--- description: The pioneer of house music in Chicago passed away unexpectedly on Monday title: Frankie Knuckles, "the godfather of house music," has died image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb35ff8dc4e5dc4ea/6986884ed0b6f248433038a8/133363840.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Legendary Chicago House DJ Frankie Knuckles Dies at 59 by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 1, 2014 12:52 PM CUT  Frankie Knuckles on Randall's Island on September 6, 2009 in New York City. The house DJ passed away on March 31, 2014. Frankie Knuckles on Randall's Island on September 6, 2009 in New York City. The house DJ passed away on March 31, 2014.Wendell Teodoro -- WireImage by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 1, 2014 12:52 PM CUT [Frankie Knuckles](http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/turnitup/chi-frankie-knuckles-obit-20140331,0,565674.column "undefined"), known to many as the “godfather of house music” because he pioneered the electronic dance music in Chicago club culture during the 1970s and ’80s, died Monday at the age of 59. Knuckles’ longtime business partner Frederick Dunson confirmed the DJ’s death to the [Chicago](http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/turnitup/chi-frankie-knuckles-obit-20140331,0,565674.column "undefined") _Tribune_ in an email, saying simply that Knuckles had “died unexpectedly this afternoon at home.” Originally from the Bronx, Knuckles honed his musical skills under the guidance of DJ Larry Levan, before moving to Chicago in the ’70s. The disco scene was fading and as the premiere DJ at The Warehouse, Knuckles pioneered house music by mixing extended soul and R&B records into dance tracks and adding drum machine loops. He would later go on to open his own club, the Power Plant, and work as a producer on house anthems such as “Tears” with Robert Owens. He also mixed records for performing superstars such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Depeche Mode. Though house music exploded in Europe, where Knuckles had scores of fans, the DJ was always proudest of Chicago’s music scene. “The people I meet all around the world look at Chicago and the house scene with a new romanticism,” he once told the [_Tribune_](http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/turnitup/chi-frankie-knuckles-obit-20140331,0,565674.column "undefined"). “They recognize more than ever that Chicago is the core of where it all began.” \[[Chicago _Tribune_](http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/turnitup/chi-frankie-knuckles-obit-20140331,0,565674.column "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/45050/frankie-knuckles-dead-59/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/45050/frankie-knuckles-dead-59/"},"headline":"Legendary Chicago House DJ Frankie Knuckles Dies at 59","datePublished":"2014-04-01T12:52:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:04:08.591Z","description":"The pioneer of house music in Chicago passed away unexpectedly on Monday","url":"https://time.com/45050/frankie-knuckles-dead-59/","keywords":["Death","Music","chicago","DJ"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb35ff8dc4e5dc4ea/6986884ed0b6f248433038a8/133363840.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb35ff8dc4e5dc4ea/6986884ed0b6f248433038a8/133363840.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2009 Electric Zoo Festival - Day 2","caption":"2009 Electric Zoo Festival - Day 2","creditText":"Wendell Teodoro -- WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/45050/frankie-knuckles-dead-59/","name":"Legendary Chicago House DJ Frankie Knuckles Dies at 59"}}]}] ```