Today’s DJs dominate the music world. With their iconic turntables and mixing skills, DJs bring the dance floors to life as people jam to their favorite music.

Popular DJs such as David Guerra, Martin Garrix and Calvin Harris have a great reputation for DJing as they play popular music at clubs, parties, music festivals and concerts.

What’s even better is that today’s technology and social media have pushed DJs to post their music on music platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, Pandora and Apple Music.

Now, fans can listen to their favorite music from DJs on their computers and smartphones.

Although DJs are extremely popular today, their existence goes back to the 1930s. That’s right! DJs have existed for almost 100 years, doing what DJs are doing today: playing recorded music for the audience to enjoy.

Of course, the early DJs did not have the same technology as we do now. Back then, there was no internet or social media for people to listen to music. For people to listen to music, they would buy phonograph records to listen to at home or tune in to radio stations with music playing.

Despite limited technology, people found ways to share music with the public. As the radio gained popularity in the United States during the 1930s, the first disc jockey arrived and changed the music industry forever.

Early Roots of DJ-ing: The First Disc Jockeys

Martin Block

The 1930s was a grand time for radio. Many radio broadcasts were made, and personalities such as radio columnist and journalist Walter Winchell grew in popularity in the U.S. At the time, television was not popular, so the only way people could find entertaining shows was by listening to the radio.

Recorded music did not exist on radio until 1934 when a man named Martin Block, a native of Los Angeles, broadcasted a show at a New York station, where he played recorded music during the trial of kidnapper Bruno Richard Hauptmann.

Block was a junior assistant at KFWB in Los Angeles, where he worked with disc jockey Al Jarvis to create a show called Make Believe Ballroom. Afterward, Block moved to New York in 1934 to play recorded music on a show at a radio station named WNEW. Listeners tuned in to WNEW and heard music playing during the Hauptmann trial, thinking that the music was coming from a live dance band in a ballroom.

Block named the show Make Believe Ballroom based on Al Jarvis’ show in Los Angeles. The show became so popular that in 1935, Winchell described Block as the first “disc jockey,” also known as a DJ.

Jimmy Savile

Later, other DJs began playing music in places, including dance halls. Born in Leeds, England, in 1926, Jimmy Savile played records in local dance halls, including one in Manchester.

He was the first DJ to use twin turntables in 1947 after working in a coal mine during World War II. He then became a broadcaster at Radio Luxembourg and was the first host of Tops of the Pops in 1964.

Savile was loved by many in the UK until after his death in 2011 when allegations of sexual abuse destroyed his reputation as a DJ, charity donor, and broadcaster.

According to an article from the Guardian, investigators believed that Savile “preyed on around 500 vulnerable victims as young as two years old at institutions including the BBC's broadcasting studios, 14 hospitals and 20 children's hospitals across England.” Savile abused his victims during his DJ and broadcasting career, including in 1955 when he abused a victim in Manchester where he managed the dance hall.

The public was shocked by the allegations that Savile’s headstone was removed from his grave due to family concerns. Although Savile’s reputation as a DJ was tarnished, other DJs grew popular around his time, beginning in the 1950s.

The Beginning of Turntables, Disco and Hip-Hop: DJs in the 50s, 60s and 70s

As classic DJs had come and gone, the 1950s rolled in. Television became a hit, competing with radio for commercial and entertainment purposes.

Famous musicians and singers such as Elvis Presley rocked the nation, and rock and roll, jazz and blues became the dominant genres of music during the period. Although the genres were popular at the time, DJs continued to grow and create new methods for future DJs to use during their careers.

Bob Casey and Francis Grasso

Bob Casey, a U.S. armed forces DJ in Vietnam and sound engineer, was the “early pioneer on the New York disco scene”. He played music with two turntables at a sock hop in 1958 and became the first DJ to use a double-decked audio system, which is now common in modern DJ audio equipment.

According to a 1999 interview from DJ History, Casey ran his first dance during his freshman year of high school in 1957. He said that he “wanted to have more music” by transitioning from song to song and talking over the music.

Casey later returned to the U.S. from Vietnam and played at a club in Fire Island, New York, in 1970. He saw famous DJs playing in clubs including Francis Grasso, who was the first DJ to use a technique of mixing records by matching their rhythms, also known as “beatmatching.”

Grasso had a talent for music at a young age. His DJ career began in 1968 when he played music at Salvation II, a Central Park club in New York City where he filled in for an absent house DJ. After playing with the turntables at the club, Grasso became a DJ who played extended songs that would quickly change to the next song.

Kool Herc

As the 1950s and 60s passed and the 1970s came, disco and hip-hop began to rise. Black American music became widespread and shaped the hip-hop and rap industry for years to come. One man who introduced hip-hop was none other than DJ Kool Herc, also known as the “Father of hip-hop”. Herc grew up in Jamaica and moved to the Bronx in New York in the early 1970s, where he ran dance parties at his family’s apartment complex. He was inspired by Jamaican “toasting” (a form of rapping or lyrical chanting) and funk and soul music.

Herc extended songs by playing two records on dual turntables. According to TeachRock, he “cued the other record back to the beginning of the break, turning a snippet of a record into an extended loop.”

Herc called the technique “breakbeat” and during breakbeats, he would have a group of dancers called b-boys and b-girls (short for “break boys” and “break girls”) breakdancing while rapper Coke LA Rock sings.

DJ Kool Herc inspired new DJs including Grandmaster Flash and Grand Wizard Theodore, who came up with new DJ techniques such as “scratching” and “cutting.”

