Marshall Jefferson

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Marshall Jefferson
Marshall-jefferson-cropped-2013.jpg
Jefferson in 2013
Background information
Birth nameMarshall Julius Jefferson
Born (1959-09-19) September 19, 1959 (age 63)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician

Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music [1] subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. [2]

Contents

Biography

Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record producer in the Universal Recording Studios in Chicago, where he met the owner of Trax Records, Larry Sherman. Jefferson's 1986 single for Trax, "Move Your Body", the first house song to use piano, [3] was a popular and influential song in 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. Jefferson's deep house productions include songs by CeCe Rogers and Sterling Void, and Ten City's first two albums. [2] In March 1987, the British music magazine NME reported that Jefferson and Frankie Knuckles were in the UK for the first house-music tour. [4]

"Move Your Body" appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , playing on house-music radio station SF-UR. This song also appeared in Michael Winterbottom's film 24 Hour Party People and in the 1991 documentary film Paris Is Burning .

Jefferson took a break from music in 1990, then returned to DJing in 1993. He moved to Billericay in Essex where he had a five-year residency with the Tribal Gathering and Big Love events. [5]

Jefferson now lives in Manchester, England [6] and released a remixed version of "Move Your Body" (credited to Marshall Jefferson x Solardo, with the latter being a Mancunian production duo made up of Mark Richards & James Eliot) in 2019. [7] The remix was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2023. [8]

In 2021, he teamed up again with Byron Stingily to release "Be Free", the first single in 25 years to be credited to Stingily's house music group Ten City. [9] [10] [11] [12]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Move Your Body (Marshall Jefferson song)</span> 1986 single by Marshall Jefferson

"Move Your Body" is a 1986 house music song by American musician Marshall Jefferson. The track was released by Trax Records label, following several earlier tracks under aliases such as Virgo. After several popular tunes given to Chicago-based DJ Ron Trent, Jefferson released his first track "Go Wild Rhythm Tracks" on Trax Records and later became an A&R in 1986. Despite negative reception from his co-workers and Trax owner Larry Sherman, Jefferson's track "Move Your Body" became popular with patrons of Chicago dance music clubs in 1985 from cassette tapes, leading to the tracks eventual release in August 1986.

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References

  1. "Marshall Jefferson – The DJ List". Thedjlist.com. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  2. 1 2 Bidder, Sean (June 1999). House: the Rough Guide. London: Rough Guides Ltd. pp. 175–179.
  3. "Marshall Jefferson – Deejay Booking". Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  4. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 428. CN 5585.
  5. "Marshall Jefferson bio". MN2S Management. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  6. Future Music (September 7, 2016). "Marshall Jefferson on making music then and now, and why he'd rather work alone". Music Radar. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016.
  7. "Record Store Recs: Chicago House Hero Marshall Jefferson On Representation In Dance Music". www.grammy.com. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  8. "British single certifications – Marshall Jefferson & Solardo – Move Your Body". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  9. Middleton, Ryan (January 29, 2021). "MARSHALL JEFFERSON & STINGILY RELEASE FIRST NEW TEN CITY SONG IN 25 YEARS "BE FREE"". Magnetic Magazine.
  10. Slovacek, Randy (January 29, 2021). "New Music: Ten City 'Be Free'". The Randy Report.
  11. "Iconic 80s Dance Band Ten City Return after 25 years with new release 'Be Free'". FrontView Magazine. February 1, 2021.
  12. VasarhelyI, Lilla (February 1, 2021). "Marshall Jefferson and Byron Stingily revived Ten City after 25 years with a new song 'Be Free': Listen".