Chicago house vocalist, DJ and songwriter Ron Carroll has died aged 57.News of the influential artist’s passing was shared today by his friend and fellow Chicago DJ Deonte Pennington.
“The news we just received while in this hotel room for my birthday just broke my heart,” Pennington wrote on Facebook. No cause of death has been disclosed at the time of writing.
Nicknamed The Minister of Sound, Carrol was born in 1968. By his early-20s, he had established a strong reputation on the Illinois club scene, and released his debut record, ‘My Prayer’, in 1993 via Af-Ryth-Mix Sounds, an imprint owned by Clubhouse Records. The six-tracker featured mixes by Ron Trent, and Hula & K. Fingers.
During his storied career, Carrol wrote for Barbara Tucker (‘I Get Lifted’), and worked with a long list of other artists including Superfunk, French Sensation, Hardsoul, Huxley, CeCe Peniston, Harry Romero, Hot Since 82, David Guetta and Kelly Rowland, Axwell and Bob Sinclar. He collaborated with the latter on a number of other occasions, on tracks including ‘Tribute’ and ‘Love Generation’.
Deeply committed to his community in Chicago, in addition to the global house music scene, Carroll appeared on labels including Defected, Glitterbox, Chicago Style, Pacha, Milk & Sugar, Moon Harbour, and his own Body Music Chicago. Since news of his death appeared, tributes have been flooding in online, emphasising the breadth of his influence.