Jesse Saunders is an American house music artist, DJ, record producer, film producer, and entrepreneur. His 1984 single, "On & On", co-written with Vince Lawrence, was the first house record to be pressed and sold to the public. Since his emergence as a DJ, Saunders has run several independent labels and worked extensively in music and film production, as well as artist promotion and management. He is also a long-time member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120-130 beats per minute as a re-emergence of 1970s disco. It originated in the Black queer community in Chicago. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.