DJ Casper, the Chicago legend who created the world-famous “Cha-Cha Slide,” has died. Casper’s wife, Kim, told Chicago’s ABC7 that the musician, born Willie Perry Jr., died Monday following a seven-year battle with cancer. He was 58.
Born and raised in Chicago, Casper gained worldwide fame when “Cha Cha Slide” was released. The hitmaker created the song and dance in 1998 as an aerobic exercise for his nephew’s personal trainer nephew’s aerobics class. The song was originally released under the title “Casper Slide Pt. 1” and after the song gained traction in local fitness clubs, Casper released a new version in 2000, “Casper Slide Pt. 2.” That song made it to the radio, and after Chicago’s M.O.B. Records became involved, it reached further fame, eventually becoming what is known today as “Cha Cha Slide.” The hit song reached No. 1 on the U.K. Singles chart in 2004, and Casper went on to release an accompanying album, Cha-Cha Slide: The Original Slide Album, per The Guardian.
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“When I first did it, I did it as an aerobic exercise for my nephew at Bally’s. From there, it just took off. Elroy Smith from WGCI grabbed ahold of it,” Casper previously told ABC7. “I have one of the biggest songs that played at all stadiums: hockey, basketball, football, baseball; they played it at the Olympics. It was something that everybody could do.”
In that same interview, Casper revealed that he had to stop touring and playing gigs after he was diagnosed with cancer. Casper, who also suffered a brain aneurysm at 22 and underwent eye surgery for detached retinas, was diagnosed with kidney and liver cancer in 2016. Although he announced in 2019 that his cancer was in remission, it later returned. Opening up about his health with ABC7 in May, he said, “I used to weigh 236 pounds, and I think I’m about 60 pounds less. If you know me, you know I’m not going to stop. I’m going to continue to go. I’m going to continue to go until I can’t go.” He added, “Anybody that’s going through cancer, know that you have cancer and cancer does not have you. “So, keep on doing the ‘Cha Cha Slide.’”
Amid news of his passing, many have taken to social media to pay tribute to the “Cha Cha Slide” creator, with one person remembering him as “an immeasurable and integral part of seemingly every inter-generational celebration I’ve ever attended.”
