FRANKIE KNUCKLES DEAD AT 59 :: Frankie Knuckles, universally regarded as the Godfather of House Music, is dead at 59. He passed away in Chicago; complications from diabetes is the suspected cause of death. Knuckles was born in New York but it was in Chicago where he was one of the first house music pioneers, creating such classics as “The Whistle Song,” “Your Love / Baby Wants to Ride,” “Rain Falls,” “Keep On Movin’” and “A New Reality.”
Max MacDonald, publisher of TheEdito.com, files this obituary: A Tribute to a Fallen King – Remembering Frankie Knuckles:
In 2010 GGN publisher Shaun Proulx asked me to interview the legendary Frankie Knuckles, who was spinning that August in Montreal for Divers-Cite. This was one of those dream interviews, even though I’d hung out with Knuckles during my house kid days in Montreal, New York and Chicago. Knuckles made house a style statement, which spawned a look and attitude emulated by designers such as Toronto’s Hoax Couture.
Today, as house has evolved, naysayers trumpet traditional house “past it”, and Knuckles “had his day”. Early in 2014, Armand Van Helden vs. Verve released “The Power of Base” which ghostly resembled early Knuckles’ sound, and Frankie Knuckles remained, to his die-hard fans, the musical equivalent of a Chanel jacket: classic, tasteful, set with good foundations, copied, but always the original. The dance floor will be dark now Knuckles is gone. Here is my 2010 interview with Frankie for GGN:
To a whole generation of music fans there was only one name synonymous with “House music”, Frankie Knuckles. From the moment he spun “The Whistle Song” at The Sound Factory in Manhattan, this one moment etched him into the heart and ears of music lovers everywhere. Over the years Knuckles not only became spun house music. He “was” the face of house and given the term by many in the genre, “The Godfather of House Music”.
His landmark career has seen him work with just about everyone from Diana Ross to The Pet Shop Boys. In addition, to having played in every major city you can name in 1997 he won a Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year. If that wasn’t enough in the evolution of his career, he has become a brand. His name is dropped on shows like Absolutely Fabulous and through Internet sound bites on Ministry of Sound. With his numerous talents, celebrity friends and able bring out the soul in music he still remains very humble and gracious to this day.
On a personal note, every journalist has their “bucket list” interviews. Those dream interviews you hope to land one day. As many times I danced to Knuckles’ grooves in cities all over North America, I’ve never actual said to two words to him. For the first time I was actually nervous. What do you ask the man who, since the late 80s, got you and your friends on the dance floor Voguing, strutting, and cat walking your way through his music?
Knuckles is not just a DJ. He’s the symbol of an era, one which evokes memories of when House Music and fashion were a true marriage. A time where gay men dressed to go dancing and had a reason sashay and be proud to be gay men regardless of colour and class. So as sweaty and shaking as I was, I rang him in Manhattan and upon hearing his “Barry White” voice, I knew it was going to be an interview unlike any other.
Max MacDonald: What inspired ‘The Whistle Song’?
Frankie Knuckles: Everyone made that song a classic. There are some songs which are a signature and that song is the signature of House. I was asked to fill in one night at the Sound Factory. I wanted to spin something which would make the room sparkle. After I spun, people were asking me, “what was that you played? Who are you again? That was amazing!” The rest is history.
MM: What was your favourite gig?
FK: Sound Factory Bar! The room was custom built to the way I play and it was smack dab in the community. The place stayed packed all night long.
MM: OK. So I’ve got to ask in your opinion who is the “Godmother of House”?
FK: Honestly, I don’t think there is one. There are performers who “try” to lay claim on it. Barbara Tucker tried to lay claim on it. No disrespect to Barbara but she isn’t it. I’m just trying to keep it real. Singers come and go but no one has lasted long enough to lay claim on it. There are some who come close.
MM: Whoa Frankie! I’m a huge Barbara Tucker fan! Don’t you think she deserves some credit?
FK: Max don’t get me wrong I love Barbara but there is not one specific female singer who has been around long enough to lay claim on the title. Barbara is really good.
MM: How has House changed?
FK: This is simple. What you and your generation in the late 80s grew up with is song-based dance music. Where a singer had a song and it was produced into a dance hit. That’s what I do as a producer. Somewhere in between ’95 and ’98 house became a DJ culture. At the same time, Trance music blew up in Europe. That trickled across the ocean to North American and started showing up in House. The DJ’s today are not song writers as anyone can become a DJ. Back then House was much more 3D and today it is more 2D. It is not pure House.
MM: What can we anyone travelling to Montreal’s Divers Cite expect to hear from you?
FK: Hmmm. I try to stay as current as possible so you will a lot my take on the music of today.
MM: Finally, what would you say to young DJ who wants to be the next Frankie Knuckles?
FK: Wow! Be yourself! Be honest about the music you present. You can tell whether it is coming from the heart and soul or if it’s not. You can teach someone how to spin a record but you can’t teach them soul. It has to be there. You have to recognize music for what it is. Most people today can’t recognize a DJ from a performer. That’s where the soul comes in. A performer can perform a DJ has to have the music in his soul.
