Chicago house is the earliest style of house music. House music originated in a Chicago, Illinois nightclub called the Warehouse, which many hold to be the origin of the term "house music". DJ Frankie Knuckles originally popularized house music while working at the Warehouse.

House music grew out of the post-disco dance club culture of the early 1980s. After disco became popular, certain urban DJs, particularly those in gay communities, altered the music to make it less pop-oriented. The beat became more mechanical and the bass grooves became deeper, while elements of electronic synth pop, Latin soul, dub, rap, and jazz were grafted over the music's insistent, unvarying 4/4 beat. Frequently, the music was purely instrumental and when there were vocalists, they were faceless female divas that often sang wordless melodies.