‘The Voice of House Music’, Chuck Roberts, has passed away

Chicago house pioneer, Chuck Roberts, has sadly passed away yesterday, June 7th, 2024.

Chuck Roberts was hailed as the most recognizable voice in house music for his spoken word tracks, such as his hit track with Rhythm Controll’s track ‘My House’, often dubbed as “the house music gospel”.

Fellow Chicago DJ/producer, Terry Hunter, who helped Roberts rerelease ‘In The Beginning (There Was Jack)’ in 2018, took to Facebook to express his condolences “I can’t believe I’m writing this! RIP Chuck The Voice Roberts!!!!“, says the post.

Chuck Roberts grew to love music at an early age when he started singing in local church choirs until he joined his first band at thirteen. He revealed during an interview that he quickly shifted from religious performances to funk upon first hearing Santana‘s ‘Black Magic Woman’. His first taste of fame came during the 1987 release of Mister‘s ‘I Wanna Thank You’.

‘My House’ was Roberts’ biggest success and cemented him as a true house music pioneer. According to Chicago producer Tony Lewis, he called Roberts in the middle of the night and told Roberts he needed someone with a religious background to explain to him what “house music” is on the record. Roberts recounted that he spoke the words before he ever even them and that the iconic sample was recorded in about five takes.

Roberts final releases included his 2020 track ‘I Choose To Live’ and was featured on Illusionize and DJ Glen‘s 2024 track ‘Oscillator’ .

There have been no public knowledge of any memorial arrangements at this time. We Rave You would like to send our sincereest condolences to the family and friends of Chuck Roberts.