Marshall Jefferson

One of the original innovators in Chicago house, Marshall Jefferson had a hand in several of the music's most influential early tracks. As a solo act, he recorded 1986's "Move Your Body" -- subtitled and unanimously acclaimed "The House Music Anthem." Jefferson also helped record Phuture's "Acid Tracks," the first and best acid-house single, and Ce Ce Rogers' uplifting anthem "Someday," both in 1987. Amidst a wave of acid-inspired records, he grew tired of the sound and moved into a more spiritual form of music later termed deep house; along with Larry Heard, he became one of its best producers. A reflective full-length titled Day of the Onion was released in 1996, and the trippy single "Mushrooms" (with Noosa Heads) appeared in its original form the same year, gradually becoming one of Jefferson's biggest club tracks. He released several mixed compilations, mainly retrospectives of the genre and its roots, including 2003's Move Your Body: The Evolution of Chicago House. He's consistently stayed active, touring and releasing singles into the 2020s, including reunions with longtime associates Ten City, Ce Ce Rogers, and Curtis McClain

Jefferson was born in Chicago in 1959, the son of a police officer and a school teacher. Heavily into hard rock like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple during the '70s, he attended university to study accounting, but left after three years to take a job in the post office. By 1983, friends began taking him to Chicago's Music Box club; after being exposed to Ron Hardy's influential mixing style, Jefferson soon realized that house music had a real feeling to it, unlike the commercial disco sound he was accustomed to hearing on the radio. House artists like Jesse Saunders and Jamie Principle had begun releasing records by that time, and Jefferson felt the need to begin recording as well. He bought a synthesizer/sequencer combo and passed several of his newly recorded tapes on to Ron Hardy. The legendary DJ liked what he heard and began dropping the tracks into his set.

During the two-year period from 1985 to 1986, Marshall Jefferson released half-a-dozen of the biggest club hits in Chicago. His first release, Go Wild Rhythm Trax (as Virgo), appeared on his own Other Side Records in 1985. He also produced his friend Sleezy D's "I've Lost Control," and the track became a big club hit. "Move Your Body," another recording first introduced by Hardy, was given a full release on Trax Records in 1986; the single immediately dropped a bomb on Chicago crowds, who soon began acknowledging the track as house music's defining moment.

Less than one year after "Move Your Body" however, Chicago was forced to react to another important milestone, the onset of acid house. The trio known as Phuture (DJ Pierre, Spanky, and Herb J) had recently recorded some material using the acid squelch of Roland's TB-303 synthesizer, and with Marshall Jefferson's help, they entered the studio to record a full version. Phuture emerged from the studio with "Acid Tracks," one of the most influential songs in the history of house. Several months after its release, it had spawned literally hundreds of imitators and answer versions; soon the Chicago house scene had become swamped with tracks soaked in the squelchy reverbs of the TB-303.

Given the lack of variety in the scene, Jefferson quickly tired of acid house. He had found success writing and producing another pivotal 1987 track, Ce Ce Rogers' gospel-inspired plea for racial unity "Someday," the first house song released by a major label. Instead of continuing with acid, he recorded an atmospheric slice of house inspired by the original vibe he had experienced at the Music Box back in the early '80s. The track, 1988's "Open Your Eyes," took its place alongside contemporary productions by Larry Heard, signaled a new feeling in house music, named "deep house" for its level of emotion and organic beauty.

Unlike many Chicago house producers, Jefferson managed to make a good living during the late '80s and early '90s, when house music went global almost overnight and the bottom dropped out of Chicago's fraternal club scene. Several Marshall Jefferson productions not recorded under his own name, such as Hercules' "Lost in the Groove," Jungle Wonz's "The Jungle," and Kevin Irving's "Ride the Rhythm" all became sizeable club hits. Also, he masterminded the career of the preeminent house vocal group Ten City from 1988 through 1992, and began DJing around Europe after being offered several high-profile spots in 1989, eventually relocating to England in the early 1990s. Jefferson spent much of the '90s remixing, DJing, and releasing singles, and his debut album under his own name, Day of the Onion, appeared in 1996. "Mushrooms," a Jefferson-narrated collaboration with Noosa Heads (Chris Liebing and Andrew Wooden), was first issued on vinyl that year; the track became a perennial club classic and has been remixed numerous times ever since.

Jefferson's work was anthologized on compilation CDs like 1998's Les Parrains de la House, and he paid tribute to house and its disco origins with mixed sets like 2003's Move Your Body: The Evolution of Chicago House and 2004's Foundations of House. Numerous remixes and reissues of his past tracks appeared, in addition to original material, including the two-part Colors EP (2006). During the 2010s, Jefferson released collaborations with the likes of House of Virus, Gareth Whitehead, Matt Tolfrey, and others. He also reunited with DJ Pierre for a 2017 song simply titled "House Music," and with Ce Ce Rogers for 2020's "Let Get Busy." In 2021, Jefferson contributed to Ten City's first album in 25 years, Judgement. On the House, an EP with "Move Your Body" vocalist Curtis McClain, appeared in 2022. Jefferson released further singles with Ten City, including "A Girl Named Phil," "Love Is Love," and 2023's "I Love Me." ~ John Bush & Paul Simpson