Detroit dance pioneer Mike Huckaby dead at 54

Mike Huckaby, a leading figure in Detroit’s house and techno circles, died on April 24 in Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak at the age of 54. Huckaby’s brother, Craig Huckaby, said the late producer had been hospitalized on March 7 after suffering a mild stroke on March 6.

During his time at a rehabilitation facility following his hospitalization, Huckaby’s health initially appeared to improve but declined when he developed sweats and a cough. These symptoms prompted Huckaby to be readmitted to Beaumont Hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator. Shortly before his death, Huckaby tested positive for coronavirus.

Huckaby’s legacy will live on in underground electronic circles, where the producer first cut his teeth in the 1980s. Huckaby carved a niche for himself in Detroit and beyond through live performances, stints as an on-air radio host, producing and releasing his own music, and his management and buying responsibilities at Detroit’s famed record store, Record Time. Huckaby also instructed DJ software courses at Red Bull Music Academy and appeared annually at Detroit Electronic Music Festival, known today as Movement.

H/T: Detroit Free Press

Featured image: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images