Frankie Knuckles

Frankie Knuckles

Knuckles (front) in 2012
Background information
Birth name Francis Nicholls[1]
Also known as The Godfather of House Music
Born (1955-01-18)January 18, 1955
The Bronx, New York, United States
Died March 31, 2014(2014-03-31) (aged 59)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • DJ
  • record producer
  • remixer
Instruments
Years active 1970s–2014
Labels Virgin

Francis "Frankie" Nicholls (January 18, 1955[1][2] – March 31, 2014), better known by his stage name Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer and remixer.[3]

He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the 1980s, when the genre was in its infancy. In 1997, Knuckles won the Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical. Due to his importance in the development of the genre, Knuckles was often known as "The Godfather of House Music."[4]

Career

1970s–1980s

Born in the The Bronx, Knuckles and his friend Larry Levan began frequenting discos as teenagers during the 1970s. While studying textile design at the FIT, Knuckles and Levan began working as DJs, playing soul, disco, and R&B at two of the most important early discos, The Continental Baths and The Gallery.[5][6] In the late 1970s, Knuckles moved from New York City to Chicago,[7] where Robert Williams, an old friend was opening what became the Warehouse. When the Warehouse club opened in Chicago in 1977, he was invited to play on a regular basis, which enabled him to hone his skills and style. This style was a mixture of disco classics, unusual indie-label soul, the occasional rock track, European synth-disco and all manner of rarities, which would all eventually codify as "House Music."[8] The style of music now known as house was of course named after a shortened version of the Warehouse.

Knuckles was so popular that the Warehouse, initially a members-only club for largely black gay men, began attracting straighter, whiter crowds, leading its owner, Robert Williams, to eschew membership.[8] He continued DJing at the Warehouse until November 1982, when he started his own club in Chicago, The Power Plant.[9]

Around 1983, Knuckles bought his first drum machine to enhance his mixes from Derrick May,[10][11] a young DJ who regularly made the trip from Detroit to see Knuckles at the Warehouse and Ron Hardy at the Music Box, both in Chicago.[12] The combination of bare, insistent drum machine pulses and an overlay of cult disco classics defined the sound of early Chicago house music. A sound which many local producers began to mimic in the studios by 1985.

When the Power Plant closed in 1987, Knuckles 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.[13] Knuckles also had a stint in New York, where he continued to immerse himself in producing, remixing, and recording.[12] 1988 saw the release of Pet Shop Boys' third album, Introspective, which featured Knuckles as a co-producer of the song "I Want a Dog."

Work with Jamie Principle

In 1982, Knuckles was introduced to then-unknown Jamie Principle by mutual friend Jose "Louie" Gomez, who had recorded the original vocal-dub of "Your Love" to reel-to-reel tape. Louie Gomez met up with Frankie at the local record pool (I.R.S.) and gave him a tape copy of the track. Knuckles played Gomez's unreleased dub mix for an entire year in his sets during which it became a crowd favorite. Knuckles later went into the studio to re-record the track with Principle, and in 1987 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.[12]

As house music was developing in Chicago, producer Chip E. took Knuckles under his tutelage and produced Knuckles' first recording, "You Can't Hide from Yourself"[14] Then came more production work, including Jamie Principle's "Baby Wants to Ride", and later "Tears" with Robert Owens (of Fingers Inc.) and (Knuckles' protégé and future Def Mix associate) Satoshi Tomiie.[12]

1990s–2010s

Knuckles made numerous popular Def Classic Mixes with John Poppo as sound engineer, and Knuckles partnered with David Morales on Def Mix Productions.[15] His debut album Beyond the Mix (1991), released on Virgin Records, contained what would be considered his seminal work, "The Whistle Song",[16] which was the first of four number ones on the US dance chart.[17] The Def Classic mix of Lisa Stansfield's "Change", released in the same year, also featured the whistle-like motif. Another track from the album, "Rain Falls", featured vocals from Lisa Michaelis. Eight thousand copies of the album had sold by 2004.[18] Other key remixes from this time include his rework of the Electribe 101 anthem "Talking with Myself" and Alison Limerick's "Where Love Lives".

