25th August is ‘Frankie Knuckles Day’, a time to celebrate the life and times of one of dance music’s true pioneers.
Born in 1955 in Bronx, New York, Francis Warren Nicholls, Jr moved to Chicago in 1977 and began spinning records at the Warehouse club, where he played music in a NYC style that included beat-mixing with the addition of percussion sounds from a separate turntable. And while the genre was still in its infancy Knuckles played a critical role in the development of house music in Chicago during the 1980s.
To commemorate the first ever Frankie Knuckles Day on 25th August 2004, the Grammy Award winning, world famous deejay turned remixer turned producer turned artist had a Chicago street named after him where the old Warehouse club once stood. And the Illinois state senator who officially proclaimed the day was a then relatively unknown Illinois senator by the name of Barack Obama.
Here is the video of a very young Frankie at the 1986 opening of the Power House club in Chicago.
Today, August 25, 2021, we salute The Godfather of House!
Keep up with the latest trending music news by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Author: Brad LeBeau
Photo: deepstereo