The Music Got Me By Visual
"The Music Got Me" by Visual was released on Prelude Records in 1983. It was produced by New York musicians Boyd Jarvis and Timmy Regisford.
A Garage Staple That Inspired Chicago
"The Music Got Me" came out of the New York Garage scene, and was championed by Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage. It also became a big hit in Chicago and was played by legendary Chicago DJs: Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, Wayne Williams and The Hot Mix 5.
The Music Got Me By Visual
The First House Record?
It has been claimed that "The Music Got Me" is the first house record. The track features musical elements that would be incorporated into house music, and it certainly sounds like a house record, but there are a few problems with the claim.
The main problem is that this record is from New York and isn't connected to the scene in Chicago. There are a lot of records before this record that aren't from Chicago, but also sound like house music. House music is understood as a genre originally from Chicago, and that's a core part of the definition of house music.
The second problem is that this record sounds like a house record from 1986 or 1987, not a house record from 1984 or 1985. Therefore it's difficult to claim that house producers were doing something similar in the early days of house, or that Chicago producers were just copying New York.
Another problem is that this is a version of the "house music was invented in New York" meme. If house music was invented in New York then there is really only garage, and what about all the house music that doesn't sound anything like Garage. Accepting this claim also opens a door to similar claims about Italo and Canadian disco.
The Demo Version
There was a demo version of "The Music Got Me" that became known in New York, even though it was never released at the time. This version was called Stomp. It was copied to tape and given to a small number of club DJs to test in clubs, but it became known mainly by being played on the radio in New York. Timmy Regisford & Merlin Bobb had a popular radio show on WBLS 107.5 FM, which meant the demo track was played to millions of New York dance music fans. The demo was re-recorded and released as "The Music Got Me" in 1983, but the original demo was eventually also released on Shelter Records in 1997.