Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The
History of the Disc Jockey by Frank
Broughton
Thoroughly Researched, Well-Written History Of The Dance/Club Dj
From the first time a record was played over the airwaves in 1906, to a
modern club economy that totals $3 billion annually in New York City
alone, the DJ has been at the center of popular music. Starting as little
more than a talking jukebox, the DJ is now a premier entertainer, producer,
businessman, and musician in his own right. Superstar DJs, from Junior
Vasquez to Sasha and Digweed, command worship and adoration from
millions, flying around the globe to earn tens of thousands of dollars for
one nights work. Increasingly, they are replacing live musicians as the
central figures of the music industry. In Last Night a DJ Saved My Life,
music journalists Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton have written the first
comprehensive history of the mysterious and charismatic figure behind the
turntables -- part obsessive record collector, part mad scientist, part
intuitive psychologist of the party groove. From Englands rabid Northern
Soul scene to the birth of disco in New York, from the sound systems of

Jamaica to the scratch wars of early hip-hop in the Bronx, from Chicago
house to Detroit techno to London rave, DJs are responsible for most of
the significant changes in music over the past forty years. Drawing on in-
depth interviews with DJs, critics, musicians, record executives, and the
revelers at some of the centurys most legendary parties, Last Night a DJ
Saved My Life is nothing less than the life story of dance music.
Personal Review: Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of
the Disc Jockey by Frank Broughton
Written by two former editors of Mixmag (the magazine bible of club culture
and dance music), this 400-page book provides a deep, well-researched
history of the club DJ. It follows the evolution of the live performance DJ
from a human record changer, to a macro mixer of individual platters, to a
micro mixer of record segments and sounds, to a full-fledged music
producer. In doing so the authors document the impact that DJs had on the
music itself, first in selecting what they played, later in demanding what
they needed, and lastly in creating what they wanted.
Although the book opens with a short chapter on radio DJs (all of twenty-
one pages), this story is about the club DJ's rise to musicianship. The book
charts the live DJ's beginnings as a record spinner in large halls, follows
the DJ-fueled Northern Soul scene in the UK, threads in the revolutionary
work of Jamaican DJ sound systems, and returns to the US for a lengthy
exposition on disco, hip-hop, house and beyond.
The disco chapters, though at times devolving into discussion that's more
of the music than the DJs, are among the book's most interesting. They
explore the movement's organic New York roots, contrasting them sharply
to the genre's publicly refuted commercial apogee. One might argue with
their contention that the "disco sucks" backlash was a homophobic
reaction (particularly when they do such a good job of describing the
commercial overexposure that led to disco's mainstream repudiation), but
their descriptions of the era's seminal underground clubs and DJs bring
context to disco that was completely lost in its mainstream incarnation.
Two chapters on hip hop show both its evolutionary and revolutionary
forward steps, with the DJ becoming a producer and musician. Fresh
interviews with the major players are skillfully woven into a compelling
narrative of the genre's birth and growth. Club music's transitions between
house, techno, garage and other variants are layered with reporting on the
stage-setting cultural environments and geographic movements of key
players. These latter chapters read more as anthropological catalogs than
the you-are-there accounts of disco, so while they're informative, they're a
bit dry.
A good deal of the text devolves into a history of the music, leaving the
DJs temporarily on the sideline. But given the intimate intertwining of DJs
and music, and the reciprocal impact they had on each other, this is
probably unavoidable. Unless you're an avid dance music fan, some of the

authors' points, hinged upon references to specific songs, will fail to
resonate.
The authors make a compelling argument for the DJ at the center of the
vortex that created disco and morphed it into house, techno, acid house
and more. Unlike music that was a product of artists, record companies
and radio, dance music is a product of dancers, clubs, DJs and producers,
with the latter two categories merging more and more over time. The
added element of geographical isolation is shown to have had a major
impact on numerous scenes (northern UK, New York, Chicago, Detroit,
Europe) and the development of their respective musics, and the
commercial needs for starless music created a vacuum into which DJs
could step.
Though this is very well written, though there are nits to pick. Their anti-
academic disclaimer is unnecessarily reactionary, and not even particularly
true given the amount of original research they conducted. Their text on
drug influences ignores numerous earlier drug/music interactions, such as
in jazz and rock. Their lack of detail on radio DJs is a reasonable choice,
but one not explained by the book's title or subhead. Their geography is
UK/US-centric, and limited in the US mostly to New York, Chicago and
Detroit. Whether or not those three cities were host to the only innovations
worth reporting upon is questionable.
Structurally the book follows a linear timelines through the disco era, but
later chapters have timelines that overlap. For the unschooled, it's difficult
to really see how innovations in different places were influencing each
other. The book's appendices include priceless club charts that provide
useful guidance in assembling a soundtrack but it's unclear where these
charts came from.
Quibbles aside, this is a great read for anyone who wants to learn about
the DJ's critical role in the development of dance music. For disco, in
particular, the DJ booth point provides an excellent view into the scene's
true history. Brewster and Broughton write lively, engaging copy and have
based it on thorough original research. Highly recommended! [©2007
hyperbolium dot com]
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