Frankie Knuckles: Baby Wants to Ride
A Boiler Room birthday mix, Todd Terje’s debut album, a Frankie Knuckles tribute and more in the music we tweeted this week
A pioneer of Chicago house music, the legendary Frankie Knuckles has passed away but his influence lives through the artists, producers and club-goers he’s inspired through his minimalist dance tracks. Particularly memorable and ground-breaking was 1987’s “Baby Wants to Ride,” a collaboration with producer Jamie Principle. Over the four-on-the-floor drum machine beat, the vocalists don’t sing melodies but speak—almost pant—lyrics tinged with politics, religion and love; like “ride me baby, ride” to “South Africa, let my people go.” Using synths that are almost haunting, Knuckles takes us for a sexed-up, never-ending ride throughout the night.
