Frankie Knuckles - Tears - R.I.P. Frankie Knuckles (1955-2014) Godfather of House Music

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Frankie Knuckles Presents Satoshi Tomiie ?-- "Tears" (Classic Mix)The 'Godfather of Chicago House music', Frankie Knuckles has passed away, aged 59.Knuckles was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1955, and first spun as a disco DJ during the early 1970s, with garage pioneer Larry Levan, a childhood friend, at the Continental Baths. It is believed the term 'House' music originated in 1977, when Frankie began spinning at the new night club, The Warehouse, in Chicago. His style of music became so popular that record stores were inundated with requests for the 'house' music played at The Warehouse.Remembered: In the 1980s, here pictured with MTV VJ Downton Julie Brown, Frankie was one of the most sought after House music DJs +5Remembered: In the 1980s, here pictured with MTV VJ Downton Julie Brown, Frankie was one of the most sought after House music DJs'Sometimes I'd shut down all the lights and set up a record where it would sound like a speeding train was about to crash into the club. People would lose their minds,' he told the Chicago Tribune.His experimentation with drum machines and his own edits on disco tracks started a musical movement which has influenced many of the electronic dance music of today, including that of world famous DJs Daft Punk and Paul Oakenfold.He opened up his own club, the Power Plant, in 1983 but it closed four years later, so he travelled across the pond to the UK to DJ for four months at Delirium. With Chicago House music DJs in high demand at the time, he wasn't short of residencies at clubs across the world.'The people I meet all around the world look at Chicago and the house scene with a new romanticism,' he told the Tribune. 'They recognise more than ever that Chicago is the core of where it all began.'As a producer, some of Knuckles most famous mixes include his take on Jamie Principle's Your Love, and recordings for Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Depeche Mode. He was also awarded the 1997 Grammy for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical.On August 25th 2004, the city of Chicago - with the help of the then Illinois state senator Barack Obama - declared it Frankie Knuckles Day and also named the street where the Warehouse used to stand after him.The soon-to-be President shook the DJs hand, and pronounced 'where the legendary Warehouse once stood...Frankie Knuckles Way.'Godfather of House Music', Frankie Knuckles ... R.I.P.
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Electronic/Dance
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R.I.P., Frankie Knuckles, Tears, Chicago House, House, RIP
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