Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

er in the genre of

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

Musical career

Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early

Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the first ever house music productions, which were by Chicago-based artists in the 1980s. History and origins Disco ...

sound of 1984–86. He crossed the sounds of House with hip hop breaks to create a more energized and popular sound that was able to reach commercial success outside the underground House scene. His productions extensively used samples that blend the sounds of classic

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

, the Chicago house sound, and elements of hip-hop.Bush, Joh
Todd Terry Biography

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, retrieved July 2, 2011 Terry began his career in the 1980s, DJing at parties in New York. At first, he played

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the early 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, p ...

and hip-hop. Later he concentrated on House music upon its mid'80s emergence.Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music'', Virgin Books; , p. 337 He debuted as

Masters at Work Masters at Work is the American garage house production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. The duo has produced music together under the names MAW, KenLou, Sole Fusion, Hardrive, and Nuyorican Soul. They have been ...

with the 12-inch "Alright Alright" (1987, Fourth Floor)Discogs:Masters at Work (Todd Terry):Alright Alright
,

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

; retrieved July 30, 2013 and an edit from this was then included on the Chicago house vanguard compilation ''Jackmaster 1'' (1987, D.J. International/Westside UK).Discogs:V/A:Jackmaster
,

; retrieved July 30, 2013. Much of Terry's early work in the late 1980s is considered a milestone in the development of house and

rave music A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...

. He was responsible for releasing two of the house era's most respected crossover remixes: " I'll House You" by the

Jungle Brothers Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop trio composed of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall ( Afrika Baby Bam), and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Known as the pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hi ...

(Summer 1988) and " Missing" by

Everything but the Girl Everything but the Girl (occasionally referred to as EBTG) are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, producer and singer Ben Watt ...

as a re-release in October 1995. His music was a driving force within the " acid house" scene in the UK with many tracks such as "Back to the Beat", "Can You Party", "A Day in the Life", " Weekend", "Party People", "Yeah, Buddy" and "Dreams of Santa-Anna", released under multiple aliases including The Todd Terry Project, Royal House, Black Riot, Swan Lake and Orange Lemon. In the summer of 1988 at the peak of the UK acid house movement, "Can You Party" under his Royal House moniker reached No. 14 in the UK. Terry's notable releases during the 1990s include " Something Goin' On" and " Keep on Jumpin'", which were UK top-ten hits,Tod Terry
, Chart Stats; retrieved 2011-0702Todd Terry Featuring Martha Wash And Jocelyn Brown
, Chart Stats; retrieved July 2, 2011. with the

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

on both provided by Jocelyn Brown and

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco si ...

. Freestyle artist Shannon was the featured vocalist on the UK top 20 hit "

It's Over Love "It's Over Love" is song by American DJ and remixer Todd Terry featuring American singer Shannon, released on his 1997 album '' Ready for a New Day''. It received positive reviews from music critics, topping the US '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Club P ...

" in 1997, which topped the '' Billboard'' Dance/Club Play Songs chart in the US, as did " Just Wanna Dance / Weekend"." Todd Terry Chart History: Singles, Billboard.com; retrieved July 2, 2011.Todd Terry Presents Shannon
, Chart Stats; retrieved July 2, 2011. An album, '' Ready for a New Day'', was also released in 1997, featuring "Something Goin' On", "Keep on Jumpin'" and "It's Over Love". It reached No. 84 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. In 1996, he remixed " Stranger in Moscow" for

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. In 1999, inspired by the

Drum & Bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-b ...

genre, Terry released ''Resolutions'' on

Astralwerks Records Astralwerks is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in 1993 and, in its early years, featu ...

. He also worked on the albums '' One Half of a Whole Decade'' and ''

Live & Remastered ''Live & Remastered'' (subtitled ''20th Anniversary Box Set'') is a box set released by the record label of British nightclub Ministry of Sound in September 2011. It was released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ministry of Sound, as part ...

''. Throughout his career, Terry has used several aliases including Hard House, Swan Lake, Orange Lemon, Royal House, and Black Riot.Kogan, Frank (1989)
The_Todd_Terry_Project_'' The_Todd_Terry_Project_''To_The_Batmobile_Let's_Go
''">To_The_Batmobile_Let's_Go">The_Todd_Terry_Project_''To_The_Batmobile_Let's_Go
'',_''

