Todd Terry
Encyclopedia
Todd N. Terry is an American
DJ, producer
, and remixer.
blending the sounds of classic disco
, the Chicago
sound, and elements of hip-hop
.
Terry began in the 1980s by DJing at parties in New York, playing Italian disco and hip hop, and later house music when it emerged in the middle of the decade. Much of Todd Terry's early work in the late 1980s is considered a milestone in the development of both progressive and modern deep house.
Todd Terry has been responsible for releasing two of the most respected crossover remixes of the house era: "I'll House You" by the Jungle Brothers
and "Missing
" by Everything But the Girl
by the mid 1990s.
Todd's tracks "Something Goin' On
" and "Keep on Jumpin'
" were both UK
Top 10
hits, with the vocals
on the latter provided by Jocelyn Brown
and Martha Wash
. Freestyle
diva Shannon
was the featured vocalist on the UK top 20 hit "It's Over Love" in 1997, which also topped the Billboard
Dance/Club Play Songs Chart in the US, as did "Just Wanna Dance"/"Weekend". "All right, All right" also was featured on the British import Chicago House compilation Jackmaster Volume 1 in 1987.
In 1999, Todd Terry released Resolutions on Astralwerks Records, which successfully embraced the then still avant-garde drum 'n' bass aesthetic.
Terry also used several aliases such as Swan Lake, Orange Lemon, Royal House, and Black Riot. He has also recorded as CLS, Masters at Work
(with Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez & "Little" Louie Vega), Dredd Stock, House of Gypsies, Limelife, Hard House, Tyme Forse, and the Gypsymen (where under that alias, scored a number-one Billboard Hot Dance/Club play hit in 1992 with "Hear the Music
").
Terry co-produced the song "Shake" on P.M. Dawn's debut album, Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience
. The song ended with the repeated lyric "Everyone thank Todd Terry". He also produced "The House of Isis" from Isis
' 1990 album Rebel Soul.
In October 2004, "Weekend" by the Todd Terry Project appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
, playing on House Music
radio station SF-UR.
, Shawnee Taylor, Kelly Sajda, Gypsymen, Black Riot
, Leon Cormack, and Todd Terry All Stars.
In 2000 Terry launched SoundDesign Records, the home to some of the harder tracks and artists he is working with and on, including releases from Danny Genius, Space Kadets, and Friscia & Lamboy.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
DJ, producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and remixer.
Career
Terry's productions extensively used samplesSampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
blending the sounds of classic 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...
, the Chicago
Chicago house
Chicago house is a style of house music, a genre of electronic dance music which emerged in Chicago in the mid-1980s. Stylistically, Chicago house has no widely accepted definition, but generally includes the first house music productions by Chicago-based artists throughout the 1980s, and any later...
sound, and elements of hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
.
Terry began in the 1980s by DJing at parties in New York, playing Italian disco and hip hop, and later house music when it emerged in the middle of the decade. Much of Todd Terry's early work in the late 1980s is considered a milestone in the development of both progressive and modern deep house.
Todd Terry has been responsible for releasing two of the most respected crossover remixes of the house era: "I'll House You" by the Jungle Brothers
Jungle Brothers
The Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop group that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house-music producer. The group began performing in the mid-1980s and released its first album, Straight Out the Jungle, in July 1988...
and "Missing
Missing (Everything but the Girl song)
"Missing" is a song written and recorded by British pop music duo Everything but the Girl. The song was released as a single from the band's 1994 album Amplified Heart...
" by Everything But the Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
by the mid 1990s.
Todd's tracks "Something Goin' On
Something Goin' On (In Your Soul)
"Something Goin' On " is the name of a House/Garage single recorded by Todd Terry featuring Martha Wash & Jocelyn Brown in 1996, released the following year...
" and "Keep on Jumpin'
Keep on Jumpin'
"Keep on Jumpin" is the name of a popular 1970s disco song and 1990s dance classic that was written by musician Patrick Adams and Ken Morris. This track has been remade, remixed, and sampled numerous times, but only the 1978 original by Adams's group Musique and Todd Terry's 1996 updated version...
