This excerpt was taken from an interview in 1994 and later was published in Jonathan Fleming's book "What Kind Of House Party Is This?" It is the summarizing feature in the book as related by the originator and founder of what we know as "House Music"
Jesse Saunders

• After that brain-shattering rendition of how it all began, I asked Jesse how he would describe his music then and now.

  "In 1986, I got a record deal with Geffen records for my group, Jesse's Gang, which enabled me to grow into something new, but up until that point everything I was doins was strictly House. You see, House was cool when I was into it, and I loved it and the whole nine yards, but after eight years of listening to it I was ready to grow into something else. So when I got to Geffen I wanted to do more R&B and they were all for it too, or R&B tinged with some House. I mean, I'm at a major now, so I've got to come up with some commercial stuff if I'm gonna be able to do a second album, so that album with Geffen records only really had two or three House tunes on it, because I was growing into something new. I worked with Leon Sylvers on that album, I worked with Norman Whitfield, the producer of Five Star, and a lot of good people on that album. That for me was at great experience that got me out of that little realm of what we thought was the world. I got to experience the real music industry, to see how things really happened in this business and why, and I wouldn't trade that for the world.

  But I did do a House record while I was out in California in the middle of '87, which was like my tribute record to everyone to say thanks for helping me get to where I was and that hadn't forgotten where I came from, because they didn't understand that I wasn't doing House any more. It was called 'I'd Like To Say Thanks'. When I left Chicago right after 'Love Can't Turn Around', Chicago and House music took a different kind of turn, into a different kind of sound that was very mechanical, that didn't have the feel of what 'Love Can't Turn Around' and 'Real Love' had. It was just a whole different thing that I didn't like, so at a point I was almost anti-House for a while, and it wasn't until the hip House vibe came around with Fast Eddie and Tyree that I got back into it. Then when Inner City came out with their stuff, what they call Techno, stuff that is just a Detroit version of what House Is, I got more into it, and then I started getting into it further with Ten City".

• To me, it seemed that Chicago had produced some big-headed monsters who didn't know when to give up on their fabricated stories, their egos and all their bullshit about 'I'm the man, the creator; the master of House'. Didn't they realise that with thorough investigative journalism, they were going to be found out and go down In history as wonderfully elaborate liars instead of wonderfully creative contributors to a marvellous scene? Was Jesse Saunders one of them? Did the hype, the prestige, take away his soul, his morals, his honour and dignity? I asked what it was like for him being a DJ.

  "Oh, it was great, but I was very, very serious about it, and everything else that I've done, like creating the sound, creating the label, the vibe, the whole nine yards. All the ground that I have trodden, which opened the way for everyone else, has made me happy to be the person that was able to do it. The only thing that I wish the people that came behind me would do is acknowledge the fact that I was there. Don't try to say that it was you that made this happen because you're the one that happens to get all of the attention at that point, just because the focus is on your record and your thing.

  Just remember that anything, not just this House music thing, but anything in life that you ever succeed in or that you ever come across, there was always someone that was there before you, and if it hadn't been for them, you wouldn't be here now. I think a lot of people tend to forget that in order to make themselves look bigger. I mean, give me my due, not in terms of 'Jesse's the man', I mean give me my due in terms of 'Hey, Jesse was there', you know what I mean, that sort of thing.

  If I open the door for you and you're able to walk through when I was only able to get my foot through, then, hey, great, but do something positive with it, don't bastardise it and take it in the wrong direction for your own personal gain, 'cause this thing is much bigger than you or me. I mean, I never thought I was gonna create something that was known the world over when I was sitting in my bedroom with my drum machine, I never thought about that. For me it was just that I felt it, it was all about the music that I was making and felt good about. I didn't even care if anybody else liked it or not, I just knew I was doing somethin', I didn't know what it was and I didn't know where It was gonna go, but, hey, when people started acknowledging it, it was hard for me to even accept because I never thought that I would have a hit record, let alone a string of 'em over a span of years and years and years.

  So for me it was just like everything that happened, all the accolades and everything, for me was just like 'wow'. To this day, even with me looking back now in retrospect and telling yen about It, I still can't believe that I was there when it was all happening. But one constant thing that I've always had and I've always known, is that I've always had a feeling that I was destined to do something good. I never knew what it was, but I always felt like God was watching out over me, 'cause I always seemed to get myself into the right place. I didn't know  how and I didn't know when it was coming, but it always seemed to work out in the right way."

• Judging from that statement, I guess it must have been a little tough being a DJ back then, but as with everyone, I moved on and asked him the impossible question of his best night out to date.

  "The proudest moment I've ever had with this whole thing is when I think Tony Bitoy or somebody tried to hold, like, a first annual House music awards in Chicago. It didn't quite work out right but it got a nice little turn out and it did its thing. Marshall Jefferson got up on the podium and said, 'Hey, let's stop all this right now, you all can sit there and say what you wanna say about how great you think you are and what you've done, but I'm sorry we've gotta give one person their just due. Jesse, stand up because this is for you, if it wasn't for you we wouldn't be here'. I never expected anyone to ever do anything like that.

  But I've had lots of other good nights, I mean, I can think of the first night that I DJed when I played my remix of 'One Nation Under A Groove' and everybody was just amazed-that was a great night. The first night I played at The Playground to two thousand people, that was a great night. The day I got my record deal with Geffen, that was a great day. The day that I actually took my first record off of the press, that was a great day-you know what I mean? So I've had a lot of 'em, thank God. I mean, I've been blessed as far as that's concerned."

• Continued..... Don't leave now there's more to explore
  (It ain't over)