In the beginning there was Jack – and Frankie Knuckles. Alongside contemporaries Larry Levan, Larry Heard and Ron Hardy, he was one of the motors behind what became globally loved as House Music.
Starting out in New York City, Frankie Knuckles got raised on a diet of David Mancuso’s hippie-esque Loft sessions, hung out at the Continental Baths and blew up balloons together with Larry Levan at Nicky Siano’s Gallery. From there he got hired by Robert Williams to be at the helm of Chicago’s Warehouse (guess where the term "house music" came from...).
The rest is history as they say. Knuckles changed the face of dance music for good with his eclectic DJ sets, reel-to-reel edits, live drum machine stunts and timeless production and recorded timeless songs with Jamie Principles, remixed everyone from Jago to Chaka Khan and showed that he can also hold his own with Tears and The Whistle Song.
Knuckles left the Warehouse to start his own club, The Power Plant, in 1983. When the Power Plant closed in 1987, he was a resident DJ for four months at Delirium in the UK before moving to New York City. He was the DJ at The World, and also had numerous subsequent residencies, including at The Choice club.
Back in New York, he immersed himself in producing, remixing and recording.
It’s been a few years since his tenure at the Warehouse, but with remixes for the likes of Hercules and Love Affair, Frankie still shows he flexes total control. Get his (and house music’s) story straight from the bad boy himself in a Fireside Chat on Red Bull Music Academy Radio.
Playlist:
Frankie Knuckles - Your Love - Trax
Jago - I'm Going To Go (Remix) - Full Time
The Night Writers - Let The Music (Use You) - Danica
On The House - Ride The Rhythm (Frankie Knuckles Remix) - Trax
Alexander O'Neal - All True Man (Big House Instrumental) - Tabu
Frankie Knuckles pres. Satoshi Tomiie - Tears (Classic Vocal Mix) - FFRR
Eve Gallagher - Love Is A Master Of Disguise (Classic Club Mix) - Charisma
Alison Limerick - Where Love Lives (Red Zone Dub) - Arista
Frankie Knuckles - The Whistle Song - Virgin
A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray (Paradise Ballroom Mix) - Warlock
Loose Ends - Hangin' On A String (Frankie Knuckles Radio Edit) - 10
Hercules and Love Affair - Blind (Frankie Knuckles Dub) - DFA
Michael Jackson - Rock With You (Frankie's Favorite Club Mix) - Epic
WANT MORE?
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Shake Your Bootleg: Todd Terje
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