I remember the first time I tried to explain house music to my parents. I was turning the dial on the stereo and they asked what I was looking for, I replied, “I want to listen to music without breaks. It just keeps going!” I was about 11 yrs old. It wasn’t long before I discovered that it was the radio station WBMX that played the “Hot Mix 5” on Friday nights. I listened every Friday, recorded the mixes on my cassette deck on the little boom box, so I had something to listen to until the next week. I recorded the mixes over and over; I wore out many cassettes tapes.
I was too young for the Warehouse, Musicbox and Jenals. But in 1987, I was 13 years old, I began to attend school dances in the gym. These were house music parties. When I walked into the dark gym that was lit up by a few strobe lights, I felt the bass vibrate through my body. I watched the dance crews battle it out and took in the whole scene. At the time I was not into dancing, just the music. I had all the song lyrics memorized. My love affair with house music was solidified.
Back then, we knew the dj’s name not necessarily who was the artist behind the song. There were a few stand outs like White Knight and Fast Eddie. Over the last few years, I’ve had the honor to meet some of the voices behind those lyrics I memorized.
Today, I am a married mom of a 20 year old, 17 year old and a 3 year old. My husband is a dj, he mixes old school house music, from the 1980s and 1990s with many of the new beats. We love attending house music events; like the History of House. I still get lost in the music, if I close my eyes I can easy go back to that school gym when life was so carefree. House Music will set you free!
Journey 