How Disc Jockeys Became Important

In 1971, four years before the disco craze began, Danny Berry and Charles “CP” Perry, learned how to spin records at the Ginza and La Martinique. They taught themselves how to elevate the dance experience to near euphoria. They listened to hours of music at record shops to find cuts with just the right beat. Then they artfully curated the music to create new experiences that exhilarated and elevated the dance experience.

Danny and CP were so successful that it created a sea change in how records became hits. Program directors at radio stations were no longer in sole control over what records got played. Customers at discos like Leviticus and Justine’s began calling radio stations to demand that certain records be played – often records that were never played on the radio before. This spawned a new generation of DJs. Today, many earn millions every year with some enjoying superstar status.