Legendary House DJ Frankie Knuckles dies at 59

In Chicago, Frankie Knuckles was known as the “pioneer of house music” but unfortunately he has died at 59.

He is survived by a sister and two brothers.

Many knew him as the “godfather of house music” in the clubs in Chicago. Knuckles was originally from the Bronx and learned everything he knew from the guidance of DJ Larry Levan. The music that Knuckles created incorporated soul and R&B records into the dance music. He then opened u his own club, The Power Plant. He would mix songs from large stars such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Depeche Mode.

As earlier reported by TIME, Knuckles’ business partner Frederick Dunson confirmed the DJ’s death to the Chicago Tribune in an email, saying simply that Knuckles had “died unexpectedly this afternoon at home.”

“The people I meet all around the world look at Chicago and the house scene with a new romanticism,” Knuckles once told the Tribune. “They recognize more than ever that Chicago is the core of where it all began.”

The New York Times reported that Mayor Rahm Emanuel said on Tuesday that Chicago had “lost one of its most treasured cultural pioneers.”