" were both UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Top 10
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
hits, with the vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
on the latter provided by Jocelyn Brown
Jocelyn Brown
Jocelyn Lorette Brown is an American R&B and dance music singer...
and Martha Wash
Martha Wash
Martha Wash is an American R&B, Pop, Soul, House singer/songwriter known for her distinctive and powerful voice.-Early career:...
. Freestyle
Freestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
diva Shannon
Shannon (singer)
Shannon is an American singer. She is best known for her 1983 million-selling record, "Let the Music Play". The record re-defined the electro funk sound that would eventually be called freestyle music.-Biography:...
was the featured vocalist on the UK top 20 hit "It's Over Love" in 1997, which also topped the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Dance/Club Play Songs Chart in the US, as did "Just Wanna Dance"/"Weekend". "All right, All right" also was featured on the British import Chicago House compilation Jackmaster Volume 1 in 1987.
In 1999, Todd Terry released Resolutions on Astralwerks Records, which successfully embraced the then still avant-garde drum 'n' bass aesthetic.
Terry also used several aliases such as Swan Lake, Orange Lemon, Royal House, and Black Riot. He has also recorded as CLS, Masters at Work
Masters At Work
Masters at Work is the house/garage production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. They first worked together using the name, which had been given to them by mutual friend Todd Terry , in 1990...
(with Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez & "Little" Louie Vega), Dredd Stock, House of Gypsies, Limelife, Hard House, Tyme Forse, and the Gypsymen (where under that alias, scored a number-one Billboard Hot Dance/Club play hit in 1992 with "Hear the Music
Hear the Music
"Hear the Music" is a song by House music DJ/Producer Todd Terry, who recorded the track under the alias "Gypsymen." The single reached the top spot in April 1992 and stayed there for one week....
").
Terry co-produced the song "Shake" on P.M. Dawn's debut album, Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience
Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience
Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience is a 1991 album by P.M. Dawn.Warlock, an independent record label, issued a debut single, "Ode to a Forgetful Mind," in 1989, but it went unnoticed. The label that released the single in England, Gee Street Records, found greater...
. The song ended with the repeated lyric "Everyone thank Todd Terry". He also produced "The House of Isis" from Isis
Lin Que
Lin Que is a female hip-hop artist. She graduated from Cathedral High School in Manhattan in 1987. She was a member of the hip-hop collective known as the Blackwatch Movement as Isis. She released her debut album Rebel Soul while affiliated with that group in 1990.Lin Que left X-Clan to work with...
' 1990 album Rebel Soul.
In October 2004, "Weekend" by the Todd Terry Project appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
, playing on House Music
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...
radio station SF-UR.
Record labels
InHouse Records was launched by Terry in 1999. It has been the vehicle through which Todd is able to release tracks to his fans without a filter. Currently Inhouse has over 500 commercially available tracks in the catalog including release by House of Gypsies, Roland ClarkRoland Clark
Roland Clark is a House Music producer, songwriter and vocalist who is featured on two Fatboy Slim releases.In the past, he has used the aliases Houseboy, Keita, Jesus Jackson, People, Roland Clark presents Digital Pimps, Roland Clark,Dark Clark, South Street Player and Urban Soul and has been in...
, Shawnee Taylor, Kelly Sajda, Gypsymen, Black Riot
Black Riot
Black Riot was the name of an American band created by Todd Terry. The single "Warlock/A Day in the Life" was released on the Champion Records label, and entered the UK Singles Chart on 3 December 1988 . It reached a high of number 68, and remained in the chart for 5 weeks.- References :...
, Leon Cormack, and Todd Terry All Stars.
In 2000 Terry launched SoundDesign Records, the home to some of the harder tracks and artists he is working with and on, including releases from Danny Genius, Space Kadets, and Friscia & Lamboy.
