Tony Humphries is an American electronic musician and DJ. He was one of the earliest proponents 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' ...

and has been instrumental in spreading the genre on both sides of the Atlantic. Humphries' work encompasses studio production and remixes, radio slots on WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM and

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...

, and DJ residencies at clubs including

Club Zanzibar Club Zanzibar was a dance club that opened in 1979 at 430 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey. Its presence in Downtown Newark was noted for its influence on house music and garage house genres and scene. Club Zanzibar, along with other gay and s ...

(

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

London, UK London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

Early life

Born in Brooklyn in 1957, Tony Humphries began collecting records at age ten. Humphries' passion for music was encouraged from a very early age. His father, Rene, had emigrated from Colombia some years earlier, before going on to lead the New York Combo. Rene "El Grande Combo" Humphries, as he was known, performed alongside salsa performers including

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz c ...

The
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
years

Humphries began DJing at college and got his first professional gig in 1981 at the then-new New York station KISS-FM following a chance encounter with

Shep Pettibone Robert "Shep" Pettibone (born 10 July 1959) is an American record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. Career Shep Pettibone surfaced after his work with Arthur Baker on Afrika Bambaataa & the Jazz ...

. His big break was in 1982, when he was asked by

to fill in for a mix show on WRKS 98.7 Kiss-FM] in New York. Soon afterward, he was a regular contributor of the station's mastermixes—extended and remixed versions of popular songs—a process that had been pioneered on the station earlier by Pettibone. During most of the 1980s until 1994, Humphries had a mix show that aired on Kiss-FM every Friday and Saturday night. In 1982, Humphries got a residency at the

, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Larry Levan Larry Levan (; born Lawrence Philpot, July 20, 1954 – November 8, 1992) was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern da ...

, are considered to be the main driving forces behind the creation of

garage house Garage house (originally known as "garage"; local terms include "New York house" and New Jersey sound) is a dance music style that was developed alongside Chicago house music. The genre was popular in the 1980s in the United States and the 1990s ...

music.

Europe

By the late 1980s, bootleg tapes of Humphries's Kiss-FM radio shows had begun to make their way across the Atlantic.

Alex Patterson Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959 in Battersea, London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception. Lif ...

from

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

group

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...

was one such early disciple; "hearing proper DJs like Tony Humphries, that's what really got me into house music." Humphries's earliest UK appearances were at club nights in London, such as

Danny Rampling Danny Rampling (born 15 July 1961) is an English house music DJ and is widely credited as one of the original founders of the UK's rave/club scene. His long career began in the early 1980s playing hip-hop, soul and funk around numerous bars an ...

's ''

Shoom Shoom was a weekly all-nighter dance music event held at four nightclubs in London, England, between September 1987 and early 1990. It is widely credited with initiating the acid house movement in the UK. Shoom was founded by Danny Rampling, who ...

'' and

Norman Jay Norman Jay MBE (born Norman Bernard Joseph on 6 November 1957) is a British club, radio and sound system DJ. He first came to prominence playing unlicensed "warehouse" parties in the early 1980s, and through his involvement with the then-pira ...

's ''High On Hope'' at

Dingwalls Dingwalls was a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, ...

. In the 1990s, as

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

grew in popularity in the UK and throughout Europe, Humphries was given a residency at the London superclub

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

. He also recorded for the Ministry of Sound label and launched the Ministry of Sound Sessions series. Humphries plays regularly at

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

clubs such as Pacha. He also appears regularly on Kings of House tours alongside

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Ma ...

and "Little" Louie Vega.

Studio work

Humphries has a large back catalogue of studio production work;

remixes 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 ...

spanning a broad number of styles from artists make up the bulk of this output. Humphries has produced many DJ mixes and compilations. These include his work for Ministry of Sound, London's Fabric,

Strictly Rhythm Strictly Rhythm is an American house music record label. History Strictly Rhythm relaunched in 2007 after a five-year break, following a venture with Warner Music. The label made a number of its recordings available for digital download and sig ...

, DMC, and, returning to his roots, his Zanzibar Classics compilations. A notable compilation titled ''Tony Humphries Choice: A Collection Of Club Zanzibar Classics'' was released on Azuli Records in 2003, and includes classics like "Take Me Home" by

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

and "

Are You For Real "Are You For Real" is a hit song recorded by the Grammy Award-winning artist and producer Deodato for his 1984 album ''Motion'' and released by Warner Bros. Records. The song, which featured vocals by Camille and was written by Rick Suchow, reach ...

