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Byron Stingily: Chicago House Music's Original Vocal Genius

Author: Jonty Adderley
Thursday, December 19, 2002
Like his peers and fellow house pioneers Robert Owens and Daryl Pandy, legendary Chicago singer Byron Stingily helped create and define today's worldwide electronic music scene. An early regular at Chicago nightclub the Warehouse (from which house music reputedly took it's name) the then underage singer gave tapes to Frankie Knuckles and ended up working alongside Marshall Jefferson, going on to record Can't Stay Away, one of the biggest anthem ballads of the first wave of house.

20 years later, Stingily remains a towering figure on the international dance scene, having first broke big in the late 80s with Ten City then more recently via tracks such as his own take on Sylvester's Mighty Real. Unlike almost every other producer and innovator of note, however, he's maintained a healthily balanced life alongside his music, teaching martial arts to kids as well as continuing to educate himself.

"I have a degree in psychology, I've studied theology, and I'm just in the process of getting a degree in education and history right now," he told Skrufff's Jonty Adderley this week.

"I don't ever want to stop learning and also don't want to be a person stuck doing one thing. I never want to make music because I have to or to pay my bills. Now, when I start work on my new album I'm gonna' be fresh."

Planning to start on his new album in March, he's also about to release a new single Shake Your Body, a cover of the classic 70s disco anthem intended as a party record.

"Shake Your Booty was originally done by KC & the Sunshine Band," said Byron. "It's a different kind of track for me but I've enjoyed doing it and we'll see how it goes."


Skrufff (Jonty Adderley): What's the set up with Neo Records-

Byron Stingily: "Shake Your Booty is currently a one-off project, the owner of Neo Eddie Gordon is a really good friend of mine who's been instrumental in my success over the years ever since we did the first Ten City album and the track That's The Way Love Is. Eddie promoted it and the record ended up being a top 10 hit in England then later a success around Europe. Then when I became a solo artist he also signed me to Manifesto, so I see him as a good luck charm. I'm planing on doing a solo album, hopefully with Neo, I like them and I was in their offices recently and was impressed by the fact that everybody seemed to be working. That's a good sign for a label."

Skrufff: Were you a big disco fan in your youth-

Byron Stingily: "I was lucky enough to grow up in Chicago and by growing up there I got exposed to black radio which played so much diverse music back then, even European dance music like Kraftwerk, Yes, Yazoo and ABC were played on black radio then. I also used to listen to country music and soul such as Curtis Mayfield and Earth, Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan, who were all from Chicago. I also liked the group Chicago. It was a very diverse scene and I was in the clubs all weekend when I was a kid, from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon."

Skrufff: Were you going to the Warehouse as soon as it opened in 1982-

Byron Stingily: "I wasn't old enough to get in initially though I was fortunate to sneak in a couple of times by using an older friend's ID. Then I met Frankie Knuckles and gave him some tracks so I'd get a chance to see him play them and see how the crowd responded. I just developed a love and appreciation for house music."

Skrufff: What was your route into making music-

Byron Stingily: "I started playing in bands when I was a teenager, in garage bands, I also learned how to read music at a young age. I knew from when I was a small child that I wanted to work in the music business. Berry Gordy of Motown (the label's founder and chief) was my idol and I wanted to be like him and some day own a successful music label."

Skrufff: When you started making house music in the early 80s did you have any idea of how big the whole scene would become-

Byron Stingily: "At the beginning I just saw it as bei
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