When Junior Vasquez took a sabbatical from The Sound Factory in Manhattan, Knuckles took over and launched a successful run as resident DJ.[19] He 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.[18]

Knuckles played as resident DJ at Genesis (Osaka, Japan) for one year (probably in the late '80s or early '90s).

Openly gay, Knuckles was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1996.[20]

In 2004, Knuckles released a 13-track album of original material – his first in over a decade – titled A New Reality. In October 2004, "Your Love" appeared in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on house music radio station, SF-UR.[21]

Death

In the mid-2000s, Knuckles developed Type II diabetes.[22] On March 31, 2014, he died of complications from the disease in Chicago at age 59.[23][24]

In April 2015, a year after his death, Defected Records released a retrospective compilation, House Masters Frankie Knuckles, the tracklist for which had been selected by Knuckles before his death. Also, the same month, as a tribute to Knuckles, a version of his song "Baby Wants to Ride" was released by Underworld and Heller & Farley to mark the year anniversary of his passing. It went straight to number one on the UK's first ever Official Vinyl Singles Chart. All proceeds will go to the Frankie Knuckles Trust / Elton John AIDS Foundation.[25]

Awards and honorable recognition

In 1997, Knuckles won the Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical.[26] In 2004, the city of 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 stretch of street in Chicago[27] after Knuckles, where the old Warehouse once stood, on Jefferson Street between Jackson Boulevard and Madison Street.[28] That stretch of street, called Frankie Knuckles Way, "was renamed when the city declared 25 August 2004 as Frankie Knuckles Day. The Illinois state senator who helped make it happen was Barack Obama."[26] In 2005, Knuckles was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his achievements.[26][27]

In media and popular culture

Films

Knuckles was featured in the documentary films Maestro (2003), written and directed by Josell Ramos,[29][30] The UnUsual Suspects: Once Upon a Time in House Music (2005), directed by Chip E.[31] and Continental (2013) about the Continental Baths.

Games

October 2004, "Your Love" appeared in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on house music radio station, SF-UR.[21]

