DJ Casper, creator of 'Cha Cha Slide,' dies at 58

WASHINGTON (TND) — The mastermind behind a popular party song, the "Cha Cha Slide," has died at 58.

DJ Casper, whose real name is Willie Perry Jr., died after a battle with cancer, his wife told ABC7.

In May, he told ABC7 in Chicago he had been diagnosed with kidney and liver cancer in 2016.

Casper told the outlet his hit song was originally created as an aerobic exercise for his nephew who worked at Bally's Total Fitness.

A second song released in 2020 titled "Casper Slide Pt. 2" spent five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after being picked up by Universal Records.

"Anybody that's going through cancer, know that you have cancer and cancer does not have you," Casper said in one of his last statements. "So, keep on doing the 'Cha Cha Slide.'"

His wife said, "he was a genuine, family-oriented man."