Jamie Principle

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Jamie Principle is an American house musician, singer and producer, born in Chicago in 1960. He is one of the makers of the very first house, the dance music that emerged in the clubs of Chicago in the mid-1980s.

Music and breakthrough

His 1984 track Your Love is regarded as one of the first house records. The lyrics came from a poem he wrote for his girlfriend at the time. Principle made music for it at home and recorded it on a four-track recorder. A friend gave a tape to the DJ Frankie Knuckles, who played the track again and again at the club The Power Plant. Fans recorded it there and passed on copies, so that the track was an underground club hit for more than a year before it was officially released on record. Knuckles's name also often appeared on his later records, such as Baby Wants to Ride. In 1992 Principle released the album The Midnite Hour, and he co-wrote I'm Not Over You by CeCe Peniston.

Influence

Principle shows how house came into being: not in a big studio, but at home, on a tape, and through the DJ and the crowd in the club. His soft, sensitive singing gave early house an emotional side. In 2004, with Back N Da Day, together with Knuckles, he topped the American dance chart. Later he sang on tracks by Gorillaz.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1992The Midnite Hour

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 8: Electronic Music^NL Reader