" by Deodato featuring Camille.

Selected mix compilations

* 1993 ''

Ministry Of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

(The Sessions Vol. One)'' * 1993 ''

Mix'' * 1994 ''Strictly Tribal'' * 1994 ''The Tony Humphries

Mix Vol. 2'' * 1995 ''This is the Sound of Tribal United Kingdom Vol 2'' * 1996 ''

King Street Sounds King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

- Mix the Vibe'' * 1996 ''Club Nervous - First Five Years of House Classics'' * 1999 ''

Basement Boys The Basement Boys is an American house music production team that was formed in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The founding members are Jay Steinhour, Teddy Douglas and Thommy Davis. Biography The Basement Boys had all previous experience as ...

present Melting Pot'' * 2001 "Little" Louie Vega*, Tony Humphries & Tedd Patterson - ''Sessions Twelve (The Magic Sessions)'' * 2002 ''

Fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

04'' * 2002 ''United DJs of America - Vol. 18'' * 2003 '' Azuli presents Tony Humphries - Choice - A Collection of Club Zanzibar Classics'' * 2005 ''Southport Weekender Vol. 4'' * 2008 ''Moments in House'' -

* 2013 ''Quintessentials'' * 2015 Mangiami - ''La Compilation'' * 2015 ''West End Master Mix 2015''

Selected productions and remixes

* 1982

Indeep Indeep was a 1980s New York-based group that was best known for its song "Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life". Career The group was led by its songwriter-musician Michael Cleveland, and it was known for employing a strong disco-esque bass line and ...

- " Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" (Sound of New York/Becket) * 1982 Tyrone Brunson - "The Smurf" (PIP/CBS) * 1983

Mtume Mtume (pronounced ''em-tu-may'') was an American funk and soul group that rose to prominence during the early 1980s and had several R&B hits during its career. Its founder, former percussionist James Mtume, previously played and toured with M ...

- "

Juicy Fruit Juicy Fruit is an American brand of chewing gum made by the Wrigley Company, a U.S. company that since 2008 has been a subsidiary of the privately held Mars, Incorporated. It was introduced in 1893, and in the 21st century the brand name is rec ...

" (

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

) * 1983 Fresh Band - "Come Back Lover" (Are N' Be) * 1983 Visual - "The Music's Got Me" (

Prelude Prelude may refer to: Music *Prelude (music), a musical form *Prelude (band), an English-based folk band *Prelude Records (record label), a former New York-based dance independent record label *Chorale prelude, a short liturgical composition for ...

) * 1984

Joubert Singers "Stand on the Word" is a funk / soul song written by Phyliss McKoy Joubert and recorded by the Joubert Singers, and remixed by George Rodriguez and Tony Humphries on Next Plateau Records Inc in 1985. The original version was recorded in 1982, ...

- "

Stand on the Word "Stand on the Word" is a funk / soul song written by Phyliss McKoy Joubert and recorded by the Joubert Singers, and remixed by George Rodriguez and Tony Humphries on Next Plateau Records Inc in 1985. The original version was recorded in 1982, c ...

" (

Next Plateau Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

) * 1989

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

- "Come Into My House" (

Tommy Boy ''Tommy Boy'' is a 1995 American buddy adventure comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, produced by Lorne Michaels, and starring former ''Saturday Night Live'' castmates and close friends Chris Farley and David ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

) * 1989

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

- " Breakaway" (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

) * 1989 Cultural Vibe - "Ma Foom Bey" (Easy Street) * 1989 Longsy D. - "This Is Ska" (

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives ''warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver" and was given special applicatio ...

) * 1989

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

- "I Know You I Live You" (Warner Bros.) * 1989

Adeva Adeva (born Patricia Daniels) is an American singer. She had a string of successful house and R&B hits in the late 1980s to early 1990s, including "Warning!", "I Thank You" and "Respect" (all three of which reached number 17 in the UK Singles C ...

- "Warning" (

Cooltempo Cooltempo, the dance music imprint of Chrysalis Records, was revived in May 2018. The label released albums by artists such as Kenny Thomas, Milli Vanilli, Adeva, Shara Nelson, Mica Paris and Innocence. History Cooltempo emerged at the end o ...

