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Larry Levan (born Lawrence Philpot, July 20, 1954 – died November 8, 1992) stands at the crossroads of disco, house and garage. He was the legendary DJ who for more than 10 years held court at the New York City night club Paradise Garage. The club has been described as the prototype of the modern dance club, because it was entirely focused on dancing, and was the first to put the DJ at the center of attention. He developed a cult following, who referred to his sets as "Saturday Mass". 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 introducing the dub aesthetic into dance music and being the first DJ to play a very eclectic and open-minded mix of music. Levan was with Frankie Knuckles guest DJ during the opening weeks of London's Ministry of Sound nightclub.

Larry was openly gay and got his start in clubs such as The Gallery and The Continental Baths.^[1]

Among the records that received Levan's touch are the remix of "Ain't Nothin' Goin On But The Rent" by Gwen Guthrie, "Heartbeat" by Taana Gardner, 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).

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.

He died in 1992 of endocarditis.

In September 2004, Levan was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his outstanding achievement as a DJ.

The 2006 album The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast by electronic music duo Matmos contains a tribute to Levan titled "Steam and Sequins for Larry Levan."

1. ^ Buckland, Fiona (2002). Impossible Dance: Club Culture and Queer World-Making. Wesleyan University Press, 256 pages. ISBN 0819564982.  see p.67

• Brewster, Bill and Broughton, Frank (1999) Last Night a DJ Saved my Life: the History of the Disc Jockey Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7472-6230-6
• Lawrence, Tim (2004). Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979 . Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3198-5.

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