HR0979 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0979 LRB098 20804 MST 57971 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Frank Warren "Frankie" Knuckles, Jr. of Chicago, who passed away on March 31, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Frankie Knuckles was born in the Bronx in New York City on January 18, 1955 and settled in Chicago in the late 1970s; and

WHEREAS, Known as "The Godfather of House Music", Frankie Knuckles played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the 1980s when the genre was in its infancy; and

WHEREAS, Frankie Knuckles began working as a DJ, playing soul, disco, and R&B at The Continental Baths in New York; he started playing at the Warehouse club in Chicago when it opened in 1977; in 1982, he opened his own club in Chicago, The Power Plant; following its closure in 1987, he played in the United Kingdom where Chicago house artists were in high demand; throughout the 1990s and later years, he continued to remix music and record his own albums, "Beyond the Mix" and "A New Reality"; and

WHEREAS, Frankie Knuckles won the 1997 Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical and he was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his achievements as a DJ on September 19, 2005; and

WHEREAS, Spearheaded by then-Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, the City of Chicago declared August 25, 2004 as "Frankie Knuckles Day" and renamed a stretch of street where the old Warehouse once stood as "Frankie Knuckles Way"; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Frank Warren "Frankie" Knuckles, Jr., and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Frankie Knuckles as an expression of our deepest sympathy.