The history of DJing goes back all the way to the early 19th century. In fact, you could even say it goes back to 1857, when a man named Leon Scott invented the phonautograph. It is the earliest known device for recording sound. It was this invention that paved the way for the first audio radio broadcast in 1906. By 1909, Ray Newby had become the world’s original disc jockey. He was only 16 years old at the time and he would play records from a small transmitter in between college classes.
In 1947, the first discotheque ever opened in Paris, France. It was called Whiskey A Go-Go and it was the first of many nightclubs to pop up around the world. Radio DJs were already popular in the 1950s as they would host dance parties and blast music from their giant PA speakers.
The 1960s saw the rise of new technology and techniques that launched DJing to the next level. The mixer came out and suddenly DJs had more control over the tracks they were playing. Then, a man by the name of Francisco Gasso developed beat matching and started seamlessly mixing songs in an uninterrupted stream.
After disco died down and hip hop started to gain momentum DJing went through a sort of revolution. It was around this time that DJs started being recognized as musicians in their own right. They weren’t just picking out songs and playing them they are actually creating music of their own. A new technique called scratching began making its way around the streets of New York City.
In the 90s, digital DJing became more popular but it would not be widely accepted until the turn of the century. New DJ software programs such as Serato Scratch Live completely changed the standard for turntable DJs. Vinyl records were replaced by CDs and eventually CDs were ditched in favor of mp3s.
Electronic dance music today is more popular than it ever was. Dance music is constantly evolving and DJs are experimenting with sounds and techniques in search of the next big thing. There is no telling where DJing is headed.
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