House music was created to uplift and celebrate marginalized communities.
This documentary film shows how social unrest and Chicago’s underground gay clubs led to a global dance movement.
2017 Music Documentary by All4
Musician Nile Rodgers describes House music as “just a reflection of the culture. It’s a microcosm of what is happening in the world.”
“People started to ask for their voices to be heard,” he added. “The women’s movement. The gay movement. The Black Power Movement. All of those movements started to cross-pollinate with each other, and we became comrades. And it played itself out in nightclubs.”
The genre really skyrocketed in the late 1980s and early ’90s, with songs like “Pump Up the Jam,” “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” and “Percolater.” Black female artists like Robin S., Crystal Waters, and CeCe Peniston combined their rich, soulful voices to those thumping beats—we haven’t stopped dancing since.
How House Music Was Born includes appearances by:
– Nemiah Mitchell, Jr.
– Nicky Siano
– Nile Rodgers
– Robert Williams
– Vince Lawrence
– Joe Shanahan
– Craig Loftis
– Jesse Saunders
– Honey Dijon
– Marshall Jefferson
– DJ Lori Branch
– Aisha Mays
– Traxman
– Patrick Dewinski
– Kevin Bener
– Chip E
– Steve Silk Hurley
– DJ Pierre
– Donald Davis
– Kirk Townsend
– Eric Bell
– Dwayne Grant
– Screamin Rachael Cain
– Tim Lawrence