Larry Levan was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern dance club. He developed a cult following who referred to his sets as "Saturday Mass". Influential post-disco DJ François Kevorkian credits Levan with introducing the dub aesthetic into dance music. Along with Kevorkian, Levan experimented with drum machines and synthesizers in his productions and live sets, ushering in an electronic, post-disco sound that presaged the ascendence of house music. He DJ'd at Club Zanzibar in the 1980s as well, home to the Jersey Sound brand of deep house or garage house.
The Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a discotheque in New York City notable in the history of modern dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. It was founded by Michael Brody, its sole proprietor, and was located at 84 King Street in the Hudson Square neighborhood. It operated from 1977 to 1987 and was the base for resident DJ Larry Levan.
Nicholai Olivia Rothschild is an American businesswoman, socialite, model and fashion designer. She is a member of the Hilton family by birth, and a member of the Rothschild family through her marriage to James Rothschild, a grandson of Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild, in 2015.
Arthur Russell (born Charles Arthur Russell, Jr.; May 21, 1951 – April 4, 1992) was an American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician from Iowa, whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. Trained in contemporary experimental composition and Indian classical music, in the mid-1970s he relocated to New York, where he became associated with Lower Manhattan's avant-garde community as well as the city's disco scene. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Russell produced a considerable collection of material, including several underground dance hits under aliases such as Dinosaur L and Indian Ocean, but his near-inability to complete projects resulted in a limited amount of released output; World of Echo (1986) was his only solo pop album to be released during his life.
Nicholas Christian Hopkins was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins recorded and performed on many notable British and American pop and rock music releases from the 1960s through the 1990s including many songs by The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who.
Dance-punk is a music genre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the post-punk and new wave movements.
David Paul Mancuso was an American disc jockey who created the popular "by invitation only" parties in New York City, which later became known as "The Loft". The first party, called "Love Saves The Day", was in 1970.
William Marvin "Bill" Whittington is an American racing driver from Lubbock, Texas who won the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans together with his brother Don Whittington and Klaus Ludwig in a Porsche 935. The German professional Klaus Ludwig, multiple winner at Le Mans and elsewhere, did most of the driving in the heavy rain as the brothers did not have any real racing experience prior to the late 1970s. Bill's brother Dale also competed in open wheel racing.
Richie Kaczor was among the earliest DJs during Disco's infancy in the 1970s.
Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights, organized by Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington, was the first major museum exhibition to explore the rich, complex world of disco. Pulsating with light and sound, the exhibit followed disco from its beginnings in New York club culture to the fad created by Saturday Night Fever, the ensuing backlash, and disco's influential afterlife.
When Disco Ruled The World is a music documentary that aired on VH1 in 2005.
Rick Squillante was a nightclub disc jockey and music industry representative and record producer, who rose to fame during the 1980s as the principal DJ at the Starck Club in Dallas, Texas. He has been noted as a major influence on many of today's modern DJs in the dance music trade.
Nicky Epstein is a knitting designer and author of numerous books on knitting. She is known for her creative combinations of knitting stitches, and for the colorful patterns often found in her sweaters, especially involving applique of separately knitted motifs. In 2005, she was given a prestigious award by the National NeedleArts Association. In 2006, her work was featured in a retrospective fashion show at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Since the (winter) Holiday 2005 issue, Epstein has written a regular column in Vogue Knitting called simply "Nicky Epstein".
The Council was an African-American organized crime syndicate in New York City that controlled the heroin trade in the Harlem area of the city during the 1970s. Formed by Nicky Barnes in 1972, the seven-man organization ran the heroin trade in Harlem, handled local criminal disputes, and solved other issues related to the drug trade. The Council was heavily connected to the Italian-American Mafia in New York City, where Matthew Madonna of the Lucchese crime family supplied the group with raw heroin, which was then diluted and distributed in Harlem. At its peak, Council-manufactured heroin began to be distributed across New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, as far west as Arizona, and even into Canada. Nicky Barnes was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1978, and in 1982 he became a federal informant, with his testimony leading to the dissolution of The Council in 1983.
The term underground dance music has been applied to artistic dance music movements, such as early 1970s disco and 1980s Chicago house, but the term has since then come to be defined by any electronic dance or house music artist/band that avoids becoming a trend/mainstream nowadays. Other early "underground dance music" artists include Little Louie Vega, Tony Humphries, Larry Levan, David Mancuso, Frankie Knuckles, Nicky Siano, Lenties Deep and many others. In the late 1970s, the term underground dance music was associated with the music initially played at places like Paradise Garage, The Loft and The Warehouse.
Giampiero Scalamogna, best known as Gepy & Gepy, was an Italian singer, songwriter, producer and arranger. For his powerful voice and robust physique he was often paired to Barry White and Demis Roussos.
Siano is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
