Frankie Knuckles

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Frankie Knuckles
Origin	The Bronx, New York, United States
Years active	1977-present
Genres	House
Labels	Trax Records (1987-1990) Virgin Records (1991-1996) Definity Records (2001-present)

Frankie Knuckles (born January 18, 1955, in New York) is a DJ, record producer and remix artist. He has earned the appellation "The Godfather of House."

[edit] Career

[edit] Early work

While studying Textile Design at FIT in Manhattan, Knuckles began working as a DJ. He played soul, disco and R&B at The Continental Baths with fellow DJ Larry Levan. Shortly after this, he began to gain notoriety and played at Better Days. When the Warehouse opened in Chicago in 1977 he was invited to play on a regular basis. He continued DJing there until 1982, at which point he started his own club, The Power Plant. When business difficulties caused it to fold, he moved back to New York, and was the featured resident DJ at The World, and also had numerous subsequent residencies, including The Choice.

His career really took off and he immersed himself in producing, remixing and recording. His earliest remixes include First Choice's "Let No Man Put Asunder" and Jago's "I'm Going To Go". As house music gained momentum, pioneering producer Chip E. took Knuckles under his tutelage and produced Frankie's first recording, "You Can't Hide", featuring vocalist Ricky Dillard. Then came more production work, including Jamie Principle's "Baby Wants to Ride", and later, "Tears" with Robert Owens (of Fingers, Inc.) and (Knuckles protege and future Def Mix associate) Satoshi Tomiie.

[edit] Collaborators

Knuckles did some of his most revered Def Classic Mixes with John Poppo as sound engineer. Many feel the Poppo engineered sessions to be the best of Knuckles' work.^{[citation needed]} A noticeably heightened sonic experience is evident to the listeners on these mixes.^{[citation needed]}

Knuckles would partner with David Morales on Def Mix Productions. The mixing styles of both men would become identical for a period in the early 1990s as they honed the formula for a Def Classic Mix.

[edit] Acclaim

With several important original productions and remixes to his name, by the early 1990s, Knuckles was becoming one of the most successful and well respected names in an increasingly popular house music genre. In 1991 he released his biggest hit to date, "The Whistle Song" which bears a slight similarity to Van McCoy's "The Hustle" in its whistle-like refrain. The Def Classic Mix of "Change" by Lisa Stansfield done around this period also features the whistle like motif. Knuckles' debut album - Beyond the Mix, released on Virgin Records also contained "Rain Falls" and featured vocals from Lisa Michaelis. Key remixes from this time include his rework of the Electribe 101 anthem "Talking With Myself" and "Where Love Lives" by Alison Limerick.

As his productions and remixes were becoming more popular than ever, he was also breaking new ground. When Junior Vasquez took a sabbatical from Manhattan's The Sound Factory, he took over and launched a hugely successful run as resident DJ until Vasquez made his return, at which point Knuckles took up a post as resident at The Sound Factory Bar. Despite a high profile, he remained very much a part of the underground scene which is perhaps why he has remained so respected to this day. In 1992, Billboard's Larry Flick commented "He's probably the best dance music producer we have in America. He understands the groove, but he understands songs, and the whole picture." Knuckles won the 1997 Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical.

[edit] Godfather of House

By the late 1990s, the public's adore for house music had diminished, and it was no longer the world leading music genre it had become but Knuckles continued to produce some of his best work. The demand for his remix work was as high as ever, and he revamped the material of A-List recording artist's including Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross, Toni Braxton and many others. He released fewer original productions in the last years of the 1990s, but as the new millennium approached he worked closely with Definity Records and released several successful new singles including "Keep On Movin'" and a re-issue of an earlier hit "Bac N Da Day". In 2004 he released a thirteen track album of original material - his first in over a decade, entitled A New Reality, which was critically well received.

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

On 19 September 2005, Knuckles was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his outstanding achievement as a DJ. It is testament to his status as one of house music's most influential and respected artists and it is widely accepted that his style of DJing and his selection and the appeal of the Warehouse gave house music its name.^{[citation needed]} Knuckles is arguably the pioneering DJ of his generation and is certainly one of house music's founding fathers.^{[citation needed]}

Frankie Knuckles on his 51st birthday in 2006. At DJ Hut Record Store's "Meet and Greet" in Washington, DC.

[edit] Selected Discography

[edit] Releases

• "Rains Falls" - Single
• "You Can't Hide from Yourself" - CBS Records
• "Tears" - Single - Frankie Knuckles presents Satoshi Tomiie - FFRR
• "Your Love/Baby Wants To Ride" - Trax Records
• "Beyond The Mix" - Virgin Records
• "The Whistle Song" - Virgin Records
• "Sessions Six - Mixed by Frankie Knuckles" - Ministry of Sound
• "Choice: A Collection of Classics" - Trax Records
• "Keep On Movin'" - Definity Records
• "A New Reality" - Definity Records

[edit] Remixes

• "This Time" - Chante Moore
• "Happy" - Towa Tei
• "Let No Man Put Us Under" - First Choice
• "Ain't Nobody" - Chaka Khan
• "Watcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" - Inner City
• "Talking With Myself" - Electribe 101
• "The Pressure" - Sounds of Blackness
• "Where Love Lives (Come On In)" - Alison Limerick
• "I Want A Dog" - Pet Shop Boys
• "Because of Love" - Janet Jackson
• "Love Hangover" - Diana Ross
• "Bring Me Love" - Andrea Mendez
• "Rock With You" - Michael Jackson
• "Closer Than Close" - Rosie Gaines
• "Unbreak My Heart" - Toni Braxton
• "Sunshine" - Gabrielle
• "I'm Going to Go" - Jago

[edit] See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
• Def Classic Mix

[edit] External links

• FKAlways.com Frankie Knuckles official website.
• Discogs Frankie Knuckles discography and biography.
• Disco Museum Biography and information on Frankie Knuckles.
• Disco Disco Disco disco pays respect to the godfather of house music.
• Frankie Knuckles Day Photos of Frankie Knuckles Day (August 25, 2004) in Chicago