The "Godfather of House Music" Frankie Knuckles has passed away today at age 59, as confirmed by fellow Chicago house artists DJ Deeon and Paul Johnson.

Born in the Bronx in 1955, Knuckles first began DJing in New York alongside Larry Levan. He then moved to Chicago in the 1970's to become the premiere DJ at The Warehouse, the nightclub that would birth the dance music genre "house." Knuckles then opened up his own club, The Power Plant, in 1983. Knuckles was also a producer on such famous songs as James Power's "Your Love" and "Baby Wants to Ride."