Roots — Disco & The Warehouse
House grew from the ashes of disco. When "disco died" in 1979, the dancefloor went underground — and at The Warehouse on Chicago’s near West Side, New York transplant Frankie Knuckles spun a harder, rawer, re-edited disco that the kids started calling "house" music, after the club.
Part of Chicago House
11 moments in this segment.
- — The Warehouse opens (1977). The Warehouse opens on South Jefferson Street; Frankie Knuckles becomes resident DJ, mixing disco, soul and Philly into something new. The club gives the music its name.
- — Disco Demolition Night (1979). The infamous anti-disco riot at Comiskey Park marked disco’s mainstream "death" — and pushed the dance underground, where house would be born.
- — Larry Levan & the Paradise Garage. In New York, Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage was house’s sister cathedral — Frankie Knuckles’ great friend and the other half of the story.
- — Ron Hardy @ the Music Box (1983). An actual Ron Hardy Music Box set — the raw, fearless heart of the Chicago sound.
- — Inside The Warehouse. Footage from The Warehouse, the club that gave house music its name.
- — Ron Hardy’s Music Box marathon. The legendary, fearless Music Box DJ marathons — the rawest dancefloor in Chicago.
- — Jamie Principle — "Your Love". First spun by Frankie Knuckles on reel-to-reel — foundational early house.
- — Frankie Knuckles live at The Power Plant (1985). Frankie Knuckles working the floor at The Power Plant — the crowd, the energy, the room where house was forged.
- — Ron Hardy & the Music Box. At the Music Box, Ron Hardy span harder, wilder, more experimental sets than anyone — raw, loud, drug-fuelled marathons that shaped the rawer side of the Chicago sound.
- — Frankie Knuckles — the Godfather of House. A New York transplant, Frankie Knuckles re-edited and extended disco records with a reel-to-reel and a drum machine, forging the blueprint for house. He is forever "the Godfather of House". The subject dates from 1980; this photograph was taken in 2012.
- — Two turntables & a mixer. House was built in the DJ booth — extended edits and beat-matching long before the studio. The subject dates from 1982; this photograph was taken in 2015.
