Mike "Hitman" Wilson

Last updated

Mike "Hitman" Wilson
Born Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres House
Occupation(s)
  • DJ
  • record producer
  • remixer

Michael A. Wilson is an American DJ and producer from Chicago. Initially a later member of Hot Mix 5, he later diversified into production; his 1990 single, "Another Sleepless Night", charted on the UK Singles Chart at No. 74, and when re-released in 1991 credited to Shawn Christopher, charted at No. 50. He also produced works by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, New Order, Mr. Lee, 808 State, and Ghost Town DJ's, and has been named as an influence by Octave One and Neal Howard.

Contents

Life and career

Hot Mix 5

Michael A. Wilson [1] is from Chicago. [2] He started off as a promoter, but deputised after the club's DJ couldn't make it; enjoying the experience, he began DJing at all his parties. He became friends with Farley "Jackmaster" Funk of Hot Mix 5, [3] a collective of DJs formed in 1981 for WBMX's Saturday Night Live Ain’t No Jive Chicago Dance Party, [4] after inviting him to spin a set at one of them; one day Funk let Wilson deputise for him, and from that guest spot Wilson became a member of the Hot Mix 5, [3] joining between the departure of Ralphi "Rockin" Rosario, Kenny "Jammin" Jason, and Mickey "Mixin" Oliver to WGCI-FM's copycat Jackmasters program in July 1986 and the latter's cancellation in February 1987. [5]

While at WBMX, in order to differentiate himself as the new boy, he began reediting tracks, such as adding intros and breaks, to make them easier to mix in and out of; from this, he began remixing them. [3] He stayed at WBMX until 1988, when Barry Mayo took over the station and fired all of its staff. [5] He then entered the DMC World DJ Championships with his friend Bad Boy Bill; afraid of losing his reputation, he produced a number of house tracks as insurance, on the grounds that if he performed poorly, he had production to fall back on. While there, he met Tony Prince and showed him his records, which led to Prince offering him a job as a DMC producer. [3]

Production

In 1988, Wilson and Steve "Silk" Hurley produced "Brides of Frankenstein", a Chicago house megamix of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark songs, [6] which charted at No. 7 on the American Dance Club Songs chart, [7] and when released as the B-side to "Call My Name", [8] charted at No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart. [9] The following year he produced New Order's "MTO", which when released in 1989 as the B-side to "Run 2", [10] charted at No. 49 on the UK Singles Chart, [11] and a remix of Mr. Lee's "Get Busy", [12] which charted at No. 41 on the UK Singles Chart. [13]

After meeting Rick Rock at Milton Lee Olive Park's jazz festival and offering to produce him, he suggested that Wilson instead produce his mother, Shawn Christopher; Wilson met her after she played with Nick Tremulis at the Riviera Theatre. [14] He produced "Another Sleepless Night", [14] which was initially released in September 1990 as "Mike "Hitman" Wilson featuring Shawn Christopher", [15] and appeared on an Arista Records compilation album; [14] with this credit, the song charted at No. 74 on the UK Singles Chart. [15] After the song topped the Dance Club Songs chart, Clive Davis summoned Christopher into his office, and convinced her to rerelease the song under the name "Shawn Christopher", on the grounds that she was the artist; [14] with this credit, the song charted at No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart. [15] Wilson also produced her subsequent work "Don't Lose the Magic", [16] which charted at No. 30 on the UK Singles Chart. [15]

In 1993, he remixed 808 State's "10 × 10", [17] which charted at No. 67 on the UK Singles Chart. [18] In 1996, he released a Club Mix of "My Boo" by Ghost Town DJ's, which popularised the song; writing in September 2022, Pitchfork's Samhita Mukhopadhyay complimented its "extended three minutes of atmospheric groove over Virgo Williams’ haunting vocals", and the publication declared his version the 74th best song of the 1990s, [19] one of 53 R&B songs on that list. [20] In the 2010s, Octave One [21] and Neal Howard named him as an influence. [22]

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<i>The Best of OMD</i> 1988 compilation album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)</span> 1979 single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Call My Name (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)</span> 1991 single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Souvenir (song)</span> 1981 single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everyday (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)</span> 1993 single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shame (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)</span> 1987 single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

"Shame" is a song by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released as the third single taken from their 1986 album, The Pacific Age, although it is a re-recording made after the album's release, presumably in early 1987, and was produced by Rhett Davies.

