Disco music gets a bad rap. People decry the genre as a plastic, soulless, producer-driven music fad that deserves scorn for being empty and unfulfilling. Many music fans were happy to see disco die in 1980, but the truth is that disco never passed on. It spawned a new generation of dance music that branched out and evolved into the global phenomenon known as house music. So how exactly did disco give birth to house music? Here's the story.

So a gay guy and a black dude walk into a warehouse....just kidding! Well, actually that's not too far off. Here's the short version.

• Larry Levan started spinning disco records together at those crazy Paradise Garage parties in New York.

• Soon after Disco Demolition Night (when white kids killed disco at a White Sox game), Chicago started developing a new, electronic, drum-machine happy sound.

• Frankie Kunckles brought his gay-friendly crate of thumping disco tracks to Chicago and the kids got into it. Stuff like "Let No Man Put Asunder" from First Choice rocked the Warehouse in 1983.

• Soulful, bangin' disco tracks collided with what-the-hell-sounding beats from Jesse Saunders, Farley Jackmaster Funk and a bunch of other DJs, remixers and record producer types in Chicago.

• All the kids wanted to buy the records that were playing at the Warehouse in Chicago, and after some abbreviating -- the house music label was born.

• In Detroit, Juan Atkins (/Cybotron), Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson originated a techno touch alongside the Chicago house music sound.

If you want to learn more, there's a video on it -- Pump Up the Volume. This documentary outlines the history of house music's muddied origins. From swinging disco tracks to squelching, experimental knob-turning, to the base kick of techno's first producers, this three-part video has it all.

Pump Up The Volume - History of House Music - Part 1

Part 1 starts with Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage and goes through the early house music scene in Chicago.

In Part 2, you can learn about how Brits got hold of the stuff and used their Northern Soul infrastructure and connections in Ibiza to club the music out to the Euro masses. Detroit's take on house also gets attention.

Part 3 takes you through some of the more recent house music scenes, you know -- all that splinter faction definition label stuff. Anything Goldie says is hilarious, and Armand Van Helden seems like a pretty chill dude.

Sure, these Google vids don't offer the best presentation. And yeah, some of the music you'll hear is a bit wack, but this documentary from 2001 is a bridge that connects the house music of today to the disco classics of yesteryear. Understanding the details of this evolution will give you a greater appreciation for the ever-evolving history of dance music.

Christopher Stout writes and manages Funk Deli, a funky lifestyle blog that delivers slices of funk on a daily basis. Visit Funk Deli to learn more about funk, disco, electro, soul, and hip hop music, and check out funky gear, events, clothes and kicks from all around the world.

Make your own house music - learn the secrets of house music production

Chicago's second surge of house music was influenced by Curtis Jones aka Green Velvet, Roy Davis Jr, Chicago then, had not comprehended the potential of its new house sound until Farley Jack Master Funk, released Love Can't Turn Around, and he became an overnight sensation in the USA. Chicago house  forefather was recently nominated for a 1998 Grammy -- in the "new re mixer of the year" category other stars including The Chicago house  producer-re mixer-songwriter Steve Silk Hurley, went on to be a four-time Grammy nominee.

The Chicago House Music Association a non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding and developing house music. The Chicago House Music Association CHMA strives to preserve and inspire local and international awareness and appreciation of the origins, history, culture, and future of Chicago house and its artists, producers, and DJ's via the Internet, conferences, forums, and events.

At a time when the Chicago House music scene was on the verge of an international explosion, Terry debuted his first release, a House track entitled Madness. Meanwhile, the largest concert and dance party in the history of Chicago House  will take place on September 15th at the newly renovated Congress Theater in Chicago with 30 of the hottest artists and DJ's in the genre performing live sets for the first time ever.

By 1990, a lot of styles were seeping into the regional purity (odd term, that, since house was the result of such a melting pot to begin with) of pure Chicago house  and as the mixes after this cutoff point just went to all to hip-hop and other styles of dance music, house music evolved.

Richard writes about top 100 rap songs http://www.top-100-rap-songs.info

Learn all about the secrets of house music production.

Every time you walk into a popular club, there is a good chance that music will be blasting through the sound system. When people go to the clubs, they want to dance and have a good time - house music provides the perfect atmosphere for this. But, where did it get its start, and how did it become so popular?

It made its arrival on the club scene sometime during the early 1980's in Chicago. The DJs at these clubs got tired of playing the same songs over and over again, and wanted to try and put their personal spin on some of these songs. They started mixing them together and adding in other instrumental tracks to make the songs their own. The people in the club loved it! Before anyone knew what was going on, DJs were releasing completely original music that they composed themselves through the combination of other artist's beats.

As time went on and house music spread to different parts of the country and the world, different DJs from different cultures put their own spin on this musical genre, introducing distinctive sounds and instruments from their local area. House music spread from Chicago to Detroit, and then made the jump over the pond to the UK. This all happened before the 1990's. House music had become an international phenomena.

One thing that has been true of it all throughout it's history is the fact that it mirrors the current music style that is popular with the general population. As rap and hip-hop started to become more popular in the early 1990's in the United States, DJs started incorporating more hip-hop style beats into their house mixes. The same thing happened when pop was the predominate musical genre in the late 1990's.

As the 21st century came around, the popularity of it was at an all time high. DJs began touring like rock stars or traditional musical artists, performing in different clubs all around the world and getting paid quite a bit of money for it. Now, they are commonly accepted as traditional musicians - but instead of playing the drums, the guitar or the bass, they play with turntables and electronic mixers.

In a relatively short period of time, it has gone from an underground genre of music to one of the most popular forms of music around the world, both inside and outside of dance clubs. No one knows what the future holds, but one thing is certain - house music will be one of the most popular musical genres for generations to come.

All the latest news and information on House Music is available by downloading Our House Mag.

Get started now and learn the secrets of house music production.