He is a singer, a songwriter, a recording artist, record producer, an independent dance music mogul and one of the hottest dance music remixers to emanate out of Chicago. Georgie Porgie, greatly influenced during the infancy of House music, has gone on to create his own blend of thumpin’ Chicago dance beats and in your face infectious rhythmic grooves.
His first dance single to heat up the charts was the funky "Let The Music Pump You Up". His follow up releases, "Straw-berry," "Everybody Must Party," "I’m In Love" and "Don’t Want You" found their rightful place on international DJ and radio playlists. However, it was 1999’s "Love Story" that positioned Georgie for worldwide acclaim on both the dance club and pop charts. His song "Sunshine" hit #1 in August 2005 and he played a sizzling set on Saturday at Halsted Street’s Market Days.
In 2000 Georgie wrote his inspirational song "Life Goes On" and earned the title of "The Ambassador of Dance Music." Georgie lends his remixing talents to pop, urban and dance artists alike. His remix credits include Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Crystal Waters, Dina Carroll, Mary J. Blige, Jody Watley, Zhane, Tag Team, GT-Express and Azul Azul to name a few. Georgie eventually launched his own independent dance record label, Music Plant and Vinyl Soul. Here, Georgie shares with us his thoughts on dance music, radio and life.
What turned you on to House?
What turned me onto House music was the radio. I loved music that was uptempo and had a great hook. Music with a soul.
What was the progression of your career? Did you start out singing and then move into songwriting and producing?
I would have to say songwriter, then singer, then producer. The gift of song came the first time I wrote. After that came the question – could I do it again? Then came overcoming the fear of singing and learning to find your voice… Then I dove into producing great songs with the soul that I had first heard on the radio!
What made you decide to start your own label?
Out of Chicago we didn’t have many outlets and the few we had left me in their waiting rooms. I can laugh about that today! That motivated me to create my own… I went after the dream and the dream really came true!
How is house music different now than it was back in the ’80s or early ’90s?
The difference now is that the DJs are not supporting vocals as much… In the ’80s and ’90s there always was a great percentage of vocal in the mix.
How do you think we can get the youth to plug into House music more these days as opposed to the over-saturation we’re seeing with hiphop?
Great question! I wish everyone in the Dance community and beyond would stop thinking that radio is not needed. Start playing vocal records again in the clubs and on the mixshows…
Then we need to put pressure back on radio to give us our slots back, the same way hiphop muscled their way into radio slots. And they didn’t even have the legs in the club arena.
There is nothing we can’t accomplish with Dance music if we come together and unite.
Tell us about your new project "Love, Life and Be Happy."
It is an album that I hope people will put on and let play… so by the end of the album it will have put them in a better place than they where before they started listening. I can only wish that it will lift peoples spirits and move them to act out kind gestures onto others in society.
What are your thoughts on the club scene in Chicago musically?
First let me say I am proud that we still have a club scene, since radio does not play any dance music in regular rotation anymore.
But my one gripe is that the DJs need to step up where radio has failed. They need to start playing vocal in their sets. Not only do people like to hear vocals, they are in the clubs to escape their day to day grind… and when they play instrumentals all night long they are doing nothing for the scene. By playin’ tracks all night… there is nothin’ to drive the general public into the stores for them to purchase, which then affects the stores, which then effects the labels and then it comes right around to back to the DJ.
You might say how? Well, the label doesn’t sell enough records to be able to give that DJ paid remixes, good advances on singles or even a job within the industry at a label or a record store.
It is very simple. The money needs to circulate in our community and it needs to circulate from the general public. We need to sell records beyond the DJ. We need the general public to purchase our records. Look at how hiphop has taken all of our dollars. These hiphop records are more geared for the dancefloor now than they’ve ever been.
On a positive note our music is so strong that in the adversity of no radio play, we still exist as a community.
