Legendary DJ and music producer Frankie Knuckles passed away at the age of 59 on Monday. The official cause of death for the “Godfather of House” has yet to be released, but preliminary reports suggest that complications of Type II Diabetes may have been a factor.
Knuckles got his start spinning in New York with Larry Levan in the 1970s before disco became popular. He then moved to Chicago where he started spinning at The Warehouse, the club that’s credited with giving birth to the genre of house music. Knuckles would end up leaving The Warehouse in 1983 to form his own club, The Power Plant.
It would take a while for major labels to notice him, but Knuckles ended up working with some of the top talents in Hollywood during his career. He formed Def Mix Production with fellow DJ David Morales and produced music for Diana Ross, Chaka Khan and Michael Jackson.
Kuckles would eventually sign as a solo artist to Richard Branson’s Virgin Records in 1991 to release his debut album Beyond the Mix. His singles “The Whistle Song,” “Rainfalls” and “Workout” all spawned from that album.
After hearing the news of Knuckles’ passing, some of the world’s top DJs took to social media to remember the legend.
The Tonight Show bandleader Questlove wrote, “jesus man. Frankie Knuckles was so under-appreciated. he was the dj that dj’s aspired to be. true dance pioneer.”
“I am devastated to write that my dear friend Frankie Knuckles has passed away today. Can’t write any more than this at the moment. I’m sorry,” wrote DJ David Morales on Twitter.
Award winning DJ Vince Lawrence simply wrote on his Facebook page,”A legend has fallen. All hail Frankie Knuckles an inspiration to us all.”
1 Comment