Grand Wizard Theodore and Grandmaster Flash

Grand Wizard Theodore was the first DJ to use the “scratching” technique and the needle drop. Born Theodore Livingston, he lived in the Bronx with his brothers Gene and Claudio, also known as the hip-hop duo L-Brothers. The L-Brothers collaborated with DJ Grandmaster Flash, who was interested in Theodore’s musical talents.

In 1977, Theodore discovered something truly amazing. He had the record player volume up in his bedroom until his mother barged into his room, scolding him for playing his music too loud. When Theodore stopped the music to listen to his mother, he accidentally moved the record back and forth repeatedly, thus creating the “scratching” technique.

Theodore’s scratching and needle drop techniques were so influential in DJing that Grandmaster Flash picked them up and used them while playing music, along with his other technique “cutting.”

Credit: Ask Hip Hop https://history.hiphop/

After Theodore joined the hip-hop group Grand Wizard Theodore and the Fantastic 5, he and the group released their single “Can I Get a Soul Clap” in 1980 and appeared in the hip-hop film Wild Style in 1983.

The Age of Hip-Hop and Techno: DJs in the 1980s and 90s.

Although disco lost its spark in the 1980s, hip-hop and techno became dominant genres of DJing during the decade.

Hip-hop DJs, such as Kool Herc, Grand Wizard Theodore, and Grandmaster Flash, had inspired future DJs to add scratching, cutting and mixing into their works while adapting to new technology.

Afrika Bambaataa from the Bronx shook the hip-hop world by releasing “Planet Rock,” a song that was made by mixing hip-hop and techno-pop futurism.

Afrika Bambaataa

Lance Taylor, A.K.A. Afrika Bambaataa, was inspired by his mother’s record collection and was a member of the street gang Black Spades. He began his DJ career in 1977 by “organizing block parties and breakdancing competitions around the Bronx.”

Inspired by German band Kraftwerk, Bambaataa released “Planet Rock” in 1982 and entered the spotlight in hip-hop culture. He became popular again when he released his record debut “Zulu Nation Throwdown” and was credited as the “Godfather” and “Amen Ra of Hip Hop Kulture.”

Bambaataa formed the Universal Zulu Nation with the purpose to attract street gang members to become Afrocentric musicians. He teamed up with artists such as James Brown to create “Unity” and John Lydon with “World Destruction.”

Frankie Knuckles

Frankie Knuckles was also an influential DJ in the 1980s and even the 90s when hip-hop and techno were still strong. Knuckles created a new genre called Chicago house, which was named after his nightclub Warehouse in Chicago. He learned DJing in New York in the early 1970s with his childhood friend Larry Levan, who was a DJ at Paradise Garage in New York from 1977 to 1987.

After moving to Chicago in the late 70s, Knuckles played in clubs including the Warehouse and the Power Plant, where he would “extend mixes of soul and R&B records and turn them into dance tracks,” while creating beats from drum machines.

Knuckles would also mix records from famous artists including Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and Depeche Mode, and released his singles including “Your Love” in 1986 and “Baby Wants to Ride” in 1987, which were sung by Chicago artist Jamie Principle. In 1991, he released his debut album “Beyond the Mix,” which contains singles such as “The Whistle Song,” “Rainfalls,” and “Workout.”

Not only was Knuckles the “godfather” of house music, but he was also openly gay. His club Warehouse was opened for black gay men, and he released an album titled “Out There: 2001 Mardi Gras Sydney Gay & Lesbian.” He was loved by his fans who were part of the LGBTQ+ community and was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1996. His life was sadly cut short as he died on March 31, 2014, at age 53.

Into the 21st Century: DJs from 2000s to Now

The rapid development of digital technology has made DJing easier with the invention of the MP3 player and the “Final Scratch” in 1998.

As the internet gained popularity and expanded through the 2000s, vinyl emulation softwares such as Serato Scratch Live and Traktor have made it easier for DJs to mix digital music in vinyls.

Female DJs also began to rise in the 2000s. At first, many people thought that DJing was a male-dominated industry, but women, especially in Europe, have been mixing music in festivals and clubs. Popular female DJs including tINI, Nicole Moudaber and Peggy Gou have changed the DJ industry by bringing women in to become professional artists.

Nastia is one of the most popular female DJs who toured in many countries around the world, playing in clubs and festivals. Born in Ukraine, she began DJing in 2005 and played mostly techno and house music. She now has thousands of followers on Instagram and Facebook and her music is available on SoundCloud.

Anja Schneider is also a famous DJ. Born in Germany, Schneider plays techno and electronic music in clubs and festivals including Pacha Ibiza and the Amsterdam Dance Event music festival. She is also a radio broadcaster as she appeared on a program on Fritz Radio called “Dance Under the Blue Moon” and held the show “Club Room” on Radio Eins. She is also the founder of record label company Mobilee Records which “has signed dozens of musicians such as Maya Jane Coles, Pan-Pot, Rodriguez Jr., Audiofly, and Kevin Yost.” Her music is available on SoundCloud, Spotify, and YouTube.

The rapid development of digital technology has made DJing easier. SongMe is here to support new up and coming DJs as well as the seasoned veteran DJs!

We strive to provide technology that helps performers engage with fans in new and innovative ways while helping those same performers increase their income potential and career growth! Check out our app on the google and apple stores to start engaging your fans in a completely new way and to take your career to the next level!

The Roots of DJing

Today’s DJs dominate the music world. With their iconic turntables and mixing skills, DJs bring the dance floors to life as people jam to their favorite music.

Now, fans can listen to their favorite music from DJs on their computers and smartphones.

Despite limited technology, people found ways to share music with the public. As the radio gained popularity in the United States during the 1930s, the first disc jockey arrived and changed the music industry forever.