Marshall Jefferson
Encyclopedia
Marshall Jefferson is an American
musician
, working in house music
, in particular, the subgenres of Chicago house
and deep house
.
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 House-Music Anthem)," the first house song to use piano, 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 album
s. In March 1987, the British
music magazine NME
reported that Jefferson and Frankie Knuckles
were in the UK
for the first house-music tour.
"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
. Music enthusiast Web site digitaldreamdoor.com ranked it as the greatest house-music song of all time.
Jefferson took a break from music in 1990, then returned to DJing
in 1993. He moved to London
, England
, where he had a five-year residency with the Tribal Gathering and Big Love events.
Jefferson now lives in New Jersey
and records for the New Jersey-based USB Records, which he co-owns with CeCe Rogers.
Jefferson's career was managed for many years by the UK based company Inner Rhythm Artists. In 2005, MN2S Management took over exclusive management of Jefferson.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, working in house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, in particular, the subgenres of Chicago house
Chicago house
Chicago house is a style of house music, a genre of electronic dance music which emerged in Chicago in the mid-1980s. Stylistically, Chicago house has no widely accepted definition, but generally includes the first house music productions by Chicago-based artists throughout the 1980s, and any later...
and deep house
Deep house
Deep house is a subgenre of house music that fuses elements of Chicago house into the 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. In the early compositions , influences of jazz music were most frequently brought out by using more complex chords than simple triads which are held for many bars and...
.
Biography
Jefferson was originally a record producerRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
in the Universal Recording Studios in Chicago, where he met the owner of Trax Records
Trax Records
Trax Records is a house-music record label based in Chicago. It played a major part in the development of house music with records such as Jamie Principle & Frankie Knuckles's "Your Love."...
, Larry Sherman. Jefferson's 1986 single for Trax, "Move Your Body (The House-Music Anthem)," the first house song to use piano, 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
CeCe Rogers
CeCe Rogers, born Kenneth Jesse Rogers III, is an American singer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer from Cleveland, Ohio....
and Sterling Void, and Ten City
Ten City
Ten City was a Chicago, Illinois-based R&B and house-music act that enjoyed a number of club hits and Urban radio hits in the late Eighties and early Nineties and was one of the first exponents of deep house...
's first two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s. In March 1987, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reported that Jefferson and Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles
Frankie Knuckles is an American DJ, record producer and remix artist. He played an important role in developing house music as a Chicago DJ in the 1980s and he helped to popularize house music in the 1990s, with his work as a producer and remixer...
were in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for the first house-music tour.
"Move Your Body" appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
, playing on house-music radio station SF-UR. This song also appeared in Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
's film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
and in the 1991 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Paris is Burning
Paris is Burning (film)
Paris Is Burning is a 1990 documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African American, Latino, gay and transgender communities involved in it...
. Music enthusiast Web site digitaldreamdoor.com ranked it as the greatest house-music song of all time.
Jefferson took a break from music in 1990, then returned to DJing
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
in 1993. He moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he had a five-year residency with the Tribal Gathering and Big Love events.
Jefferson now lives in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and records for the New Jersey-based USB Records, which he co-owns with CeCe Rogers.
Jefferson's career was managed for many years by the UK based company Inner Rhythm Artists. In 2005, MN2S Management took over exclusive management of Jefferson.
External links
- Marshall Jefferson at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Video: Paul Morley interview with Marshall Jefferson, The Observer, 2010