Steven Hurley

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"Steve Hurley" redirects here. For the singer with Cockney Rebel, see Steve Harley.

Steven Hurley (born November 9, 1962, in Chicago, Illinois) is a pioneering house music producer and club DJ.

[edit] Career

He has released songs under the stage name of Steve "Silk" Hurley and, with vocalist Keith Nunnally, had many hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart as J.M. Silk, including "I Can't Turn Around," which hit Number one in 1986.

His track, "Jack Your Body" was also a hit on the UK Singles Chart, reaching Number one for two weeks in January and February 1987, despite Hurley's refusal to promote it. This was the UK's first house music chart topper, and paved the way for the acid house sound popular there during the late 1980s. Notably however, the track broke the chart rules, as the 12-inch format exceeded the then current 25 minute time limit. In spite of "Jack Your Body"'s success, Hurley has had no further singles (under his own name) reach the UK Chart, thus condemning him to a premature one-hit wonder label.

Hurley has also worked as a prominent remixer re-working tracks for the likes of Madonna ("Take A Bow"), Jennifer Lopez ("Aint It Funny"), Brandy (entertainer) ("What About Us"), En Vogue ("Strange"), CeCe Peniston ("We Got A Love Thang", "Keep on Walkin", "I'm Not Over You", "I'm In The Mood"), Dannii Minogue ("Baby Love"), Taylor Dayne ("I'll Wait"), Diana Ross ("You're Gonna Love It"), Crystal Waters ("Makin Happy"), Prince (musician) ("Gett Off"), Black Box (band) ("Fantasy") and The Party which was a band comprised of five Mickey Mouse Club cast members ("Free").

In addition to remixing songs, Steve "Silk" Hurley has also worked as a record producer. Among the noteworthy dance/pop crossover hits for which Hurley is credited as the producer are Jomanda's "Got A Love For You" (#40 Billboard Hot 100 Singles, #1 Billboard Dance/Club Play, #66 Billboard R&B), Kym Sims' "Too Blind To See It" (#38 Billboard Hot 100 Singles, #5 Billboard Dance/Club Play), CeCe Peniston's "We Got A Love Thang" (#20 Billboard Hot 100 Singles, #1 Billboard Dance/Club Play), and Clubland featuring Zemya Hamilton's "Hold On Tighter To Love" (#79 Billboard Hot 100 Singles, #1 Billboard Dance/Club Play).