SOMETHING TO READ, THE LIFE OF FRANKIE KNUCKLES! Frankie Warren Knuckles, Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014) was an American DJ, record producer, and remixer. He was born in the Bronx borough of New York City and later moved to Chicago. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the 1980s when the genre was being created. In 2005, Knuckles was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his achievements. Due to his importance in the development of the genre, Knuckles is often known as The Godfather of House Music. 1970s–1980s While studying textile design at FIT in New York, Knuckles began working as a DJ, playing soul, disco, and R&B at The Continental Baths with fellow DJ Larry Levan.[3] In the late 1970s, Knuckles moved from New York City to Chicago,[4] and when the Warehouse club opened in Chicago in 1977, he was invited to play on a regular basis. He continued DJing at the Warehouse until 1983, when he started his own club in Chicago, The Power Plant. Knuckles bought his first drum machine from a young Derrick May, who regularly made the trip from Detroit to see Knuckles at the Warehouse and Ron Hardy at the Music Box, both in Chicago.[citation needed] Knuckles also had a musical partnership with Chicago artist Jamie Principle, and helped put Your Love and Baby Wants to Ride out on vinyl after these tunes had been regulars on his reel-to-reel player at the Warehouse for a year. As house music was being innovated in Chicago, producer Chip E. took Knuckles under his tutelage and produced Knuckles first recording, You Cant Hide, featuring vocalist Ricky Dillard.[citation needed] Then came more production work, including Jamie Principles Baby Wants to Ride, and later Tears with Robert Owens (of Fingers, Inc.) and (Knuckles protégé and future Def Mix associate) Satoshi Tomiie. When the Power Plant closed in 1987, he played for four months at Delirium in the United Kingdom. Chicago house artists were in high demand and having major success in the UK with this new genre of music. Knuckles was the featured resident DJ at The World,[citation needed] and had numerous other residencies.[citation needed] Knuckles also had a stint in New York, where he continued to immerse himself in producing, remixing, and recording. 1990s–2000s Knuckles made numerous popular Def Classic Mixes with John Poppo as sound engineer, and Knuckles partnered with David Morales on Def Mix Productions.[10] With several important original productions and remixes to his name, by the early 1990s, Knuckles was becoming a well-known name in the increasingly popular house music genre.[citation needed] Knuckles debut album Beyond the Mix (1991), released on Virgin Records, contained his biggest hit to date, The Whistle Song.[citation needed] Lisa Stansfields Def Classic Mix of Change, released around this period,[when?] also featured the whistle-like motif. Another track from the album, Rain Falls, featured vocals from Lisa Michaelis. Other key remixes from this time include his rework of the Electribe 101 anthem Talking With Myself and Alison Limericks Where Love Lives. Eight thousand copies of the album[which?] had sold by 2004. When Junior Vasquez took a sabbatical from The Sound Factory in Manhattan, Knuckles took over and launched a successful run as resident DJ until Vasquez made his return.[citation needed] Knuckles remained part of the underground scene.[citation needed] Knuckles continued to work as a remixer through the 1990s and into the next decade, reworking tracks from Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross, Eternal and Toni Braxton. He released several new singles, including Keep on Movin and a re-issue of an earlier hit Bac N Da Day with Definity Records. In 1995, he released his second album titled Welcome to the Real World. By 2004, 13,000 copies had sold. In 2004, Knuckles released a thirteen track album of original material – his first in over a decade, entitled A New Reality, which was critically well received. In October 2004 Your Love appeared in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on house music radio station, SF-UR. On 19 September 2005, Knuckles was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his outstanding achievement as a DJ. Awards and honorable recognition[edit] Knuckles won the 1997 Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical.[citation needed] In 2004, Chicago - which became notorious in the dance community around the world for passing the so-called anti-rave ordinance in 2000 that made property owners, promoters and deejays subject to $10,000 fines for being involved in an unlicensed dance party - named a street after Knuckles where the old Warehouse once stood, on Jefferson Street between Jackson Boulevard and Madison Street. Knuckles was featured in the documentary films Maestro (2003), written and directed by Josell Ramos, and The UnUsual Suspects: Once Upon a Time in House Music (2005), directed by Chip E.. Death Knuckles died in Chicago from complications related to diabetes; his death was reported on March 31, 2014.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 09:33:27 +0000
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