Big Fun

Album: Paradise (1988)
Charted: 8
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Songfacts®:

  • Having recorded a backing track in his Detroit home studio, producer Kevin Saunderson needed lyrics and a female vocalist. His buddy, Chicago house producer Terry Baldwin, suggested Chicago singer Paris Grey, who was already well known for her contributions to the club music scene. She agreed and "Big Fun" was born.

    Saunderson filed away the tape at his Detroit home base. Months later, UK dance entrepreneur Neil Rushton discovered the demo while looking for tracks for a compilation album, Techno - The New Dance Sound Of Detroit for Virgin Records. Rushton included the song on the album. It was soon released as a single and hit the British charts in a surprising crossover success.
  • One of the first songs within the Detroit techno genre of dance music, this popularized the sound on dance floors across the world. It also set the template for a decade of Inner City dance-pop hits, and was the first of five releases by the band to reach the top spot on the US dance chart.
  • A new version of the song was recorded in 2014 by D.O.N.S. with vocals by Terri B! on Carrillo Records. This new interpretation topped the US dance chart representing the first #1 for Carrillo, which had charted 31 tracks since 2008. D.O.N.S. told Billboard magazine: "'Big Fun' is the reason that I got infected with the 'House virus.' This song means the world to me."

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