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

) * 1989

Ultra Naté Ultra Naté Wyche (born March 20, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ and promoter who has achieved success on the pop charts with songs such as " Free", "If You Could Read My Mind" (as part of Stars on 54), and "Autom ...

- "It's Over Now" (Warner Bros.) * 1990

Lil' Louis Marvin Burns (born May 13, 1962), known by his stage name Li'l Louis (sometimes expanded to Li'l Louis & the World and Li'l Louis & the Party), is a Chicago-born house-music producer and DJ .Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Da ...

- "Nyce and Slo" (Epic/CBS) * 1990

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

- "Don't Let Me Down" (EMI) * 1990 The Beloved - "

The Sun Rising The Sun Rising may refer to: * ''The Sun Rising'' (poem), a poem by John Donne published in 1633 * "The Sun Rising" (song), a 1989 single by The Beloved See also * Sunrise (disambiguation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Rising, The ...

" (Atlantic) * 1990

Deee-Lite Deee-Lite was an American house and dance music group formed in New York City. The group's best-known single is "Groove Is in the Heart", which was released in 1990 from their debut studio album ''World Clique'' (1990), and was a top-ten hit in ...

- " Power of Love" ( Elektra) * 1991

Desiya Desiya was a dance- and house-music project that was fronted by the DJ- remixer- producer Matthew Parkhouse from New York and featured Melissa Yiannakou (now De Sa) on vocals. Its 1992 #1 hit on the US '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play ...

- "Comin' on Strong" (

Mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

/Elektra) * 1992

Alison Limerick Alison T. Limerick (born 1959, Stepney) is a British singer who scored success in the 1990s with the club anthem " Where Love Lives", which was her solo debut and a No. 3 hit on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play in 1991. Biography Limerick attended ...

- "Make It on My Own" (

Arista Arista may refer to: Organizations *Arista Networks, a software defined networking company *Arista Records, an American record label, division of Sony Music **Arista Nashville, a record label specializing in country music *Arista (honor society) ...

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

) * 1992

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

- "Joy" (

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

/EMI) * 1993

Romanthony Romanthony (born Anthony Wayne Moore; September 5, 1967 – May 7, 2013) was an American disc jockey, producer and singer.Bush, John " Romanthony Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2010-11-02 He is perhaps best known for his work with French duo Daft ...

- "Falling from Grace" ( Azuli) * 1997

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

- " Together Again" (Virgin/EMI) * 2007

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

- " But Beautiful" (

Legacy In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

/ Columbia/

SME SME may refer to: Economics * Small and medium-sized enterprises * Socialist market economy, an economic system of China Organizations Music * SME Limited, UK audio turntable manufacturer * Sony Music Entertainment, US * Spontaneous Music Ensembl ...

) * 2008

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

- Turn Me On" (Legacy/

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

/SME) * 2013

Frankie Knuckles Francis Warren Nicholls, Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014), better known as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the 1 ...

pres.

Inaya Day Inaya Day (born Inaya Davis, January 17, 1977) is an American singer, best known for her vocal work on house music tracks such as "Horny '98" by Mousse T, and her cover version of " Nasty Girl" by Prince protégées Vanity 6. Biography Early ca ...

- "Let's Stay Home" (Nocturnal Groove) * 2013 Lynn Lockamy - "Hostile Takeover" (Tony Records) * 2014 Nina Lares - "You and I" (Moulton Music)

Labels

Tony Humphries formed his first

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, Yellorange, in 1998. The label was superseded by Tony Records, which he founded in 2006. He left the label in 2016, and TR Records was founded in its place.

Influence

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crossed ...

cites Tony Humphries and

Larry Levan Larry Levan (; born Lawrence Philpot, July 20, 1954 – November 8, 1992) was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern da ...

as big influences. MK, whose remix of “

Push the Feeling On "Push the Feeling On" is a House music, house song by the Scottish music group Nightcrawlers (band), Nightcrawlers and American DJ Marc Kinchen (MK). The original version released in 1992 was also partially disco and acid jazz-influenced and was ...

” by the Nightcrawlers reached #3 in the UK charts in 1995, also cites Humphries as a major influence. "It helped my production hearing the New York DJs, hearing Tony Humphries,

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 r ...

. I found my missing link."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphries, Tony 1957 births Living people American people of Colombian descent American house musicians House DJs DJs from New York City Remixers Electronic dance music DJs

Early life

The Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ... years

Europe

Studio work

Selected mix compilations

Selected productions and remixes

Labels

Influence

References

The
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
years