April 1st.
April Fool's Day.
Surely that's what the post on Facebook that greeted me this morning was?
A sick joke.
It couldn't be true, could it?
Then as I made a cup of coffee, readying myself for work, people who knew him started to post their condolences and memories of the Godfather of House, and it started to sink in. Frankie Knuckles had died at the age of 59.
The posts were coming thick and fast now. This wasn't a joke. He really was gone.
Despite hailing from New York, Frankie's name is synonymous with the city of Chicago, the birthplace of House, and quite rightly so. You see, despite being able to clearly see the links, the genetic similarities, if you will, between House & Disco, the evolution didn't happen on it's own. Today saw the passing of one of the orchestrator's of that very evolution. He didn't coin the term "House" himself, but rather the people who came to hear him play at The Warehouse used the term to describe the varied sounds that were played there. Later it became the term for the raw, drum machine based edits that Frankie would play. The rest, as they say, is history.
But that wasn't the case with Frankie Knuckles, he carried on and was/is still relevant in a scene he helped create over 30 years ago. He was playing in Miami just last week, where some friends of mine were lucky enough to catch one of his last performances. "He was ace as usual." was the verdict.
Loved the world over, proven by today's constant outpouring of love over various social media sites, his relevance is unquestionable. There is now a campaign to try to get, "Your Love", Frankie's signature tune to number one on the UK charts. 7 hours in, and he's made it to number 24. If you love dance music of any kind, you're in the man's debt, so go spend 79 pence and let's give him a fitting tribute, eh?
I only heard him play a couple of times myself. Once at Pacha, Ibiza, many years ago, but more recently at Electric Elephant in Tisno, just last July. Chris Duckenfield had played the opening set and had everyone dancing, but when Frankie came on, the place erupted. Dancing in the open air, surrounded by old friends, new friends, best friends, the atmosphere was electric. Happy smiling faces wherever you turned. A night that will stay with me for a very long time. In fact, the photo that appears at the top of this post was taken at that very night. I've spotted my friend Chris, and I think, further back, myself, arms aloft, having the time of our lives. Fantastic times!
His set consisted of his own remixes of current, at the time, records, some stuff I hadn't heard before that night, and some older tunes that I used to play in Ibiza. Real feelgood, crowd pleasing stuff. Smiles as far as you could see.
Frankie's "Tears", which had been reissued in 1999, with remixes by Full Intention and an accapella, that evreybody felt they needed to play over everything that year, was the first promo record I was ever given as a working DJ. Great memories, and hearing it immediately transports me back to Kanya. Magic!
He'd apparently been ill for some time, but to lose Frankie Knuckles at the age of 59 just seems tragic. The show of love and admiration that has flooded out from all corners today makes you think. "What will you leave behind?" Maybe it'll be the spur some people need to push on with their dreams, to not settle for second best. I'm certainly going to try...
So goodbye Frankie, and most importantly, thank you...