"Brides of Frankenstein" is a medley of excerpts from various Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) songs mixed with dance rhythms by Mike "Hitman" Wilson and Steve "Silk" Hurley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Another Sleepless Night (Shawn Christopher song)</span> 1990 single by Shawn Christopher

"Another Sleepless Night" is a song written and produced by Mike "Hitman" Wilson, and recorded by American dance music singer Shawn Christopher. The single, released in November 1990 by Arista as the lead off track from the album of the same name (1992), was the first of two number ones on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for the Chicago-born artist, reaching the top spot in February 1991. It also charted at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, the song was released in 1991, and again in 1999, peaking at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart and number eight on the UK Dance Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Lose the Magic</span> 1992 single by Shawn Christopher

"Don't Lose the Magic" is a 1992 dance/house song recorded by American singer Shawn Christopher, which was co-written by Mike "Hitman" Wilson, Shawn's brother Gavin Christopher and Bill Dickens, and co-produced by Wilson with Neal Howard, Chris Cooke, George Hess and engineer Goh Hotoda. The single was the follow-up to "Another Sleepless Night", as well as her second number-one single on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, reaching the top spot on March 28, 1992, for two weeks. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it peaked at number 71, while in the United Kingdom, it reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart, her highest chart position there. A 1999, remix of the song also hit the US Dance chart.

References

  1. ↑ "WILSON MICHAEL A". ASCAP . Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  2. ↑ DMX, Ed (January 22, 2014). "The 20 best acid house records ever made". Fact Magazine. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Artist Profile: Mike "Hitman" Wilson". January 7, 2011. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  4. ↑ "WBMX And The Hot Mix 5 - The Beat Chicago". June 9, 2023. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Salkind, Micah E. (2019). Do You Remember House?: Chicago's Queer of Color Undergrounds. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-069841-6.
  6. ↑ Shawhan, Jason (June 30, 2016). "Opening for Barenaked Ladies, OMD returns to Nashville with 35-plus-year-spanning catalog that still shines". Nashville Scene. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Brides Of Frankenstein Chart History | Billboard". Billboard . September 24, 2019. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  8. ↑ "charts.org.nz - OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark) - Brides Of Frankenstein". charts.nz. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  9. ↑ "ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK". Official Charts. February 9, 1980. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  10. ↑ Hook, Peter (October 6, 2016). Substance: Inside New Order. Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN   978-1-4711-3243-8.
  11. ↑ "NEW ORDER". Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  12. ↑ "BB-1989-11-04.pdf" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  13. ↑ "MR LEE". Official Charts. August 15, 1987. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Hart, Hugh (June 26, 1991). "Here's the flip side of a family success story: Son gives mom a break". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Betts, Graham (2006). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2006. Collins. ISBN   978-0-00-720077-1.
  16. ↑ "MW-1992-03-07.pdf" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Hit-Music-1993-06-26.pdf" (PDF). Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  18. ↑ "808 STATE". Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  19. ↑ Pitchfork Staff (September 27, 2022). "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s". Pitchfork . Retrieved October 21, 2022. The track didn't take off until Chicago house legend DJ Mike "Hitman" Wilson put out his remix...
  20. ↑ "The 53 Best R&B Songs of the '90s". Pitchfork. November 3, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Octave One". DMC World . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  22. ↑ blokclub (July 16, 2013). "DJ Neal (Rockford, IL.)". Blok Club TV. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
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