Steve "Silk" Hurley

One of the most important producers for the early popularity of Chicago house, Steve "silk" Hurley precipitated the founding of a major early house label (DJ International), recorded house music's first number one single and was the first to branch out to encompass pop and hip-hop within the house framework. Born on the south side of Chicago, Hurley began listening to contemporary R&B/funk of bands like Parliament/Funkadelic, The Gap Band and The Ohio Players. Influenced to become a DJ by the disco hot mixes he heard on local radio, Hurley manufactured his own mixing set-up out of spare parts after a trip to Radio Shack. He studied engineering at the University of Illinois (and later at junior college), but dropped out by 1981 to concentrate on music full-time.



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