#2 Robert Williams | "The Warehouse Would Not Have Existed"

Without Robert Williams, there may be no house music, or at least not as we know it today. As the founder and owner of the legendary Warehouse club, the space where Frankie Knuckles first DJ'd and where a genre was born, Robert is one of the most important figures in the culture's history. And yet his full story, from foster care in Chicago to the backrooms of New York's gay nightlife scene, then back to Chicago becoming politically connected enough to keep his club untouched, is rarely told in its entirety. Host Lori Branch sits down with the man affectionately known as The Senior for a wide ranging, unfiltered conversation about the real history of the Warehouse, the Music Box, Ron Hardy, and why he believes the genre's gay roots have never been told correctly.

Produced by Lori Branch and Hannah Viti. Funded by a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Events. Music provided by Craig Loftis, Boo Williams, Vick Lavender, and Steve Ty Maestro.