Paradise Garage - Larry Levan Tribute with Louie Vega & Kevin Hedge
OK OK, so this is a fair few years old now (nearly 10), but hey, Louie Vega & Kevin Hedge did such a great job with this tribute, that we just had to dig it out of the archive and re post it…
In this fantastic tribute from 2010 on NY’s finest WBLS radio station, House music maestro’s Kevin Hedge (of Blaze) and Louie Vega (of Masters at Work, Nuyorican Soul and countless other aliases) weave together nearly 2 hours of legendary Paradise Garage, Disco - House classic in this amazing show, with track list list as follows…
The Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" was a discotheque in New York City of notable importance in the history of modern disco and house music, as well as LGBTand nightclub cultures. It was founded by Michael Brody (its sole proprietor) and was located at 84 King Street, in the Hudson Square neighborhood. It ran from 1977 to 1987 and was the base for resident tastetamker DJ Larry Levan.
Track list
Peech Boys - Don't Make Me Wait
Man Friday - Love Honey, Love Heartache
Master C & J - Face It
David Joseph - You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)
Serious Intention - You Don't Know
Change - Paradise
Inner Life - Ain't No Mountain High Enough (The Garage Version)
Patrick Adams Presents Phreek - Weekend
Billy Nichols - Give Your Body Up To The Music
Karen Young - Hot Shot
C.J. & Co - We Got Our Own Thing
Don Ray - Standing In The Rain
Chicago - Street Player
Rufus & Chaka - Any Love
Candido - Thousand Finger Man
Loleatta Holloway - Dreamin'(Acapella) + Colonel Abrams - Music Is The Answer (Beat)
Colonel Abrams - Music Is The Answer
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Robert Owens - Bring Down The Walls
Jeanette Thomas - Shake Your Body
Lil' Louis - French Kiss
Love Committee - Just As Long As I Got You
Made In U.S.A. - Melodies
Taana Gardner - When You Touch Me
Sylvester - Over And Over
The O'Jays - I Love Music
Cher - Take Me Home
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Bo Kool - (Money) No Love
Gwen Guthrie - Seventh Heaven
More on the Paradise Garage
The club's name derives from its origins as a parking garage. The Paradise Garage's business model was largely inspired by David Mancuso's private, invitation-only DJ parties at The Loft in New York City: no liquor was served, there were no sales of food or beverages, and the club was not open to the general public.
The sound system was developed, designed, and installed by Richard Long of Richard Long & Associates (RLA), and was said by club patrons to be the best in New York City at that time. A distinctive style of dance music known as garage house or simply "garage" developed there. The club has been credited for its influence on the development of the modern dance club as it is in the 2000s; unlike other clubs of its time, the Paradise Garage was focused on dancing rather than verbal interaction, and it was the first to put the DJ at the center of attention. It was known for its enthusiastic, yet unforgiving nature if a performer was struggling. Among the notable musicians who performed there were Diana Ross and a young Madonna. In 1979, Tim Curry released the album Fearless, containing the single "Paradise Garage", whose lyrics narrate visiting the discotheque.
Among those to benefit from what became known as "The Garage Sound" or "Garage Music" was Mel Cheren, who owned the New York label West End Records. West End's successes included such hits as "Sessomatto" by Sessa Matto, "Hot Shot" by Karen Young, "Heartbeat" by Taana Gardner (remixed by Levan), "Do It to the Music" by Raw Silk, and "Don't Make Me Wait" by the Peech Boys (produced by Levan). West End Records folded for a number of years, then re-opened in the late 1990s and released one of Levan's DJ sets recorded live at the Garage.
