DJ Purple (the duke of House)

"Early 90's hits often played on Top 40 radio stations across the US"

House Music in Chicago went through a serious evolution during the 1980's. By 1987 House had become very well known outside of the US, thanks to England. However, within the US, the only other locations outside of Chicago that were associated with the blazing hot sounds of House were Detroit, New York and New Jersey. All of that would soon change as time went on. Chicago groups Ten City, J.M. Silk and Full House landed deals with major labels. In 1988 a future classic was released on a major label: "Break 4 Love", by Raze. This coincided with the first in a series of "Best of House Music" compilations released by Profile Records. In the middle of the Acid invasion was the "House Hallucinates Pump Up The World" compilation released on A&M Records. These compilations were an excellent start for major label distribution, however, the records that really opened the floodgates for commercial radio acceptance were "Pump Up The Jam", by Technotronic, in 1989 and "Vogue", by Madonna, in 1990. This was when the US generally began to take notice of House music.

Another boost for House music would come by way of the press. House music would get a featured article in the May 4, 1990 edition of USA Today. The article begins with a short clip about a packed dance floor in a New York City club, with "Sweat", by Jay Williams in the background. The most amazing part of the entire article is the next clip, which refers to a recent episode of "Roseanne" in which Becky Conner is singing the words to "Pump Up The Jam." Sadly for me, I never saw that episode! The article then goes on to summarize the state of House music in America and how it got its start. This would happen again in the February 27, 1991 edition of the same newspaper. This time the heroes would include C+C Music Factory, Deee-lite, and Cathy Dennis. The article details how large numbers of Top 40 radio stations had adopted a weekend "mix-show" format, which emulated Chicago's Hot Mix 5 shows of the 1980s. The article, like its predecessor, notes that House music is taking the same path that Rap took. The evidence of that would also come with music videos for House performers such as Black Box, Robin S., Crystal Waters and CeCe Peniston. Other pop artists began to flock to the sound of House and incorporate House remixes into their 12" singles.

The music included in this compilation is indicative of what was played on radio stations across the US.

Enjoy!