History of a DJ

The original DJs started out as people who would play phonographic records on the radio. The term "Disc Jockey" was first used in 1935 by Walter Winchell. It wasn't until 1941 that the phrase was put in to print. It wasn't until 1943 that someone had the first dance party. This was because at home phonographic players were not widely available just yet. Jimmy Savile is credited as the first person to use multiple turntables to create a seamless transitions between multiple tracks. It wasn't until the 1960s that mixers were created specifically for DJs.

In the 1960s Jamaican sound system culture emerged. They experimented with repetitive beats that were electronically manipulated. These Jamaican DJs heavily influenced the Hip-hop DJs of the 1970s. When direct drive turntables started being released, the DJ scene started to change with the ability to do new techniques.

With the emergence of direct drive turntables and hip-hop, the DJ culture began to change drastically. DJ's started using new techniques such as scratching and backspinning. Before direct drive turntables, they the turntables were driven by a belt. Doing the techniques would add strain to the belt and would could possible cause the belt to snap. The company Panasonic is credited with the creating the first direct drive turntables.

Grand Wizard Theodore is credited as being the person who invented the scratching technique. This technique is where the Dj will manipulate the record by moving it back and forth to create a new sound that can be incorporated into the track that is currently playing. Even though Theodore created scratching, Grandmaster Flash is the one who is considered the person to perfect the technique and create a multitude of other techniques. One technique that Grandmaster Flash is known for is beat juggling. This is where two records of the same track are played simultaneously and then the tracks are switched back and forth to create a seamless constant beat. This is done during the parts of the track with no vocals and just a beat. This was done so that MCs could rhyme over these parts and interact with the crowd. This is what help birth the hip-hop genre.

DJ Grandmaster Flash,

Photo credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Dj_Grandmaster_Flash-01-mika.jpg/1200px-Dj_Grandmaster_Flash-01-mika.jpg

Over the years, the style of a DJ has change drastically and there are many different ways now to do it. A lot of the old techniques like scratching and beat juggling are still used today. These skills are still considered some of the basic framework of being a DJ.