August 8th 2023.
Sadly, the DJ behind the iconic line dance, the "Cha Cha Slide," has passed away at age 58 following a battle with cancer. According to ABC 7 Chicago, DJ Casper, otherwise known as Willie Perry Jr, died on Monday.
The Chicago native rose to fame in the early 2000s with his signature dance hit. It still remains a popular choice for getting the party started to this day. His wife confirmed that the famed DJ was surrounded by family and friends when he lost his battle with cancer.
In May, Casper appeared for his last television interview. During the interview, he opened up about his diagnosis and how it had started to slow down his career. "They diagnosed me in 2016 with two kinds of cancer, which is renal and Neuroendocrine, which is kidney and liver," he said. "They went in to try to do surgery, and they found out the kidney was connected to the main artery, so they decided not to do it and just treat it."
He also spoke about how the cancer had impacted his health and weight. "I used to weigh 236 pounds, and I think I'm about 60 pounds less," he said. He then added, "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."
DJ Casper first recorded the song under the title "Casper Slide Pt. 1," in 1998 for his nephew's personal trainer aerobics class. It started to gain traction in local fitness clubs, prompting Casper to record and release a new version in 2000 dubbed the "Casper Slide Pt. 2." The second rendition earned him radio play and caught the attention of Chicago’s M.O.B. Records, which helped him catapult the song by 2004. The song eventually reached No. 1 on the Singles chart that year in the UK, Scotland, and Ireland Dance charts.
Casper spoke about the success of the song, saying, "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."
The late DJ left some words of wisdom to others battling cancer. He wanted to remind them to keep going and keep on doing the "Cha Cha Slide." "Anybody that's going through cancer, know that you have cancer and cancer does not have you," he said. "So, keep on doing the 'Cha Cha Slide.'"
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