BTB 002 ⚭ A brief history of DJing

˚　　　　✦　✦　˚ 　　　❍　 ˚　.˚ ☼　　
Welcome to SILO’s weekly newsletter, Behind The Booth: An inside look into music and nightlife from the heart of Brooklyn.

JULY 30, 2024

Everyone's a DJ these days, but ever wonder how it all started? The history is a bit murky, but we'll tell you what we know.

DJ comes from the phrase "disc jockey." Walter Winchell, an American journalist and radio commentator, is recognized for coining the term in 1935. He used it to describe radio host Martin Block, who gained fame for playing recorded music on his show, Make Believe Ballroom.

In 1935, people turned to the radio to follow one of the "trials of the century." Three years earlier, 20-month-old Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. was abducted and found dead months later. Between the news segments about the killer's trial, Block played records from popular bands, making people believe he was actually broadcasting live from a ballroom.

Almost ten years later, in 1943, English DJ and media personality Jimmy Savile hosted the first live DJ event in Leeds. He was a coal mine worker on sabbatical after an explosion when he visited a friend's house and saw a make-shift gramophone connected to a radio.

In need of money—and believing people would be just as excited about the contraption as he was—Savile rented a room near his house so that people could experience the musical device. He charged one shilling and only about 12 people showed up.

In 1947, the first commercial disco, Whiskey à Go-Go, opened in Paris. Nightclub singer, promoter and DJ Régine (AKA the "Queen of the Night") created the conception of the modern-day discotheque, with the ubiquitous jukebox replaced by disc jockeys utilizing linked turntables.

The role of the DJ changed as it expanded to new territories. In 1950s Kingson, Jamaica, sound systems began to appear. Sound systems were groups of DJs, selectors, and musicians who performed in the streets. In sound system culture, DJs were more like emcees and would perform "toasts" over music, while selectors would be in charge of choosing which music to play. While they began by spinning American R&B, they later started producing their own music, which led to the foundation of "dubplates" or exclusive remixes.

At the same time, American radio DJs appeared at "sock hops" and played records while talking in between songs. Bob Casey, one of the most prominent sock hop DJs, brought the two-turntable system to the US in 1955.

Beatmatching, a fundamental technique that involves aligning the tempos of several tracks, was popularized in the 1960s by New York disco DJ Francis Grasso.

To make transitions even smoother, Stuart Soroka introduced the concept of harmonic mixing, or mixing in key, in the late '80s.

Both methods have since become easier with the advancement of DJing equipment.

The term "turntablism"—which is widely recognized as a different art than DJing—first appeared in the 1990s, but it actually emerged nearly 20 years earlier. As hip-hop culture began to form in the '70s, DJs became known as turntablists, manipulating records by physically moving them while they were playing to create unique and original compositions.

Today, the meaning of a DJ and what makes or breaks one is convoluted and controversial. As technology progresses, so does their role in music culture and nightlife. In a 2013 conversation with Honey Dijon, the late Frankie Knuckles acknowledged the benefits of using new tools while also sharing some comforting words to those who still choose to mix by hand: "With live mixing, you really feel like somebody’s doing something. It’s not perfect! The goal of the DJ is not to sound perfect."

Words: Arielle Lana LeJarde | Photos: Panagiotis Falcos (DJ setup), Dustin Pittman (Régine), Rutherford Audio (DJ Francis Grasso), Joe Conzo (DJ Kool Herc)

spinback ⚭ music news you may have missed

New Zealand’s Commerce Commission blocks AlphaTheta from acquiring Serato

“We were concerned the proposed merger would substantially lessen competition by making it harder for DJ hardware rivals to compete with Pioneer DJ.”

All Categories

Behavioral

To investigate this email, please sign in.