Phreek (R.U.1.2)- Phreek
- One More Try - Ashford & Simpson
- Keep on Jumpin' - Musique
- Let's Get Together - Pam Todd
- I Wanna Be With You - Coffee
- Coming on Strong - Caroline Crawford
- Come Inside My Love - Bonnie Oliver
- Get Another Love- Chantel Curtis
- Funkynova - Wood Brass & Steel
- Come On Dance, Dance - Saturday Night Band
- You're Just the Right Size- Salsoul Orchestra
- Boogie Down usa - People's Choice
- Ecstacy... - Barry WhiteBarry WhiteBarry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
- Baby I'm Scared Of You - Womack and Womack
- We Got The Funk - Positive Force
- You Saved My Day - Cheryl LynnCheryl LynnLynda Cheryl Smith , known better by her professional name Cheryl Lynn, is a female African-American disco, R&B and soul singer known best for her 1978 disco song, "Got to Be Real".-Early career:...
- Cherchez La Femme - Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah BandDr. Buzzard's Original Savannah BandDr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band was a big band and swing influenced disco band, formed in the Bronx, New York. They are best known for their #1 US dance hit, "Cherchez La Femme"/C'est si bon, from their self-titled debut album....
- Was That All It Was - Jean Carne
- The Real Thing - Sergio MendezSergio MéndezSergio de Jesús Méndez Cortéz was a football player from El Salvador who represented his country at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.-Club career:Nicknamed el Tabudo, Méndez played for Atlético Marte and Águila....
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- (All of the songs mentioned above are DISCO SONGS not House or Deep House.)
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