Frederick Dunson News Today

In a FOX 32 special report, Terrence Lee looks at the origins, evolution and future of house music as we remember the rich roots of the genre, which are firmly planted in Chicago.

When Kirk Townsend started DJing at 14-years-old in 1974, he was paid $50 for his first gig, a party for a family friend inside Chatham’s Starlight Bowling Alley.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks approved preliminary landmark status for the Warehouse, a “magical place” where DJ Frankie Knuckles is credited with creating House music.

Preservation Chicago has named The Warehouse, the birthplace of house music, as one of the most endangered buildings in Chicago.

For the people who were there when it was invented in small clubs and basement parties in Chicago in the 1980s, house music was a force of nature. Four decades later, its impact is bigger than ever.