Selected remixes
- Anita Doth - Universe
- Annie LennoxAnnie LennoxAnnie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
-Little BirdLittle BirdLittle Bird may refer to:* MH-6 Little Bird, a military attack helicopter* Little Bird, a character from Sesame Street* "Little Bird", nickname of jazz saxophonist Jimmy Heath* Little Bird , a 2010 album by Australian singer Kasey Chambers... - Bizarre Inc. - I'm Gonna Get You
- BjörkBjörkBjörk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
- Hyperballad - The CardigansThe CardigansThe Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
- Love Fool - Dr. AlbanDr. AlbanAlban Uzoma Nwapa , known by his stage name Dr. Alban, is a Nigerian, Sweden-based musician and producer with his own record label dr-records. His music can best be described as a Eurodance/hip-hop reggae with a dancehall style. He is most famous for his worldwide 1992 hit "It's My...
- This Time I'm Free - Duran DuranDuran DuranDuran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
- Electric Barbarella - Everything But The GirlEverything but the GirlEverything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
- Drivin - Everything But The Girl - MissingMissing (Everything but the Girl song)"Missing" is a song written and recorded by British pop music duo Everything but the Girl. The song was released as a single from the band's 1994 album Amplified Heart...
- Everything But The Girl - Wrong
- GarbageGarbage (band)Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
- Stupid Girl - Kylie MinogueKylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
- BreatheBreathe (Kylie Minogue song)"Breathe" is a song by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue, for her sixth studio album Impossible Princess . The single was written by Minogue, Dave Ball and Ingo Vauk and produced by them... - Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
- Stranger in MoscowStranger in Moscow"Stranger in Moscow" is the fifth and final single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The song was released worldwide in November 1996 but was not released in the United States until August 1997... - Martha WashMartha WashMartha Wash is an American R&B, Pop, Soul, House singer/songwriter known for her distinctive and powerful voice.-Early career:...
- Runaround - Meredith BrooksMeredith BrooksMeredith Ann Brooks is an American singer/songwriter and guitarist. She is best known for her 1997 hit song "Bitch", for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award.- Early life :...
- Bitch - PlaygroupPlaygroupPlaygroup may refer to:* Pre-school playgroup, a kind of pre-school care*Playgroup , a British dance act*Playgroup , arts and entertainment events in England...
featuring kc Flightt - Front 2 Back - The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
- Saint of Me - Snap! - Rhythm Is a Dancer
- They Might Be GiantsThey Might Be GiantsThey Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
- S-E-X-X-YS-E-X-X-YS-E-X-X-Y is an EP released in 1996 by musical group They Might Be Giants, in conjunction with their LP Factory Showroom.-Notes:... - Ultra NatéUltra NatéUltra Naté is an American house music, Dance-pop and sometimes R&B musician who has achieved a respectable amount of success on the pop charts with songs such as "Free" and "If You Could Read My Mind" as part of Stars on 54....
- Joy - YazooYazoo (band)Yazoo are a British synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of Top 10 hits in the UK charts in the early 1980s...
- Don't Go - YesYes (band)Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
- Owner of a Lonely HeartOwner of a Lonely Heart"Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a song by the progressive rock band Yes. It is the opening track of their 1983 album 90125. Written primarily by Trevor Rabin, the song reached number one on the United States Billboard Hot 100 — to date Yes's biggest chart success... - 10,000 Maniacs10,000 Maniacs10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...
- More than This - Natalia LeszNatalia LeszNatalia Lesz is a Polish pop singer and actress.-Background:Natalia studied for eight years at The Warsaw Ballet School. She later went on to complete numerous training programs in well-known schools, including the Royal Academy of Dancing in London, and both The Alvin Ailey, and Broadway Dance...
- Arabesque
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
External links
- Todd Terry at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Tod Terry live at Electrocity Poland (video)
- Todd Terry Official facebook page
- Todd Terry December 2010 Arrest Mugshot