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Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance music and pop music, as well as LGBT culture and nightclub cultures. The club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and occupied a building formerly located at 84 King Street in the SoHo neighborhood. It operated from 1977 to 1987 and featured resident DJ Larry Levan.
The Garage is credited with influencing the development of modern nightclubs, and is cited as a direct inspiration for London's Ministry of Sound. Unlike other venues of its time, Paradise Garage promoted dancing rather than verbal interaction, and it was the first to place the DJ at the center of attention. It was known for its enthusiastic-yet-unforgiving nature toward performers. It hosted many notable musicians including 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.
Michael Brody's imprint on the space began in 1977 with the club opening as 84 King Street Garage. After a year-long renovation, it officially became Paradise Garage on January 28, 1978. Among the improvements were a Sprung floor and custom sound system, developed by Richard Long of Richard Long & Associates (RLA). The club's main room layout and dancefloor were reportedly purpose-designed around the sound system, which is said to have been the best in New York City at that time and described by François Kevorkian as a "temple of music."
The venue initially accommodated 750 patrons for the original dance floor which was later turned into the front lounge/gray room/glass lounge but a 1978 expansion when the main dance floor opened raised its legal capacity to 1,400 people. Brody then added a rooftop lounge in 1984 styled after the Shrubland and beachside villas of the nearby Fire Island Pines, where Brody owned a summer home.
After 11 years of operation, The Garage's lease ended on October 1, 1987. The building later was adapted for use as truck depot by Verizon Communications. In April 2018, it was demolished and replaced by high-rise luxury condominiums.
In contrast to its well-known contemporary Studio 54, The Garage fostered a distinctly no-frills, egalitarian atmosphere, as reminisced by one of its former dancers:
The club hosted a number of charity events, benefiting organizations like Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) and U.S. Fund for UNICEF. As of 2008, the Paradise Garage trademark is owned by GMHC.
Although the term "garage music" (not to be confused with UK garage) does not exclusively mean house music, the latter saw extensive development and promotion among Levan and his contemporaries, Frankie Knuckles and Nicky Siano. Nonetheless, these DJ's played all kinds of music at Paradise Garage so long as it was danceable; for example, The Clash and The Police, as well as traditional "disco" artists like Gwen Guthrie and Sylvester James.
Among those who benefited from what became known as "The Garage Sound" or "Garage Music" was Mel Cheren, a partial-backer of the club and owner of 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.
| + !Artist !Song !Year of Release | ||
| Affinity | "Don't Go Away" | 1983 |
| Carl Bean | "I Was Born This Way" | 1977 |
| Hamilton Bohannon | "Let's Start The Dance" | 1978 |
| Dee Dee Bridgewater | "Bad for Me" | 1979 |
| James Brown | "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose" | 1969 |
| Peter Brown | "Do Ya Wanna Get Funky with Me" | 1977 |
| Central Line | "Walking Into Sunshine" | 1981 |
| Chicago | "Street Player" | 1979 |
| The Chi-Lites | "My First Mistake" | 1977 |
| Chocolette | "It's That East Street Beat" | 1985 |
| The Clash | "The Magnificent Dance" | 1981 |
| Company B | "Fascinated" | 1987 |
| Dinosaur L | "Go Bang! #5" | 1982 |
| D Train | "You're the One for Me" | 1981 |
| Ian Dury | "Spasticus Autisticus" | 1981 |
| Brian Eno and David Byrne | "The Jezebel Spirit" | 1981 |
| ESG | "Moody" | 1981 |
| ESG | "Standing In Line" | 1984 |
| Marianne Faithfull | "Why D'Ya Do It" | 1979 |
