An early acid-house pioneer while still in his teens, Armando contributed several classics to the Chicago canon during the mid-'80s, including "Land of Confusion" and "100% of Dissin' You." Born on Chicago's south side to Cuban immigrants, he was a star on the baseball field until spinal meningitis forced him out of the sport. To fill his time,... [+] Read More

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The lead vocalist for Ten City and later a solo star in his own right, Byron Stingily had one of the most beautiful voices in house music, a sweet and impeccably clear high register akin to Smokey Robinson or disco celebrity Sylvester. A singer since the age of five, Stingily grew up on the west side of Chicago, and though he attended Blackburn... [+] Read More

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Known (and often derided) for his occupation as remixer to the stars during the 1990s, David Morales was one of the pioneers of house music in New York, an original head from the 1970s who weathered the change-over from disco to house and teamed up with Frankie Knuckles to form the leading early remix team, Def Mix. During the '90s the dance... [+] Read More

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Though others did more in the pioneering of Chicago house during the early '80s, Jesse Saunders deserves mention for being part of the two records which debuted house music on wax. First, as an addition to the band Z Factor, Saunders wrote and recorded the 1983 single "Fantasy" for Mitchbal Records. Later that year, he founded his own Jes-Say... [+] Read More

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At the dawn of the 1980s, Juan Atkins began recording what stands as perhaps the most influential body of work in the field of techno. Exploring his vision of a futuristic music which welded the more cosmic side of Parliament funk with rigid computer synth-pop embodied by Kraftwerk and the techno-futurist possibilities described by sociologist... [+] Read More

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Easily the most dexterous in the stable of Detroit techno pioneers, Kevin Saunderson recorded some of the hardest and most mechanistic techno to come out of the Motor City but routinely hit the mainstream dance charts as well with productions for his techno-pop act Inner City. From his very first production, Saunderson forged an energetic,... [+] Read More

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The duo of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez are the preeminent production/remix team in house music, their nom de plume Masters at Work standing behind dozens of the biggest club hits and remixes of their time. Effectively soundtracking the freewheeling American nightclub scene of the 1990s, Vega and Gonzalez blended their love of... [+] Read More

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One of the most important producers for the early popularity of Chicago house, Steve "Silk" Hurley precipitated the founding of a major early house label (DJ International), recorded house music's first number one single and was the first to branch out to encompass pop and hip-hop within the house framework. Born on the south side of Chicago,... [+] Read More

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One of the few DJs whose career at the hub of dance music (New York) spanned the 1970s,'80s and '90s, Tony Humphries is one of the most important names in the evolution of house. His status is especially vaunted, considering his role in the development of garage music (also known as the Jersey Sound, in honor of Humphries' work at Newark's Club... [+] Read More

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He defined the hip-house phenomenon in 1989 with "Turn Up the Bass," but Tyree Cooper proved to be an excellent producer throughout house music's first decade, from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s. He began DJing on Chicago's south side in 1983 and recorded his first single ("I Fear the Night") three years later, for the seminal house label DJ... [+] Read More

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