Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT 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.
History
Physical space Paradise Garage derived its name from the building's origin as an early automobile parking structure. Its initial certificate of occupancy, dated March 26, 1925, identifies the architect of the two-story commercial building at 80-86 King Street as Victor Mayper.
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 dancefloor 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 coastal 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 a truck depot by Verizon Communications. In April 2018, it was demolished and replaced by high-rise luxury condominiums.
Culture The Garage was largely modeled on David Mancuso's private invitation-only DJ parties at The Loft. Admission to the club was only available to members and their guests with an interview process used to select members. In order to avoid New York City restrictions on bar and restaurant hours-of-operation, snacks and beverages were freely available to patrons and no liquor was served. These measures allowed the club to stay open after hours, often until 10:00 AM or even later the following day.
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.
Music
Paradise Garage was an epicenter for early pioneers of dance music under the curation of resident DJ Larry Levan. The unique and eclectic styles of disco and dance music featured at the Garage gave rise to descriptive encompassing terms like New York house, "garage", "garage style", and "garage classic" (to describe a record that was made famous at, or associated with, the club).
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.
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.
Paradise Garage Top 100 In the 2000 book Last Night A DJ Saved My Life by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, a chart was detailed that listed the "Top 100" of the Paradise Garage, selected by "The Committee", ostensibly detailing the hundred most iconic tracks associated with the club. +ArtistSongYear of ReleaseAffinity"Don't Go Away"1983Carl Bean"I Was Born This Way"1977Hamilton Bohannon"Let's Start The Dance"1978Dee Dee Bridgewater"Bad for Me"1979James Brown"Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose"1969Peter Brown"Do Ya Wanna Get Funky with Me"1977Central Line"Walking Into Sunshine"1981Chicago"Street Player"1979The Chi-Lites"My First Mistake"1977Chocolette"It's That East Street Beat"1985The Clash"The Magnificent Dance"1981Company B "Fascinated"1987Dinosaur L"Go Bang! #5"1982D Train"You're the One for Me"1981Ian Dury"Spasticus Autisticus"1981Brian Eno and David Byrne"The Jezebel Spirit"1981ESG"Moody"1981ESG"Standing In Line"1984Marianne Faithfull"Why D'Ya Do It"1979Family Tree"Family Tree"1975Fingers Inc."Mystery of Love"1986First Choice"Let No Man Put Asunder"1983First Choice"Double Cross"1979Frontline Orchestra"Don't Turn Your Back On Me"1982Taana Gardner"Heartbeat"1981Manuel GöttschingE2-E41984Eddy Grant"Living on the Front Line"1979Eddy Grant"Nobody's Got Time/Time Warp"1980Gwen Guthrie"Seventh Heaven"1985Gwen Guthrie"Padlock"1985Loleatta Holloway"Love Sensation"1980Loleatta Holloway"Hit And Run"1977Ednah Holt"Serious, Sirius Space Party"1981Thelma Houston"I'm Here Again"1978Imagination"Just an Illusion"1982Inner Life"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"1981Instant Funk"I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)"1978The Jackson 5"I Am Love"1974Mick Jagger"Lucky in Love"1985Marshall Jefferson"Move Your Body"1985Grace Jones"Slave to the Rhythm"1985Grace Jones"Pull Up to the Bumper"1981Tamiko Jones"Can't Live Without Your Love"1979Kebekelektrik"War Dance"1978Eddie Kendricks"Girl You Need a Change of Mind"1972Chaka Khan"Clouds"1980Chaka Khan"I Know You, I Live You"1981Klein + M.B.O."Dirty Talk"1982Kraftwerk"The Robots"1978Labelle"What Can I Do for You?"1974Patti LaBelle"The Spirit's in It"1981Lace"Can't Play Around"1982Loose Joints"Is It All Over My Face"1980M"Pop Muzik"1979Man Friday"Love Honey, Love Heartache"1986Martin Circus"Disco Circus"1979MFSB"Love Is the Message"1977Steve Miller Band"Macho City"1981Modern Romance"Salsa Rapsody"1981Melba Moore"You Stepped into My Life"1978Alicia Myers"I Want To Thank You"1981New York Citi Peech Boys"Life Is Something Special"1982Stevie Nicks"Stand Back"1983Nitro Deluxe"Let's Get Brutal"1987North End featuring Michelle Wallace"Tee's Happy"1981Nu Shooz"I Can't