The_Todd_Terry_Project_''To_The_Batmobile_Let's_Go
''">To_The_Batmobile_Let's_Go">The_Todd_Terry_Project_''To_The_Batmobile_Let's_Go
'',_''Spin_(magazine)">SPIN'',_April_1989,_p._110;_retrieved_July_2,_2011_As_Black_Riot,_"Warlock/A_Day_in_the_Life"_was_released_as_a_single_on_the_Champion_Records_(UK).html" "title="Spin_(magazine).html" ;"title="To_The_Batmobile_Let's_Go
''.html" ;"title="To The Batmobile Let's Go">The Todd Terry Project ''To The Batmobile Let's Go
''">To The Batmobile Let's Go">The Todd Terry Project ''To The Batmobile Let's Go
'', ''Spin (magazine)">SPIN'', April 1989, p. 110; retrieved July 2, 2011 As Black Riot, "Warlock/A Day in the Life" was released as a single on the Champion Records (UK)">Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

label and entered the UK Singles Chart on December 3, 1988, reaching a high of number 68. He also recorded under the monikers CLS,

(with Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez and "Little" Louie Vega), Dredd Stock, House of Gypsies, Limelife, Tyme Forse, and the Gypsymen (scoring a number-one ''Billboard'' Hot Dance/Club play hit in 1992 with " Hear the Music"). Terry co-produced the song "Shake" on

P.M. Dawn P.M. Dawn was an American hip hop and R&B act that formed in 1988 by the brothers Attrell Cordes (known by his stage name Prince Be, sometimes credited as Prince Be the Nocturnal) and Jarrett Cordes (known as DJ Minutemix) in Jersey City, New J ...

's debut album '' Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience''. The song ended with the repeated lyric "Everyone thank Todd Terry". He also produced "The House of Isis" from

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

' 1990 album ''Rebel Soul''. In October 2004, "Weekend" by the Todd Terry Project appeared in the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

'' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', playing on house music radio station

SF-UR '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' is an open-world, action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. First released on 16 October 2004 for the PlayStation 2, ''San Andreas'' has an in-game radio that can t ...

. In 2007, Terry formed the Todd Terry All Stars, bringing

Kenny Dope Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez (born July 5, 1970), also sometimes known as K-Dope, is an American record producer and disc jockey. He is one half of the classic house music Masters at Work musical production team with Little Louie Vega; and also releas ...

DJ Sneak Carlos Sosa (born November 5, 1969), known as DJ Sneak, is a Puerto Rican-born American DJ and record producer raised in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is noted as being one of the second wave of Chicago house producers, (alongside Derrick ...

and Terry Hunter together to release the single "Get Down" featuring and co-written by

Tara McDonald Tara Jane McDonald (born September 9, 1986) is an English singer-songwriter. She is signed to Play Two/Warner Records. McDonald achieved success working and co-writing with Armand van Helden and Axwell on the chart hits " My My My" and " Feel ...

. The follow up, "Play On", also featured McDonald and was released in 2007 on Strictly Rhythm/

Defected Records In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

and then re-released in 2009 with a remix by Eddie Thoneick.

Record labels

InHouse Records was launched by Terry in 1999. It has been the vehicle through which Todd is able to release tracks to his fans without a filter. Currently, Inhouse has over 500 commercially available tracks in the catalog including releases by House of Gypsies,

Roland Clark Roland Clark is an American house music DJ, producer, songwriter and vocalist. Biography In the past, Roland Clark used the aliases Jesus Jackson, Digital Pimps, Dark Clark, South Street Player, and is also founding member of the dance music ...

, Shawnee Taylor, Kelly Sajda, Gypsymen, Black Riot, Leon Cormack, Lewis Beck, DJ E-Clyps and Todd Terry All Stars. In 2000, Terry launched SoundDesign Records, the home to some of the harder tracks and artists he is working with, including releases from Danny Genius, Space Kadets, and Friscia and Lamboy. In 2013, Terry released the album ''Todd Terry vs. That Trap Shitt'' on

Tommy Boy Entertainment Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital Un ...

Discography

;Selected discography * ''Can You Party'' (Royal House) (1988) * '' To the Batmobile Let's Go'' (The Todd Terry Project) (1988) * ''Come Over Here, Baby'' (Royal House) (1990) * ''This Will Be Mine'' (Todd Terry Presents Sax) (1991) * ''Todd Terry Project'' (The Todd Terry Project) (1992) * ''Todd Terry Presents Sound Design Part II'' (Sound Design) (1992) * Jumpin' (1994) * ''A Day in the Life of Todd Terry'' (1995) * '' One Half of a Whole Decade'' (DJ mix) (1996) * '' Ready for a New Day'' (1997) * '' Sessions Eight'' (DJ mix) (1997) * ''Resolutions'' (1999) * ''Culturistic'' (Gypsymen, 2003) * ''

'' (DJ mix) (2011)

''
DJ Magazine ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...
'' Top 100 DJs

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Todd 1967 births Living people African-American DJs American house musicians American garage house musicians Club DJs DJs from New York City Electronic dance music DJs Musicians from Brooklyn Remixers Deep house musicians Astralwerks artists Innocent Records artists Ministry of Sound artists Tommy Boy Records artists Virgin Records artists Warlock Records artists 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people