Billy Dec Plans Movie About Birth Of House Music
(CBS) -- Chicago is known as the home of the blues. It's less well known as the birthplace of another kind of music. A proposed movie aims to tell the story of house music.
"It all started here," said restaurant and nightclub owner Billy Dec. He's branching out to become a movie producer.
Dec wants his film to tell the story of the late Chicago DJ Frankie Knuckles, and the Warehouse – the nightclub where house music was born after the death of disco in the 70's.
"Frankie Knuckles began to innovate with different types of musical instruments and different electronic devices to create a new sound that mixed in a lot of the old sort of funk and bass lines from different sorts of jazz. He just pulled from even disco and soul and all sorts of things to create this new sound," Dec said.
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House music is now a $1 billion-a-year international industry, according to Dec.
"Most dance music these days, much of which is integrated into popular pop music today, is from house music which originated right here in Chicago and the world doesn't know that," he said.
Next Tuesday, on the first anniversary of Frankie Knuckles' death, Dec will host a film launch party at the Underground nightclub in the River North neighborhood.