| Family Tree | "Family Tree" | 1975 |
| Fingers Inc. | "Mystery of Love" | 1986 |
| First Choice | "Let No Man Put Asunder" | 1983 |
| First Choice | "Double Cross" | 1979 |
| Frontline Orchestra | "Don't Turn Your Back On Me" | 1982 |
| Taana Gardner | "Heartbeat" | 1981 |
| Manuel Göttsching | E2-E4 | 1984 |
| Eddy Grant | "Living on the Front Line" | 1979 |
| Eddy Grant | "Nobody's Got Time/Time Warp" | 1980 |
| Gwen Guthrie | "Seventh Heaven" | 1985 |
| Gwen Guthrie | "Padlock" | 1985 |
| Loleatta Holloway | "Love Sensation" | 1980 |
| Loleatta Holloway | "Hit And Run" | 1977 |
| Ednah Holt | "Serious, Sirius Space Party" | 1981 |
| Thelma Houston | "I'm Here Again" | 1978 |
| Imagination | "Just an Illusion" | 1982 |
| Inner Life | "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | 1981 |
| Instant Funk | "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)" | 1978 |
| The Jackson 5 | "I Am Love" | 1974 |
| Mick Jagger | "Lucky in Love" | 1985 |
| Marshall Jefferson | "Move Your Body" | 1985 |
| Grace Jones | "Slave to the Rhythm" | 1985 |
| Grace Jones | "Pull Up to the Bumper" | 1981 |
| Tamiko Jones | "Can't Live Without Your Love" | 1979 |
| Kebekelektrik | "War Dance" | 1978 |
| Eddie Kendricks | "Girl You Need a Change of Mind" | 1972 |
| Chaka Khan | "Clouds" | 1980 |
| Chaka Khan | "I Know You, I Live You" | 1981 |
| Klein + M.B.O. | "Dirty Talk" | 1982 |
| Kraftwerk | "The Robots" | 1978 |
| Labelle | "What Can I Do for You?" | 1974 |
| Patti LaBelle | "The Spirit's in It" | 1981 |
| Lace | "Can't Play Around" | 1982 |
| Loose Joints | "Is It All Over My Face" | 1980 |
| M | "Pop Muzik" | 1979 |
| Man Friday | "Love Honey, Love Heartache" | 1986 |
| Martin Circus | "Disco Circus" | 1979 |
| MFSB | "Love Is the Message" | 1977 |
| Steve Miller Band | "Macho City" | 1981 |
| Modern Romance | "Salsa Rapsody" | 1981 |
| Melba Moore | "You Stepped into My Life" | 1978 |
| Alicia Myers | "I Want To Thank You" | 1981 |
| Peech Boys | "Life Is Something Special" | 1982 |
| Stevie Nicks | "Stand Back" | 1983 |
| Nitro Deluxe | "Let's Get Brutal" | 1987 |
| North End featuring Michelle Wallace | "Tee's Happy" | 1981 |
| Nu Shooz | "I Can't Wait" | 1986 |
| Yoko Ono | "Walking on Thin Ice" | 1981 |
| Peech Boys | "Don't Make Me Wait" | 1982 |
| Phreek | "Weekend" | 1978 |
| Pleasure | "Take A Chance" | 1979 |
| The Police | "Voices Inside My Head" | 1980 |
| Sharon Ridley | "Changin'" | 1976 |
| Alexander Robotnick | "Problemes d'Amour" | 1983 |
| Rockers Revenge featuring Donnie Calvin | "Walking On Sunshine" | 1982 |
| Diana Ross | "Love Hangover" | 1976 |
| Diana Ross | "No One Gets the Prize" | 1979 |
| The Salsoul Orchestra | "Ooh, I Love It (Love Break)" | 1983 |
| Sister Sledge | "Lost in Music" | 1978 |
| Sister Sledge | "We Are Family" | 1978 |
| Sparque | "Let's Go Dancin'" | 1981 |
| Cat Stevens | "Was Dog A Doughnut?" | 1977 |
| Nick Straker Band | "A Little Bit of Jazz" | 1981 |
| The Strikers | "Body Music" | 1981 |
| The Sugarhill Gang | "Rapper's Delight" | 1979 |
| Donna Summer | "I Feel Love" | 1977 |
| Sylvester | "I Need Someone To Love Tonight" | 1979 |
| Sylvester | "Over And Over" | 1977 |
| Syreeta Wright | "Can't Shake Your Love" | 1981 |
| Talking Heads | "I Zimbra" | 1979 |
| Talking Heads | "Once in a Lifetime" | 1980 |
| Tom Tom Club | "Genius of Love" | 1981 |
| Touch | "Without You" | 1987 |
| T.W. Funkmasters | "Love Money" | 1980 |
| Two Tons O' Fun | "I Got The Feeling" | 1980 |
| Two Tons O' Fun | "Just Us" | 1980 |
| Visual | "The Music Got Me" | 1983 |
| Will Powers | "Adventures In Success" | 1983 |
| Womack & Womack | "Baby I'm Scared Of You" | 1984 |
| Yazoo | "Situation" | 1982 |
| Yello | "Bostich" | 1981 |
/ref>
The significance of the Paradise Garage to the history of disco music is discussed in Episode 3 of the 2024 PBS series Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution.
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