Frankie Knuckles, who passed away March 31 due to complications with Type II Diabetes, is widely regarded as the godfather of house music. The genre’s name was actually coined when people shortened the full name of Knuckles’ club, Knuckles’ Warehouse to “House”.
House music was born in Chicago, a city that’s experienced plenty of turmoil surrounding the music scene. Some of you may remember that Chicago created a buzz in the dance community around the world for passing an ‘anti-rave ordinance‘ in 2000 that made property owners, promoters and DJs subject to $10,000 fines for being involved in unlicensed dance parties. This was an effort on behalf of the City of Chicago to control unsafe raves and other events.
On the other end of this movement though, Frankie Knuckles worked to bring people together in a friendly, peaceful, safe way. Only four years after passing the famous ordinance, the City of Chicago declared August 25 Frankie Knuckles Day in the City of Chicago, as well as naming a stretch of street after Knuckles, speaking volumes about Frankie’s ability to bring people together over music.
Frankie represents the birth of a genre and bringing people together. President Obama, who was involved in the declaration of Frankie Knuckles Day and a long-time fan of Knuckles, sent his and Michelle’s respects to Frankie’s family and friends.
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