How Did House Music Get Its Name?

House music is a genre that is known to get people dancing and overall uplift the vibe across the world. Whether you are familiar with the genre or not, I can almost promise you that you’ve heard it at one point. However, have you ever stopped and wondered why exactly they call it “house music”? Well I have and decided to do some digging and spoiler: the answer isn’t as straightforward as you’d hope.

House music is a type of genre that originated in Chicago in the early 1980s, typically in the underground club culture. It is often said that house music was born from the ashes of disco after there was an anti-disco movement occurring throughout the 1970s due to its popularity amongst the African American and LGBTQ communities. Because disco was getting such a bad reputation from portions of the media, DJs started to take these classic disco songs they loved and would remix them in 4/4 rhythms, usually between 120 and 130 beats per minute with more focus on the bass. House music also added a more electronic sound to these popular disco songs. Similar to disco, house music was made to make people feel good and dance freely.

Now, let’s get into the theories behind how house music got its name!

One theory for the origin of the term “house”:

Often referred to as the “godfather of house”, Frankie Knuckles was a Chicago DJ who started splicing together different records to keep the club goers dancing. He was also the resident DJ at a club in Chicago named The Warehouse. Similar to disco clubs, The Warehouse was also a popular place for African American and LGBTQ people to come and enjoy a night of dancing. Since Frankie Knuckles was the one to start this new trend of mixing these disco records in a more mechanical way, people would often just refer to that sound as the type of music they play at The Warehouse, hence the term “house” music. Funny enough, Frankie Knuckles didn’t even realize people were referring to his music as house until he saw signs outside of night clubs advertising house music. He asked his friends what that meant and they basically had to tell him that it’s his sound.

Another theory for the origin of the term “house”:

Because the type of characteristics for house music such as the 4/4 rhythm, 120 bpm, and emphasis on the bass were fairly simple to create with basic DJing equipment, many DJs, and aspiring DJs, were able to make this type of music in their own home with the records they owned. Since DJs would take records they already owned, or even those of their parents, they were basically remixing music they already played at their house, hence the term “house”. With so many DJs making their mixes with the disco records they already owned, it was also a way for them each to have their own sound based on the tracks they used. With these DJs having particular clubs they would play at, people would start to associate certain tracks with certain DJs or clubs due to their “house” records. Essentially, club goers could recognize which DJ was performing based on the records being mixed, as many would each have their set collection of records.

Although house music started in these underground clubs of Chicago, it quickly spread all over the world with each region putting their own spin on the house genre, based on whatever records they had in house. It was soon a fun way to take the basics of a genre and add your own regional or cultural flair to it. It is no surprise that the genre spread so quickly because the heart of the genre is to uplift and promote peace, unity, and providing opportunities for the various minority groups facing threats to gather and let loose as a way to escape the negatives of society.

Now days, house music has so many sub genres that make digging into the genre much more exciting. Naturally, rave culture became a spin off from house music, as well as EDM. Many cities all over the world with large party scenes, such as Ibiza, would make such amazing house music that they would coin a new sub genre of house. Some examples include Balearic House for Ibiza, Acid House for the UK, and Amapiano for South Africa. Not only are there various regional sub genres, but there are so many sub genres that have emerged as different DJs and regions added their own flair.

Although I have been an enjoyer of house music for quite a while, I now really appreciate the genre as a whole after learning more about its origins and intentions.