DJing is the act of playing existing recorded music for a live audience.
History
The modern DJ's role as a performer who creates a seamless and extended mix of music for a dance party or club atmosphere evolved from radio personalities who introduced and played individual selections of recorded music on broadcast radio stations. In 1935, American radio commentator Walter Winchell coined the term "disc jockey" to describe radio announcer Martin Block, the first radio announcer to gain widespread fame for playing popular recorded music over the air.
In 1943, radio DJ Jimmy Savile launched the world's first DJ dance party by playing jazz records in the upstairs function room of the Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherds in Otley, England. In 1947, he claims to have become the first DJ to use twin turntables for continuous play, and in 1958 became a radio DJ at Radio Luxembourg. Also in 1947, the Whiskey à Go-Go nightclub opened in Paris, France, considered to be the world's first commercial discothèque, or disco . Regine began playing on two turntables there in 1953. Discos began appearing across Europe and the United States.
In the 1950s, American radio DJs appeared live at sock hops and "platter parties" and assume the role of a human jukebox. They usually played 45-rpm records, featuring hit singles on one turntable while talking between songs. In some cases, a live drummer was hired to play beats between songs to maintain the dance floor. In 1955, Bob Casey, a well-known "sock hop" DJ, brought the two-turntable system to the U.S.
In the late 1950s, sound systems, a new form of public entertainment, were developed in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica. Promoters, who called themselves DJs, threw large parties in the streets that centered on the disc jockey, called the "selector," who played dance music from large, loud PA systems and bantered over the music with a boastful, rhythmic chanting style called "toasting". These parties quickly became profitable for the promoters, who sold admission, food, and alcohol, leading to fierce competition between DJs for the biggest sound systems and newest records.