# A History of House Music > From a Chicago warehouse to the world: how house music was built by Black and queer dancers out of disco, drum machines, and devotion — and splintered into a global family of subgenres. - **Type:** History - **Canonical URL:** https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/history-of-house-music - **JSON:** https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/api/topics/history-of-house-music.json - **Era:** 1977–present - **Place:** Chicago, United States - **Confidence:** 84/100 - **Last verified:** June 10, 2026 ## Where it began House music was born on the dancefloors of late-1970s and early-1980s **Chicago**, in the Black and gay underground that kept disco alive after the mainstream turned on it. Its spiritual home was [The Warehouse](/topic/the-warehouse), the members club where New York transplant [Frankie Knuckles](/artist/frankie-knuckles) — later called the *Godfather of House* — wove disco, Philly soul, Salsoul and European synth-pop into seamless, hypnotic all-night sets. The music took its very name from that club: records that worked there were "house" records. When Knuckles left in 1982, [Ron Hardy](/artist/ron-hardy) electrified the rawer, wilder crowd at [the Music Box](/topic/music-box-chicago). ## The machines What turned a DJ style into a genre was cheap, secondhand gear. The [Roland TR-909](/topic/roland-tr-909) drum machine gave house its punchy four-on-the-floor kick and sizzling hats; the [Roland TR-808](/topic/roland-tr-808) added booming sub-bass and claps; and the [Roland TB-303](/topic/roland-tb-303) bass synth, when its knobs were twisted, squelched out the sound of acid. Warm Roland Juno and Jupiter synths supplied the lush chords of deep house. See the full story in [House Music Equipment](/topic/house-music-equipment). ## The first records As affordable drum machines reached young South and West Side producers, DJs became makers. *"On and On"* by [Jesse Saunders](/artist/jesse-saunders) (1984) is widely cited as the first commercially pressed house record. Then came a flood on two Chicago labels, [Trax Records](/label/trax-records) and [DJ International Records](/label/dj-international): *"Move Your Body"* by [Marshall Jefferson](/artist/marshall-jefferson) (1986) introduced piano to house; *"No Way Back"* by [Adonis](/artist/adonis) laid down bass-heavy minimalism; *"Jack Your Body"* by [Steve Silk Hurley](/artist/steve-silk-hurley) became the first house record to top the UK chart in 1987; and [Phuture](/artist/phuture)'s *"Acid Tracks"* by [Phuture](/artist/phuture) birthed an entire genre, [acid house](/topic/acid-house). Vocalists like [Robert Owens](/artist/robert-owens), [Jamie Principle](/artist/jamie-principle) and [Byron Stingily](/artist/byron-stingily) (of [Ten City](/artist/ten-city)) carried the church into the club. ## Deep house and the soul of the machine Where early house was stark, [Larry Heard](/artist/larry-heard) — recording as Mr. Fingers — added jazz chords and emotional warmth on *"Can You Feel It"* by [Larry Heard](/artist/larry-heard) and *"Mystery of Love"* (1985–86), the blueprint for [deep house](/topic/deep-house). [Marshall Jefferson](/artist/marshall-jefferson) produced the gospel-tinged [vocal house](/topic/gospel-house) of [Ten City](/artist/ten-city), while [Derrick Carter](/artist/derrick-carter) and the [Cajual](/label/cajual-records) / [Relief](/label/relief-records) camp launched the bumping second wave of [jackin’ house](/topic/jackin-house). ## New York, garage, and the move outward House grew from the same roots as New York's [garage house](/topic/garage-house): [Larry Levan](/artist/larry-levan)'s decade at [the Paradise Garage](/topic/paradise-garage) branched from the same tree as Knuckles, and labels like [Strictly Rhythm](/label/strictly-rhythm), [Nu Groove](/label/nu-groove) and [Salsoul](/label/salsoul-records) translated the feeling to vinyl. [Masters At Work](/artist/masters-at-work) ([Louie Vega](/artist/louie-vega) & [Kenny Dope](/artist/kenny-dope)), [Kerri Chandler](/artist/kerri-chandler) and [Todd Terry](/artist/todd-terry) defined [soulful](/topic/soulful-house) and [Latin house](/topic/latin-house); [Crystal Waters](/artist/crystal-waters)' *"Gypsy Woman"* (1991) and [Frankie Knuckles](/artist/frankie-knuckles)' *"The Whistle Song"* carried it to the charts. ## Detroit, Britain, and the world In Detroit, [Moodymann](/artist/moodymann) and [Theo Parrish](/artist/theo-parrish) steeped house in raw funk and soul ([Detroit house](/topic/detroit-house)). In Britain, a 1987 Ibiza trip exported acid house and ignited the *Second Summer of Love*, mass raves, and the UK's club explosion. From there house splintered into a global family — [tech house](/topic/tech-house), [minimal](/topic/minimal-house), [French touch](/topic/french-house), [tribal](/topic/tribal-house), [disco house](/topic/disco-house), [progressive house](/topic/progressive-house), and [Afro house](/topic/history-of-afro-house) and [amapiano](/topic/amapiano) out of South Africa. ## Today House is now the foundation of global dance music, carried by [festivals](/topic/house-music-festivals) from Movement in Detroit to Defected in Ibiza, and by a worldwide community that the [classic records](/topic/classic-house-records) and the [Black and queer pioneers](/topic/black-origins-of-house-music) made possible. ## Related - https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/black-origins-of-house-music (or /artist/black-origins-of-house-music) - https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/chicago-house (or /artist/chicago-house) - https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/acid-house (or /artist/acid-house) - https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/deep-house (or /artist/deep-house) - https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/house-music-equipment (or /artist/house-music-equipment) - https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/house-music-festivals (or /artist/house-music-festivals) - https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/classic-house-records (or /artist/classic-house-records) - https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/the-warehouse (or /artist/the-warehouse) ## Sources 1. [Wikipedia: House music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_music) 2. [Resident Advisor — house history features](https://ra.co) ## How to cite this page ``` House Music Intelligence Database. "A History of House Music." Published by World Famous House Crew. Last verified June 10, 2026. URL: https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/topic/history-of-house-music ``` _Part of the [House Music Intelligence Database](https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/) knowledge graph. See [/llms.txt](https://database.worldfamoushousecrew.org/llms.txt)._