Selected discography

Releases

Remixes

Singles and remixes in charts

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US Dance
[36]		 US R&B
[37]		 NED
[38]		 UK
[39]
1986 "You Can't Hide from Yourself" — — — — singles only
1987 "Only the Strong Survive" — — — —
"Baby Wants to Ride" (featuring Jamie Principle) — — — —
"It's a Cold World" (featuring Jamie Principle) — — — —
1989 "Tears" (featuring Robert Owens) 10 — — 50
"Ain't Nobody (Remix)" (by Rufus & Chaka Khan) — — — 6 Life Is A Dance – The Remix Project
"Your Love" (featuring Jamie Principle) — — — 29 singles only
1990 "Move Your Body (Frankie Knuckles '90 Remix)" (by Marshall Jefferson) — — — 100
1991 "The Whistle Song" 1 62 29 17 Beyond The Mix
"It's Hard Sometime" 10 78 — 67
1992 "Workout" 1 — — —
"Rain Falls" 1 — — 48
"Hangin' On A String (Frankie Knuckles Remix)" (by Loose Ends) — — — 25 Tighten Up Vol. 1
1995 "Too Many Fish" 1 97 — 34 Welcome To The Real World
(featuring Adeva)
"Whadda U Want (From Me)" 3 — — 36
"Walkin'" 5 — — —
1996 "Love Can Change It" 18 — — —
2001 "Keep On Movin'" (featuring Nicki Richards) 11 — — 143 Motivation
2004 "Bac N Da Day" (featuring Jamie Principle) 1 — — 163 A New Reality
"Matter Of Time" (featuring Nicki Richards) 6 — — —
2006 "The Whistle Song Revisited" 2 — — — DubJ's D'light (A Remixed Reality)
2007 "Gimme Gimme (Disco Shimmy)" 6 — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Slotnick, Daniel E. (2 April 2014). "Frankie Knuckles, 59, Pioneer House D.J., Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  2. ↑ Matos, Michaelangelo (April 1, 2014). "Frankie Knuckles, Godfather of House Music, Dead at 59". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  3. ↑ Barnes, Marcus (November 28, 2012). "Frankie Knuckles: An extended chat with the Godfather of House". The Independent. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Frankie Knuckles". AllMusic. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  5. ↑ Frank Broughton (February 27, 1995). "Frankie Knuckles". DJ History. NYC.
  6. ↑ Bush, John. "Biography: Frankie Knuckles". Allmusic. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  7. ↑ Greg Kot (April 1, 2014). "Frankie Knuckles, house music 'godfather,' dead at 59". The Chicago Tribune.
  8. 1 2 "Frankie Knuckles, 'Godfather of House Music,' Dead at 59 | Music News". Rolling Stone. 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  9. ↑ Minsker, Evan. "Frankie Knuckles, Chicago House Legend, Dead at 59". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Frankie Knuckles, 'Godfather of House Music,' Dead at 59". Rolling Stone.
  11. ↑ "Frankie Knuckles dead; house godfather dead at 59". tribunedigital-chicagotribune.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Greg Kot (April 1, 2014). "Frankie Knuckles, house music 'godfather,' dead at 59". The Chicago Tribune.
  13. ↑ "Frankie Knuckles « faithfanzine". Faithfanzine.com. April 19, 2011. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  14. ↑ You Can't Hide From Yourself 12 Inch (12" Vinyl Single) UK Portrait 1987, Frankie Knuckles
  15. ↑ Brandle, Lars. "Frankie Knuckles, House Music Legend, Dies at 59". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  16. ↑ Moran, Lee (April 1, 2014). "Godfather of House' Frankie Knuckles dead at 59". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  17. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 147.
  18. 1 2 Paoletta, Michael (May 15, 2004). "The House That Frankie Built". Billboard. 116 (20): 30. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  19. ↑ Slotnik, Daniel E. (April 2, 2014). "Frankie Knuckles, 59, Pioneer House D.J., Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame". Glhalloffame.org. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  21. 1 2 Brett Gibbons (Apr 1, 2014). "Birmingham-bound DJ Frankie Knuckles dies". Birmingham Mail.
  22. ↑ Hanna Flint (April 1, 2014). "'Godfather of House Music', Frankie Knuckles, 59, dies due to 'complications relating to Type II diabetes'". Daily Mail.
  23. ↑ "RIP Freddie Knuckles 1955–2014". Fact Magazine. March 31, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Legendary House DJ Frankie Knuckles Dies at 59". Gawker. March 31, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Frankie Knuckles Tribute Tops First Ever Official Vinyl Chart". Sabotage Times.
  26. 1 2 3 Lars Brandle (April 1, 2014). "Frankie Knuckles, House Music Legend, Dies at 59". The Guardian.
  27. 1 2 "Frankie Knuckles: House pioneer dies aged 59". BBC. April 1, 2014.
  28. ↑ Greg Kot (April 1, 2004). Chicago Tribune.
  29. ↑ "IMDb listing for Maestro". Maestro. 2003.
  30. ↑ Maestro. Amazon.com. 2005. ASIN B0009X76ZU.
  31. ↑ The UnUsual Suspects: Once Upon a Time in House Music. IMDb. 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  32. ↑ Beyond The Mix Frankie Knuckles Virgin Records America 1991
  33. ↑ Frankie Knuckles featuring N Richards / Keep On Movin' Junior Records 2001
  34. ↑ House Classics IV (Presented by Harley&Muscle) Harley&Muscle Soulstar Records April 11, 2014
  35. ↑ Full Time & Antibemusic Rare Tracks, Vol. 1 Various artists Antibemusic pub. May 4, 2010
  36. ↑ "Frankie Knuckles - US Dance Club". billboard.com. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  37. ↑ "Frankie Knuckles - US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". billboard.com. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  38. ↑ "Frankie Knuckles - Dutch chart". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  39. ↑ "Frankie Knuckles - UK Chart". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 October 2014.

External links

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