RON HARDY AND THE MUSIC BOX : INTRODUCTION 1976-1980

With a name like Ron Hardy, you’d be more likely to find a similar title on Pornhub. Although Mr Hardy probably had enough sex to be on par with a porn star he was instead a DJ. His contribution to music, is often over shadowed by his counter-part Frankie Knuckes; commonly known as the ‘Godfather of House Music.’ 

But lets rephrase this common statement to ‘the Godfathers of House Music’.  

Before exploring Ron and the Music Box any further it would make sense to re-cap some of the people and places important to the evolution of American dance music around this period.

THE PLAYERS;

Ron Hardy: Ron Hardy was born in Chicago, Illinois on the 8th of May 1958. He began his DJing career at Chicago’s gay club Den One in 1974. However it was at the mythical and short lived nightclub ‘The Music Box’ that Ron Hardy really made a name for himself.

Frankie Knuckles: A New York native, Knuckles was best friends with Larry Levan (Levan would go on to DJ at the famous Paradise Garage) from school. The boys teenage and early adult life was spent going to and working at the NYC nightclubs. Knuckles was a regular dancer at The Loft, he blew balloons up at the gallery and DJ’ed at the Continental Baths. Struggling to find work in NYC, Knuckles moved to Chicago to work for Robert Williams at ‘The Warehouse”.

Robert Williams: Owner of the Warehouse and Music Box, Williams was a key component in the foundations of what we call House music. He funded and managed spaces for thousands of predominately young black, gay people in Chicago that they could call a spiritual home. Williams was also in on and off relationships with Hardy and Knuckles throughout these periods.

Steve Dahl: Is a radio presenter, starting in Detroit and then moving to Chicago. He was openly against the ‘Disco’ phenomenon that had taken over the US since 1977, coinciding with the horribly inaccurate white washed film Saturday Night Fever. Commercially Disco is deemed to be a genre that spawned from the film, most people are un-aware that organised parties playing funky r&b, soul, black dance music, date back to 1970 in NYC. Dahl is another key anti-figure in House musics creation. Most notably after his Disco Demolition Night which took place on July 12, 1979. The idea was to end disco by allowing people to get tickets at the box office for a Red Sox game if they brought $0.98 (for WLUP’s frequency) and at least one disco record. More than 50,000 fans showed up, the records were collected and blown up. This was racist, homophobic and disgusting forcing the fans of dance music to go back underground.

THE PLACES;

The Warehouse: Setup and owned by Robert Williams, the Warehouse (206 South Jefferson Street) opened in 1976 as an after hours juice bar. Juice Bars were commonplace in major cities across the US in order to curb the liquor license and closing time. If no alcohol was sold the club could stay open much longer. In 1977, after Larry Levan turned down playing in Chicago, favoring his weekly spot at the Garage, Frankie Knuckles agreed to become the regular DJ. Its from this club, officially named US Studio that the term ‘House’ got its name.

The Music Box: Opened in 1982, the Music Box was Williams’ answer to Knuckles opening of the Powerplant. Knuckles decided to leave The Warehouse and begin his own foray into the business after the admission fees doubled at the Warehouse. Williams hired Ron Hardy to DJ at the new club, a pivotal step in the creation of House music. The Music Box differed to its predecessor as a younger and more heterosexual audience began attending, thus altering the intensity and feel of the club.

The Power-plant: Opened in 1982, the Power-plant became Knuckles’ new home and personal business venture after leaving the Warehouse. It is often believed that this separation between Knuckles and Williams created a rivalry between the two clubs.When in fact this separation created a diverse community that interchanged between the clubs.

Cabrini-Green Projects: The Cabrini-Green Projects was a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) located on the Near North Side of Chicago. At its busiest period of occupancy, there were 15,000 inhabitants. Please make note that these projects were poorly designed and neglected by the local government leading to a huge increase in crime. Over time the Cabrini-Green Projects became a point of reference for the problems/racism with project housing in the USA. The Music Box was situated very close to these housing projects.