Ron Hardy  Chicago, United States

Hardy started his career in 1974 in Chicago gay club Den One. Here, with a set-up of two turntables, a mixer and a reel-to-reel tape-deck, he played long nights of underground black dance music. Around 1977, after working with renowned DJ Frankie Knuckles at the iconic Chicago club the Warehouse, he went to work in Los Angeles. At the end of 1982, when Chicago's legendary Warehouse club closed and re-opened as the Powerhouse at another location, Hardy was asked to play at the old club, now renamed "The Music Box". Hardy of course competed with Powerhouse DJ (and former colleague) Frankie Knuckles, and he was very experimental in his playing style. Producer Chip E. introduced Hardy to recording music in 1986 when the two mixed "Donnie" by The It (featuring Chip E., Larry Heard, Robert Owens, and Harri Dennis). From humble beginnings, Hardy's contributions to House Music are considered mammoth.