Wait"1986Yoko Ono"Walking on Thin Ice"1981Peech Boys"Don't Make Me Wait"1982Phreek"Weekend"1978Pleasure"Take A Chance"1979The Police"Voices Inside My Head"1980Sharon Ridley"Changin'"1976Alexander Robotnick"Problemes d'Amour"1983Rockers Revenge featuring Donnie Calvin"Walking On Sunshine"1982Diana Ross"Love Hangover"1976Diana Ross"No One Gets the Prize"1979The Salsoul Orchestra"Ooh, I Love It (Love Break)"1983Sister Sledge"Lost in Music"1978Sister Sledge"We Are Family"1978Sparque"Let's Go Dancin'"1981Cat Stevens"Was Dog A Doughnut?"1977Nick Straker Band"A Little Bit of Jazz"1981The Strikers"Body Music"1981The Sugarhill Gang"Rapper's Delight"1979Donna Summer"I Feel Love"1977Sylvester"I Need Someone To Love Tonight"1979Sylvester"Over And Over"1977Syreeta"Can't Shake Your Love"1981Talking Heads"I Zimbra"1979Talking Heads"Once in a Lifetime"1980Tom Tom Club"Genius of Love"1981Touch"Without You"1987T.W. Funkmasters"Love Money"1980Two Tons O' Fun"I Got The Feeling"1980Two Tons O' Fun"Just Us"1980Visual"The Music Got Me"1983Will Powers"Adventures In Success"1983Womack & Womack"Baby I'm Scared Of You"1984Yazoo"Situation"1982Yello"Bostich"1981
Performers
Notable performers who have played at Paradise Garage include: 2 Puerto Ricans, a Blackman, and a Dominican Colonel Abrams Noel Pagan Gayle Adams Patti Austin Baltimora B. B. & Q. Band Claudja Barry Carl Bean Celi Bee Taka Boom Pattie Brooks Jocelyn Brown Miquel Brown Peter Brown Sharon Brown C-Bank Camille Cheyne Linda Clifford Natalie Cole Willie Colón Company B The Cover Girls Tim Curry E.G. Daily Sarah Dash Taylor Dayne Cory Daye Divine D. Train Duran Duran ESG First Choice Samantha Fox Marshall Jefferson Freeez Taana Gardner Siedah Garrett Gary's Gang Gloria Gaynor Georgio Gwen Guthrie Curtis Hairston Hanson & Davis Keith Haring Dan Hartman Nona Hendryx Jennifer Holliday Loleatta Holloway Thelma Houston Whitney Houston Al Hudson Rhetta Hughes Phyllis Hyman Imagination James Ingram The It Debbie Jacobs Peter Jacques band France Joli Grace Jones The Jones Girls Kid Creole and the Coconuts Madleen Kane Chaka Khan Evelyn 'Champagne' King Fern Kinney Jean Knight Konk George Kranz Patti LaBelle Cyndi Lauper Amanda Lear Paul Lekakis Lime Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam Loose Ends Cheryl Lynn Madonna (who also filmed her first music video, "Everybody", here) Nancy Martinez Hugh Masekela Janice McClain Stephanie Mills Melba Moore Meli'sa Morgan Mr. Fingers Alicia MyersNayobe New Order Klaus Nomi Nu Shooz Odyssey Dennis Parker Paul Parker Peech Boys Bonnie Pointer The Pointer Sisters Positive Force Quando Quango Fonda Rae Sheryl Lee Ralph Sharon Redd The Ritchie Family Barbara Roy Diana Ross Arthur Russell Sinitta Sister Sledge Frankie Smith Stacey Q Brenda K. Starr Candi Staton Amii Stewart Sybil Sylvester The System Evelyn Thomas Tasha Thomas Judy Torres Liz Torres Unlimited Touch Luther Vandross Táta Vega Was (Not Was) Jody Watley The Weather Girls Wham! Deniece Williams Precious Wilson Betty Wright Syreeta Wright Yaz Karen Young
In popular culture Tribute events On May 11, 2014, in an event organized by Red Bull Music Academy, former Paradise Garage DJ David Depino, his fellow Paradise Garage alum Joey Llanos, and the dance music DJ François Kevorkian paid tribute to both the Paradise Garage and the late Larry Levan with a block party located on the street outside the club's former entrance. The event was coordinated with an effort to rename the King Street block Larry Levan Way and featured songs considered Garage classics, some DJ'd, some of which were sung live by Jocelyn Brown, who appeared onstage to deliver such favorites as "I'm Caught Up (In a One Night Love Affair)" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." From May 24 to September 22, 2019, the New York Historical Society's Stonewall 50 Exhibition displayed the original Paradise Garage metal sign from the disco's original building, which was a parking garage. Credits also on display read: "Paradise Garage (1976-1987) Dennis Wunderlin (b. 1943), designer. Exterior sign, ca. 1977. Metal, paint. Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University, New York, NY". On June 22, 2022, Victor Rosado held a Tribute to Paradise Garage and Larry Levan at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
Tribute sites Multiple tribute sites are dedicated to the Paradise Garage, such as paradisegargenyc.com and TheParadiseGarage.net.
Tribute movies