Published
Tue, Apr 1, 2014, 11:56
- The dance music community is mourning the loss of the godfather of house, who died aged 59.
The tributes have started rolling in for Frankie Knuckles, who has died aged 59.
At first the mood was one of disbelief: "I won't believe that Frankie Knuckles is gone," wrote Carl Craig. But as the news was confirmed, the tributes flowed. Derrick Carter, a long-time friend of Knuckles, penned a farewell on Facebook: "Our community has lost one of its pillars and one of its founders so we all mourn. We all share this." Another close friend, David Morales, admitted he was "devastated," as did Jamie Principle, the Chicago artist who will forever be synonymous with Knuckles thanks to tracks like "Your Love" and "Baby Wants To Ride."
"I can't begin to count the ways he influenced me but I will never forget," added Roger Sanchez. "All my thoughts and love to Frankie Knuckles," said Agoria. UK duo Disclosure labelled Knuckles an "inspiration,"—so did Mala and Pete Tong—while Armin van Buuren called him "a true pioneer that started this whole thing."
Tom Moulton, the disco edit pioneer, described Knuckles' death as "sad day for house music." He added: "We lost a legend and a dear friend." Dimitri From Paris wrote: "No one put so much beauty & heart in club music than Frankie Knuckles did. No one will ever again. Listening to him was life defining for me." Other tributes came in from Rush Hour, Finn Johannsen, John Talabot, Chris Liebing, Doc Scott, Gilles Peterson, Grooverider and many more.
In October 2013 Knuckles spun at an RA party in Austin, Texas. You can listen to the full two-hour recording of his set via the SoundCloud player below: