Vocal House Music

Vocal House Music

BRINGING THE DIVAS TO THE HOUSE

When house music began to hit the mainstream towards the end of the 1980's, it also dragged the concept of remixing with it kicking and screaming into the daylight. Although the idea of making longer versions of popular tracks specifically for use in dance clubs had begun in the 1970's, these types of records had rarely charted and instead were used largely as promotional tools by record companies intent on getting their music to a hip crowd.

Suddenly, the realization that remixing could pay solid dividends if the correct original tracks were targeted swept over the house music industry. Vocal house music became swamped with songs which used the original, diva-inspired vocals of popular songs by Madonna, Mariah Carey and other artists. Combined with the four to the floor beat of house music and garnished with synthesizers, these remixes were often sold alongside the originals in music stores and finally found a home outside of a DJ's crate.

Check out Classic House Music here.

As the decade wore on, house music remixes became more and more elaborate, taking greater risks with the source material and seeing a much greater amount of promotion behind each release. Not only was vocal house music targeted as a genre, but electro and funky house music also began to receive their share of mainstream remixes. Artists such as Armand Van Helden, Junior Vasquez and Danny Tenaglia found themselves remixing everyone from the Sneaker Pimps to the Spice Girls, gaining them instant notoriety outside the club scene where they normally worked. These remixes also served to introduce dance music to an entirely new group of people who lived far away from major musical centers such as New York and L.A., giving them a taste of vocal house music and club culture within the confines of their bedrooms, backyard barbecues and headphones.