Iconic 'Cha Cha Slide' creator DJ Casper dies aged 58
DJ Casper has died of cancer at the age of 58, his family have announced.
The musician, real name Willie Perry Jr, is best known for creating the legendary dance song the 'Cha Cha Slide', which pretty much everyone has participated in at some point whether that be at a birthday, wedding or other massive party where everyone's in a mood to dance.
According to ABC, DJ Casper's wife Kim confirmed that he had passed away surrounded by loved ones.
During his career he'd performed the 'Cha Cha Slide' in so many places while on tour and there's no denying that the tune was a global sensation.
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Sadly, his cancer diagnosis seven years ago brought an abrupt halt to much of the musical touring he could do and he couldn't get major surgery on it due to the location of the tumours.
The 'Cha Cha Slide' creator had spoken to ABC in the months before his death about the meteoric rise of the iconic song and the cancer diagnosis he received back in 2016.
He said: "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."
"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."
"They diagnosed me in 2016 with two kinds of cancer, which is renal and Neuroendocrine, which is kidney and liver. 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."
Tributes have poured in from across the world of music and DJ Casper's legions of fans as people have wanted to pay their respects to him.
One said it 'breaks my heart' to hear news of his death, while another said DJ Casper 'brought joy to so many'.
Plenty of others said they'd definitely be hitting the dancefloor in tribute to DJ Casper's memory, with someone saying they'd 'make a conscious effort to get on the floor when I hear [the Cha Cha Slide] play again'.
"His legacy will live on at every bar mitzvah, quinceanera and wedding," a fourth said, and there's no denying that DJ Casper's iconic song was the highlight of many a party night.
Nothing got people out of their seats and into lines on the dancefloor quite like the 'Cha Cha Slide'.
Joe Harker