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My Life in the Paradise Garage: Keep On Dancin'
Keep on Dancin' is the story of the rise and fall of the legendary Paradise Garage, the underground disco that was ruled by the greatest DJ of all time and rivaled only by Studio 54 in its soulful and decadent magnificence. Set against the passionate love affair of two men who would both eventually rate as two of New York City's greatest style and scene makers, the story traces the hypnotic birth of disco, the Garage inspired technical innovations that changed the music industry, the erotic life of gay New York and the devastating rise of AIDS. What started out as a whisper of an idea between lovers - Garage owner Michael Brody and financial backer Mel Cheren - eventually culminated into a dance palace that existed for more than a decade and is still spoken about with reverence. Keep on Dancin' gives hundreds of private recollections from the people who were Tom Moulton, Francois Kevorkian, Grace Jones, Thelma Houston, Frankie Knuckles, Junior Vasquez and others help recreate the moment when love was the message.
462 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 19, 2013
EXCEPTIONALLY well written, candid biography as well as an important chronicle of the art, business and history of deejaying. Every DJ should read this!
May 11, 2020
Do you love early disco and garage house dance music? Do you love club / dj culture? Have an interest in the music business? Have an interest in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the GMHC? If you answered yes, this autobiography is for you! I found a used copy on Amazon. A fantastic read!!! If you decide to take the plunge, take your time and look up every song and make a playlist out of it. You will discover so much music and it provides much needed context to the times Mel Cheren, Larry Levan and the legendary Paradise Garage lived!
August 1, 2019
This supposedly gay empowerment book is the opposite--it shows the selfish, petty, unkind and self-destructive side of the gay lifestyle. Cheren and the co-author bounce back and forth throughout the poorly-written book between the disco music club scene of New York City to his life of sex and drugs. When AIDS finally enters the picture he and all those around him aren't introspective enough to consider that their own bad choices could cause any of their problems.
Instead the book is filled with jealousies, lots of cheating, partying to cover emotional insecurities, banging hundreds of guys, and way too much detail about the music business. Most of the songs he writes about I've never heard of and the disco era was so short-lived that it doesn't need this kind of detail.
Who in the world thought this guy's life story was worth 460 pages (and at one point he claims to have not included everything he originally wrote!)? In the end he says he wanted it on paper so he could empower future gay men, but in truth it should scare us that so many supposedly intelligent people destroy their lives with rampant promiscuity and drug abuse, then scream that they want others to pay for it. Yes, we should have compassion on those that make bad choices, but to brag about it shows a lack of self-understanding that so many in the community seem to have. If anything he puts on paper all the hypocritical problems with those that proclaim to be loving and tolerant but in truth are quite the opposite.
Instead the book is filled with jealousies, lots of cheating, partying to cover emotional insecurities, banging hundreds of guys, and way too much detail about the music business. Most of the songs he writes about I've never heard of and the disco era was so short-lived that it doesn't need this kind of detail.
Who in the world thought this guy's life story was worth 460 pages (and at one point he claims to have not included everything he originally wrote!)? In the end he says he wanted it on paper so he could empower future gay men, but in truth it should scare us that so many supposedly intelligent people destroy their lives with rampant promiscuity and drug abuse, then scream that they want others to pay for it. Yes, we should have compassion on those that make bad choices, but to brag about it shows a lack of self-understanding that so many in the community seem to have. If anything he puts on paper all the hypocritical problems with those that proclaim to be loving and tolerant but in truth are quite the opposite.
October 7, 2018
Awesome read that covers so many topics from dance music to Fire Island. The use of so many details made me feel I was back in the time period.
February 24, 2011
Good pace, important history told consistently from the perspective of a fresh presence hitting New York City. Mel seems to retain that sense of fascination with NYC, music, dancing and fun this entire biography. Some beautiful language and passages in his reminiscings of his producer career and the magical meetings he initiated. Particularly compelling are his multitude of friendships and odd enemies that are always nipping at his heels. Through it all, his love of good dance music shines through and truly earns him that title of Godfather of Disco.
Paradise Garage magic happened through a series of friendships and aspirations of which he was the major nucleus. This is also a tale of the time of AIDS which affected almost every single one of his friendships directly. It reminds us how it affected us and still affects us all, deeply. He took on AIDS fundraising and awareness as a personal mission and he made a huge difference in what was truly a second career throughout his life. We miss you, Mel.
Paradise Garage magic happened through a series of friendships and aspirations of which he was the major nucleus. This is also a tale of the time of AIDS which affected almost every single one of his friendships directly. It reminds us how it affected us and still affects us all, deeply. He took on AIDS fundraising and awareness as a personal mission and he made a huge difference in what was truly a second career throughout his life. We miss you, Mel.
January 26, 2009
Interesting book not only for its insight into The Paradise Garage and the NYC dance music scene in the 70s, but more importantly, for me, for its window into the emerging post-Stonewall gay world of NYC and Fire Island during the early and mid-70s.
July 29, 2008
This is a great breakdown from a guy who had seen it all.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews