12 Classic House Music 12-Inch Records You Should Know

Gotta have house. Music. All night long.

This post exists entirely because of reader feedback.

After I posted my first deep dive into the best 12-inch disco remixes and their lasting influence on dance music culture, I received comments and DMs that cited other club bangers I didn’t have the space to cover.

In short, it was clear this sequel was warranted.

This post shares my thoughts on 12 more 12-inch records, focusing on a dozen classic house music tracks that continue to garner spins and remixes in clubs worldwide. When I was a working DJ, these songs never failed to get dancefloors all hot and bothered.

Before you scroll past that divider, a quick reminder to subscribe if you haven’t already. If you enjoy this newsletter’s content, consider sharing it with friends and family. It’s the best way to support this (forever) free music community.

---

Let’s get after it:

1. “Blue Monday” by New Order (1983)

I’m sure I’m not the only one who can’t discuss house music history without mentioning New Order or, more specifically, “Blue Monday.”

It’s the most commercially successful 12-inch single of all time, partly due to the success of various remixes, including “Blue Monday ‘88.” It cracked the Top 10 in more than 10 countries and spent an astounding 186 weeks on the UK Independent Singles Chart. Rolling Stone has since named it one of the 250 greatest tracks ever made.

What’s most awe-inspiring about “Blue Monday” is how fresh it still sounds. Despite being made before computers and MIDI, it doesn’t come across as dated or out of step with contemporary electronic music. If anything, it still seamlessly blends into DJ sets that feature chart-topping house compositions.

“I don’t really see it as a song,” Sumner explained to NME. “I see it more as a machine designed to make people dance. It comes on in a club and it sounds so powerful, like standing next to a ship’s engine. I was in a club in Berlin [where] they were playing some really good, modern house music, then ‘Blue Monday’ came on and it just sounded great – even [up] against modern production.”

2. “Pacific State” by 808 State (1989)

Released a little over a month before the 80s became the 90s, “Pacific State” is an odd mishmash of sonic textures. Over top of a stuttering acid house groove, you have some thin synths, loon call recordings, Caribbean percussion, and a saxophone played by composer, producer, and engineer Graham Massey. Oh, and at one point, the song is played in reverse.

I’m referring to this specific version of the song, too. There are endless edits and variations on the main melody and theme, including the 7-inch edit, “Pacific 707,” and the mix included on 90, “Pacific 202.” Even with the hundreds of additional remixes that have dropped over the years, those core elements helped this track stand the test of time.

"I've been playing that song for about 25 years and it's so weird in my head,” Massey said. "At the time we did the various recordings, I didn't over-think it. But now that it's viewed as something of a classic, I'm kind of forced to see it in a different way […] every time I perform 'Pacific State' I try to do it differently in order to get something out of it. It's a great track to improvise on when we do concerts; we've stretched it into all kinds of shapes and I've found ways of re‑loving it […].”

3. “Where Love Lives (Come On In)” by Alison Limerick (1990)

Okay—everything about this song screams “anthem.” The funky opening piano riff, the sharpness of the snare and cymbals, and the majesty of Alison Limerick’s voice. It’s not a vanilla-sounding club track or unusual enough to date itself with early-90s experimental tropes. Its timelessness is a matter of record, with BBC Radio and DJ Mag proclaiming it one of the best dance cuts ever.

According to Limerick, covering jazz legend Billie Holiday helped her get the gig. “At the time I was involved with this glorified fashion show at the ICA in London which involved singers, jugglers and other performers rather than models,” she told Defected. “I sang ‘God Bless The Child,’ and [writer/producer Latti Kronlund] was in the audience. He apparently told people afterwards that he absolutely had to work with me […].”

The “Classic Mix,” produced by house music legends Frankie Knuckles and David Morales, is the version most people still hear in nightclubs and the one I used to play often as a DJ. “Probably of all the songs I've worked on, this is the most lyrical—musically it says everything,” Knuckles told Music Week in 1994

4. “Love Can’t Turn Around” by Farley “Jackmaster” Funk (1986)

Released in 1986 by EMI, “Love Can’t Turn Around” is the product of what was then the epicenter of house music—Chicago.

The track’s origins can be traced back to the 1975 Isaac Hayes single “I Can’t Turn Around.” Its earworm of a melody helped it become a mainstay at the Warehouse, the nightclub where Knuckles was instrumental in shaping this new subgenre of dance music. Steve “Silk” Hurley also recorded a house version of the Hayes song in 1986, which inspired his roommate, Farley “Jackmaster” Funk, to lay down a reinterpretation with producer Jesse Saunders.

Though you can still hear bits and pieces of the original, the pair swapped out the hook and lyrics for new ones written by Vince Lawrence and sung by Darryl Pandy. The result was nothing short of outstanding, crossing over into the UK mainstream (consistently a better judge of house music than America, by the way), peaking at No. 10 on their singles chart that fall.

Like “Where Love Lives,” the production has an uplifting quality that has maintained the song’s appeal decades after its initial release. You can’t help but get swept up in its euphoric refrain.

5. “Strings of Life” by Rhythim is Rhythim (1987)

Inarguably one of the most essential electronic music compositions of all time, Derrick May and Michael James’ “Strings of Life” opened the door that countless house and techno producers would walk through. Incredibly, the song doesn’t actually have a bassline. The combination of piano riffs and gigantic-sounding string samples gives the instrumental its otherworldly propulsion.

String arrangements have long been a staple of house music that connects with clubgoers on a spiritual level. Unsurprisingly, May told Mixmag his process always starts with that component. “80% of all my songs have always started with strings,” he explained. “It's like a mood, a frame of mind. I don't always end up using those strings but that's the way I start and from there I just build […] You should be able to make a track [that has] so much power that you don't need drums.”

As proof of concept, “Strings of Life” remains unequaled. It’s been sampled by Herbie Hancock, remixed, and rebooted to devastating effect in the years since its initial release, and still gets dropped into sets by A-list DJs worldwide. That slow, meticulous build to its musical climax isn’t just a display of tactical brilliance production-wise—it guides you to a moment of total emotional release.

6. “Beautiful People (Underground Network Mix)” by Barbara Tucker (1994)

The original version of “Beautiful People,” Barbara Tucker’s first single with the Strictly Rhythm imprint, is a perfectly fine dance track. It’s got a solid disco-style groove that would be at home in a main room or lounge setting. However, the Underground Network remix gives it the flavor that stops you in your tracks.

What makes this 12-inch unique is how perfectly it balances different musical elements. The vocals soar with incomparable gospel might, egged on by slinky organ playing that roots the production in the church as well as the club. The central beat is equal parts jittery and smooth, epitomizing the UK and New York garage style that’s returned to mainstream prominence in the past few years (looking at you, Charli XCX).

But, really, it’s all about Tucker’s vocal, which was later sampled by Master at Work’s Louie Vega for Hardrive’s “Deep Inside” and, eventually, Kanye West for 2016’s “Fade.” It’s one of the most recognizable performances in house music history and, I suspect, will continue to penetrate deep into music fans’ souls for years to come.

7. “Missing (Todd Terry Club Mix)” by Everything But The Girl (1995)

Everything But the Girl songs tend to make excellent club remix fodder. Their most recent LP follows the same formula as “Missing” in that it already has several toes on the dancefloor. But, like their collaboration with Todd Terry, remixes of EBTG tracks can elevate the overall listening experience significantly.

Part of that winning formula is Tracey Thorn’s voice. Her lower, cooler register and soulful approach behind the mic are right at home when set against deeper bass and more propulsive grooves. “Missing” is the best-known result of that alchemy, taking a jazzier indie starting point and crafting a classic that, like many club anthems, uses partying to grapple with unrequited love and the corresponding emotional detox.

Todd Terry’s remix also vaulted EBTG into the mainstream. The song peaked at No. 3 on the UK singles chart and No. 2 stateside. In total, “Missing” spent an astounding 55 weeks on the latter chart, making it one of the most enduring hits in Billboard’s history. It also cracked the Top 10 all over Europe and Asia and has become known as one of the go-to 90s house tracks to this day.

8. “Brighter Days (Masters At Work Remix) (ft. Dajae)” by Cajmere (1992)

Curtis Alan Jones, who goes by many aliases, including Cajmere and Green Velvet, is one of the most critical figures in house music during the past three decades. He founded two labels—Cajual and Relief—that issued 12-inch singles from big names like DJ Sneak, Paul Johnson, and many others. In 1992, only a year after he began releasing music under the Cajmere name, he scored his first solo hit with “Brighter Days.”

Of the remixes included on the original EP, the extended cut from Master At Work (the duo consisting of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez) is my favorite. It drops you right in the middle of Dajae’s uplifting vocal and thickens the bass in the original groove. Vega and Gonzalez initially made a name for themselves with more garage-style remixes, and you get a sense of that here.

Another note on Cajmere: He released another club smash in ‘92, the rawer “Percolator.” That track aligns more with the style Jones is primarily known for, especially as his career blossomed and his production touched more diverse subgenres. However, “Brighter Days” is a nice reminder of his compelling artistry when he gives his soulful side room to stretch his legs.

9. “Push the Feeling On (MK Dub Revisited)” by Nightcrawlers (1995)

“Push the Feeling On” is another example of a 12-inch remix that elevated the track from a pleasant diversion to a dance anthem that will still get a massive reaction from clubgoers. The original version by the Nightcrawlers—a jazzier, more nu-disco instrumental that dropped a full three years earlier—was a minor hit destined to be missed or forgotten by audiences.

Then, American DJ Marc Kinchen (MK) put his stamp on it, and the rest is history. The resulting remix, titled the “MK Dub Revisited,” became a Top 10 hit all over Europe, peaking at No. 3 in the UK. It was such a popular release that the Nightcrawlers replaced the original version with the remix as the lead single on their debut LP, aptly titled Let’s Push It.

I have to say that the saxophone loop is up there in terms of the most iconic house music samples of all time. Anytime you hear it, whether in a track from Pitbull or French Montana, it’s an instant sonic signifier of the good time you’re supposed to be having, ideally under some lasers or strobe lights.

10. “Free (Mood II Swing Extended Vocal Mix)” by Ultra Naté (1997)

Another world-class banger, “Free” comes from an unlikely source of inspiration: R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.”

“When I signed with [indie label] Strictly Rhythm, they basically gave me a blank cheque,” said Ultra Naté**. “**I teamed up with producers Mood II Swing and [said] I wanted guitars, because I was really into [that song] We wanted a rock song that would work in clubs, so the guitar line and the first verse (‘Where did we lose our faith?’) pull at your heartstrings, then it erupts into a clubby anthem. It was intentionally very different from what was happening in dance music.”

I talk regularly about the risk-reward equation that can deliver hit songs out of nowhere, and it’s a calculation “Free” executes spectacularly. It cracked the Top 10 in various European countries, Canada, and the US dance charts. It also continues to be a staple in gay clubs due partly to its central message of empowerment.

“Free was never political,” explains songwriter and producer Lem Springsteen, “but the gay community saw it as a song about empowerment and made it a huge anthem. But any group who wanted to be free could take it as their own.”

11. “Finally (12” Choice Mix)” by CeCe Peniston (1991)

I mean, duh.

“Finally” isn’t simply one of the most successful dance songs of the 90s—it’s one of the quintessential house anthems, period. It peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1992 and No. 2 on the UK Singles chart. In the three-plus decades since its initial release, it’s become a mainstay on all sorts of retro club and pop compilations worldwide.

The deft blend of R&B, pop, house, and a sprinkling of early dancehall framing Peniston’s powerhouse vocals make this 12-inch single an unstoppable force wherever it’s played. The singer, a former Arizona pageant queen, was just 21 when the track came out. She supposedly penned what later became the lyrics in a high school chemistry class.

"It was actually a poem that I had turned into a song, and it was the very first song that I had written,” she said. “At the time I didn't understand what it means to have a number one song, I really had no idea. They said you have a hit on your hands and you're going to have to go to Europe. All of a sudden I was traveling the world, one show turned into two, that little girl from Arizona was going everywhere! […] It was overwhelming.”

12. “U Don’t Know Me” by Armand Van Helden ft. Duane Harden (1999)

Last but not least, we come to one of my all-time favorite house music producers: Armand Van Helden.

In a career that spans more than 30 years, the Boston native has lent his name to so many terrific tracks it’s hard to pick just one for this list. However, the cut that made the biggest impression on me as a budding bedroom DJ, and the one I return to the most, is his Duane Harden collab, “U Don’t Know Me.”

Released at the tail end of the 90s, it acts as a lovely stylistic coda for the decade’s party scene. Built on the drum sample from another classic track, Jaydee’s “Plastic Dreams,” the instrumental is a hypnotic sequence of loops that Harden was tasked with singing over. His performance contains a sense of restraint that I’ve always admired.

With a beat this infectious, it’s no surprise this one raced up the dance music charts in several countries shortly after its January release. Though he was already established as a DJ and producer, this 12-inch added to and helped nurture Van Helden’s considerable legacy in the hearts of clubgoers.

---

Which of these 12-inch house tracks is your favorite? What bangers were left off this list? Sound off in the comments!