White Knight - "Never Give Up". A release on the seminal Chicago House label DJ International Records, which was founded by Rocky Jones in 1985 to release mainly vocal house. There's not much info on White Knight. "Never Give Up" was produced by Rocky Jones and Nick H., vocals and arrangement come from Keith Nunnally, scratching from Afrika Islam, and mixing from Farley Jackmaster Funk.

Nevermind the slightly off-key vocals [soulful though they may be]. Get into the seedy, ominous string line and ghostly backup chorus; the insistent cowbell; the kicked-out drums; and that one sound. Yeah, you'll hear it at :16 and again at 4:04. It's that synthetic approximation of the word "don't" in the hyper-sycopated rhythm, followed by a ripping synth glissando. The first time I heard it, I got straight up from my seat and started swinging my arms and dancing about my bedroom. Beware.

Can you even believe that when this was released in 1986, it was cutting edge?