Larry Levan (born Lawrence Philpot, July 20, 1954 – died November 8, 1992, of AIDS) stands at the crossroads of disco, house music and garage music. He was the legendary DJ who for more than 10 years held court at the New York night club Paradise Garage. Quite a number of today's most successful producers and DJs credit their first exposure to Larry's music at the Paradise Garage as a moment that changed their lives forever and inspired their whole careers. François Kevorkian goes so far as to credit Larry with putting the dub aesthetic into dance music and being the first DJ to play a very eclectic and open-minded mix of music. July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Disco is an up-tempo style of dance music (generally between 110 and 136 beats per minute) that originated in the early-1970s, a derivative of funk and soul music, popular with audiences in larger cities all over the world. ... House music refers to a collection of styles of electronic dance music, the earliest forms beginning in the early- to mid- 1980s. ... Garage is any of several different varieties of modern electronic dance music generally connected to house or disco. ... For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ... A nightclub (often dance club or club, particularly in the UK) is an entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. ... The Paradise Garage disco is a notable club in the history of modern nightclub culture. ... François Kevorkian, alias François K, (born January 10, 1954) is a French-born US DJ, remixer, producer and record label owner. ... Dub can refer to: dub music, a sub-genre of reggae music a mostly-instrumental remix, usually without lyrics but still with chorus The IATA airport code for Dublin Airport, Dublin, Republic of Ireland dubbing, the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture dubbing, also the process...

Among the records that received Levan's touch are the remix of "Ain't Nothin' Goin On But The Rent" by Gwen Guthrie, and "Don't Make Me Wait" by the Peech Boys, a group that Levan formed and was part of (and who became the New York Citi Peech Boys when the Beach Boys threatened a lawsuit due to the similar sound of the name). Gwen Guthrie (July 14 (some sources say July 9) 1950 - February 3, 1999) was an American singer and songwriter, who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, and Madonna among others, and wrote songs for Ben E. King and Roberta Flack. ... The Beach Boys 1976 album 15 big ones The Beach Boys are a pop music group formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, whose popularity has lasted into the twenty-first century. ...

The re-opened West End Records - which came out of the Paradise Garage - has released a two disc live recording of a Levan DJ set, as well as a compilation of popular Levan productions.

On September 19, 2005 Levan was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his outstanding achievement as a DJ. The Dance Music Hall of Fame was created in 2004 to honor the creators and innovators of dance music. ... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ...

Sources

• Brewster, Bill and Broughton, Frank (1999) Last Night a DJ Saved my Life: the History of the Disc Jockey Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0747262306
• Lawrence, Tim (2004). Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979 . Duke University Press. ISBN 0822331985.

External links

• West End Records
• JahSonic.com:Larry Levan comprehensive page by Jan Geerinck