When Marshall Jefferson Came to Visit

Well what can I say... what a day that was!

As you all know, my favourite genre is house music, and one day I decided to make a video using ‘Move Your Body’ written and released by the one and only Marshall Jefferson. 'Move You Body' turned out to be a massive house hit from the beginnings of the house era in Chicago, a place which ended up being a pivotal place in the rise of house music around the world.

Chicago House Music History

So where did it all begin? In 1977, DJ Frankie Knuckles moved to Chicago to become the musical director of a new club. The venue was located inside a former factory in an isolated stretch of the West Loop neighborhood. The club was called The Warehouse, a location that would go on to become the birthplace of house music and an official Chicago landmark.

The Warehouse building, hosing the legendary club, situated in Chicago

Frankie Knuckles played a mix of disco, funk, and European synth tunes spliced with gospel influences, drum machines, and electronic synthesizers. The crowd was mostly made up of Black, Latino, and gay community and they came to dance in a space free from racism and homophobia.  The music came to be known as house music as a reference to the club that started it all. Soon, the new style (defined as songs with 4/4 rhythms and an upbeat dance tempo laced with electronic drum machines and a soulful chorus) started popping up all over lounges and house parties on the city’s south side.  While Frankie Knuckles is known as the godfather of house music, other Chicago pioneers included Jesse Saunders and Marshall Jefferson.

Sometimes known as the father of house music, Marshall Jefferson was originally a record producer in the Universal Recording Studios in Chicago, where he met the owner of Trax Records, Larry Sherman. Interestingly Jefferson's 1986 single for Trax, "Move Your Body", was incidentally he first house song to use piano, a sound which is now synonymous with the genre. During the late-1980s heyday of house music, he recorded solo and collaborative material under various names such as Virgo, Jungle Wonz, Truth, and On the House. The first one that hit my ears was ‘Move Your Body’  . I heard it and immediately fell in love with House music (and Marshall).

So let’s move forward to 2025, when I did a kitchen set with Move Your Body. Helix Records got intouch and asked if I would do the new remixed version of "Move Your Body" credited to Marshall Jefferson x Solardo (and of course I did and Love). 

Then, out of nowhere, I was asked on a zoom call with Marshall, and truthfully, he is such a nice man, we chatted for hours. The result was that we decided that next time he was in England he would call for a brew and we could do a set in Auntie Ann's Kitchen. And What an amazing day it was too. 

Marshall and I after filming

I still have to pinch myself when I think about it. We had tea and chatted about those Chicago days and how he first began in the industry. I could have listened to him all day. Of course I invited my very own DJ teacher Clair from Melodies Dj Academy, and my niece Jo (yes crazy aunties real niece) who is also a massive house fan.  I am so lucky to have been given this opportunity to meet the legend of house music.

Use the links to my socials to find out how it went, but what I will say is, Marshall, it was an honour and  pleasure.