"Cha Cha Slide" Creator DJ Casper Dead at 58 After Cancer Battle
The music world has lost a star.
DJ Casper, the creator of the "Cha Cha Slide," died on Aug. 7 at the age of 58, his wife Kim confirmed to Chicago's ABC7.
Casper's passing comes after a yearslong battle with cancer.
"They diagnosed me in 2016 with two forms of cancer, which is renal and Neuroendocrine, which is kidney and liver," he told ABC7 anchor Samantha Chatman in May. "So, they went in to try to do surgery and they found out that the kidney was connected to the main artery. So, they decided not to do it. They decided to just treat it."
The artist, also known as Mr. C The Slide Man, underwent chemotherapy, according to the website for his Casper Classic Radio. In 2019, Casper told ABC7 that he was in remission. However, his cancer later returned. Still, Casper never gave up hope.
"If you know me, you know I'm not gonna stop," he told the news organization in May. "I'm gonna continue to go. I will continue to go ‘til I can't go."
Born Willie Perry Jr., Casper grew up in Englewood, Chicago. According to his Casper Classic Radio bio, he was called Casper because he almost always wore white clothing during his performances.
As for how his famous line dance came to be, the website states that Casper created the "Casper Slide Pt. 1"—a.k.a. the "Cha Cha Slide"—for his nephew, who worked as a trainer at Bally Total Fitness in 1998. Two years later, he released the "Casper Slide Pt. 2," with his bio noting it caught the attention of Elroy Smith from Chicago's radio station WGCI-FM.
The song rose to the top of the charts, reaching the no. 1 spot in the U.K. More than two decades later, it continues to slide into fans' hearts on the dance floor. In fact, Casper—who also shared his talents with radio station WVAZ V103 and his own Casper Classic Radio—even made a cameo on season six of Orange Is the New Black, where they played his hit.
And his song and legacy will continue to live on.
"Anybody that's going through cancer, know that you got cancer and cancer don't have you," Casper previously told ABC7. "So keep on doing the 'Cha Cha Slide.'"
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