Its insistent, stabbing, rhythmic, chord vamp style would be heard on many Chicago house records a decade and a half later. You can clearly hear early versions of staccato house piano chords on “ Bad Luck” by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes from 1973, which MFSB performed. The other members of MFSB adapted to the increased tempo and complex Latin poly-rhythms of much of PIR’s output, tightening up their licks, each part rigidly uniform and precise so it could fit in the intricate arrangements. Drummer Earl Young pioneered the disco beat - a 4/4 kick drum, snare on the second and fourth beat, hissing hi-hat in between - which became the house beat we’re still dancing to today. Pioneering Philadelphia International Records (PIR) band MFSB were behind many pre-disco and early disco records, and, musically speaking, have a lot to answer for. And when listening back to certain disco records, pre-echos of what would become the classic house music piano riff can clearly be heard. The earliest house productions continued and reinterpreted many aspects of older disco records. The musical DNA of house music, and specifically its roots in disco, is key to the piano’s musical effectiveness. If the guitar is associated with rock and blues music, brass instruments is jazz, and piano is house.” House music is the inheritor of disco music, which comes from R&B and gospel, where the piano has a leading role. “There is nothing else in music that gives you that uplifting feeling of happiness and freedom than a good piano chord progression. Singer-songwriter Rachel Row released “ To Love You ” on Running Back in 2019 with KiNK, a massive tune featuring a jubilant piano riff, old-school breaks and a warping bassline. When done well, a decent piano tune can attain anthem status. Usually it’s euphoric, sometimes it’s dark, but it’s always emotive. The surrounding production and beats may change and the tempo might vary, but house music producers have continually returned to the piano riff: a two-, three- or four-chord progression, played rhythmically and percussively, usually in the mid-range of the piano. Following this belief, Jefferson - who’d never played an instrument in his life - set his sequencer to a crawling 40 beats per minute, allowing him to play piano parts for his seminal “ Move Your Body ,” and 34 years later, we’re still dancing to the awesome power of a fully operational house piano riff. In his autobiography, Diary Of A DJ, Jefferson asserts that Led Zeppelin sped up the tapes on one of their albums so that they would appear to be virtuoso musicians who could effortlessly play complex music quickly. As a kid, Marshall Jefferson loved Led Zeppelin.
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