The world of disco is in mourning, with pioneering writer, engineer, and record producer Patrick Adams passing away at the age of 72.
As Pitchfork reports, news of Adams’ passing was confirmed by his daughter, Joi Sanchez, via a post on Facebook. No cause of death has been revealed as yet.
“My father passed away earlier today at on his sleep at the golden age of 72 after living a life of music,” Sanchez wrote. “Forever grateful for what I learned from him? Who I became because of who he was. I’m amazing because he was literally legendary.
“There will never be another like him, just like there will never be another me. I’d I’ve learned nothing else from his tutelage, it’s that we are all who we are and it’s up to each of us to make the best of it so God (however you identify it) can shine through is.”
Born in 1950 just blocks away from the legendary Apollo Theater in New York’s Harlem neighbourhood, his musical career began at a relatively young age. Working at Perception Records in the early ’70s, Adams discovered the likes of Leroy Burgess, going on to produce the debut album of his band, Black Ivory, in 1971. His work with Burgess in Phreek also resulted in their enduring single, ‘Weekend’.
Before long, Adams became an in-demand name throughout the world of disco, founding P&P Records, working alongside names such as Sister Sledge and Inner Life, and ultimately helping to establish a trademark sound within the genre, despite a desire to not be pigeonholed.
By the ’80s, the death of disco saw Adams make a shift into the world of hip-hop, again proving influential within the burgeoning genre.
Working as an engineer at Power Play Studio, Adams became acquainted with names such as Salt-N-Pepa and Eric B. & Rakim, while Pitchfork notes that songs from his career were sampled by hip-hop greats such as Kanye West, J Dilla, and the Wu-Tang Clan.
Tributes have since flowed for the late Adams, with fellow disco contemporary Nile Rodgers taking to Twitter to note that “the world of music owes [him] so much.”
