Frankie Knuckles: The Godfather of House Music - A name You Should Know!

When I learned of the passing of the legendary Frankie Knuckles, I instantly thought back to my early days in the music business. In 1993, I was trying to make a name for myself as a club music artist in the Baltimore scene. I was hired by one of Baltimore Club Music's founding fathers, DJ Equalizer to work in a record store called Electronics and More. Equalizer and DJ Kenny B ran the Westview Mall store which sold pagers, music and DJ equipment.

Once I started working at the store, I quickly became immersed in the culture of music. Prior to that, my knowledge had been limited to the songs I personally liked. Through my experiences at the store, I started to really become aware of dance music sounds and DJs from other cities like New York and Chicago.

One such DJ I began to notice was the producer and remixer, Frankie Knuckles. He began playing soul, disco and R&B in the late 70's at a club called the Warehouse. The style of music of music we now call House was actually named after a shortened version of (Knuckles Warehouse) club. Now that is what I call making an impact! Frankie Knuckles also mixed at clubs like The Power Plant in Chicago and the Delirium in the United Kingdom.

As the House Music sound began to develop, he got into production. Knuckles eventually teamed with Dave Morales on Def Mix Productions and released the widely popular "The Whistle Song". He also went on to do reworks of tracks from Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross, Toni Braxton and Lisa Stansfield. His song "Your Love" also appeared on the video Game Grand theft Auto: San Andreas. 

Frankie Knuckles won countless awards and even had a street named after him in Chicago in the area where the old Warehouse club once stood. Sadly, the music legend passed away March 31, 2014 from complications related to Type II diabetes. He played such an important role in House Music, I felt the need to give him his due respect. Rest In Peace.

Dwayne ‘Diamond K’ Williams is a media personality, director and author of the book, “You Are Not The Father” Life & Times of a Childless Parent. The book tells the real-life story of the struggles he faced when a DNA test revealed the 7 year old son he was raising was not his biological child.

www.YouAreNotTheFatherBook.com