Frankie Knuckles’ Record Collection Has Been Digitized

House music pioneer Frankie Knuckles’ collection of 5,000 vinyl albums has been digitized. The job was completed on the 10th anniversary of his passing by members of the Theaster Gates Rebuild Foundation. Knuckles made house music a cultural force as the DJ at Chicago’s Warehouse Club and then the Power Plant during the ’70s and ’80s. He was also responsible for remixing songs under Def Mix Productions with David Morales including “Change” by Lisa Stansfield. In 1991, his first album, Beyond The Mix came out and contained his signature tune “The Whistle Song.” He won the Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year Non-Classical in 1998 before the award was given for a specific work. Frederick Dunson, the founder, president, and executive director of the Frankie Knuckles Foundation said, “Frankie was not just a maestro on the dance floor; he was a guiding force, infusing his artistry with purpose and connection. Today, we honor his lasting influence and express our deepest respect for the unforgettable mark he left on Chicago and the world.”

Knuckles’s record collection will be used to educate the public about house music and for the Sunday Service dance parties at the Stony Island Arts Bank which Gates’ Rebuild Foundation restored

 

 

Photo: Tom Harris. © Hedrich Blessing. Courtesy of Rebuild Foundation



Media Questions Of The Week

Is Larenz Tate right about Hollywood placing a higher value on Black British actors? 

https://youtu.be/_iYU9h7FEw0

Are AI-generated songs of artists like Ghostwriter’s  Drake and Weeknd “Heart On My Sleeve” duet really a threat to the artists whose work gets used? 

 

 

Did Ed Sheeran plagiarize Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” for his single “Thinking Out Loud?” 

Who painted over the Frankie Knuckles and Juice WRLD murals in Chicago? 




Unsung: Frankie Knuckles

Frankie Knuckles is the subject of the current episode of Unsung. Knuckles’ rise as a Chicago house music pioneer is quickly chronicled and looked at through the eyes of those who were there. Jamie Principle, Jesse Saunders, Marshall Jefferson, Steve “Silk” Hurley and Robert Williams are some of the people who go on camera and discuss the emergence of house music after disco. Knuckles died in 2014 and since then Theaster Gates made him the subject of an art exhibit and had his vinyl housed at the Stony Island Arts Bank.




Theaster Gates’ Art Exhibition For Frankie Knuckles

Chicago artist Theaster Gates has a new art exhibition focused on late house music pioneer Frankie Knuckles. The exhibition is called “How To Build A House Museum” and it’s being shown at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario until October 30th. VICE’s Thump went to the exhibit and talked with Gates about the body, Knuckles, violence, police brutality and Black culture.