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Melvin Cheren (January 21, 1933 – December 7, 2007)
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Affectionately known as “The Godfather of Disco”
for his championing of DJ’s, dance music and club culture from the
early days of the Disco Movement, Mel began his five decade career in
the music business at ABC/Paramount, where he eventually became Head of
Production.
He held the same position when he moved to Scepter Records. During his tenure at Scepter he was responsible for many innovations such as the first 12 inch record for DJ’s and the first instrumental mix on the B-side, earning Scepter the “Trendsetter of the Year” Award from Billboard in 1974. With a former Scepter colleague he formed his own company, West End Records in 1976, which has been associated for over 30 years with enduring dance classics like “Hot Shot” and “Heartbeat.” In recent years West End released popular compilation CD’s of remixes and live performances by legendary Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan.
Mel was the financial backer of the landmark club created by
his former life-partner Michael Brody. This history is well documented
in Cheren’s autobiography, MY LIFE AND THE PARADISE GARAGE: KEEP
ON DANCIN’ published in 2000 and in a recent documentary, G.O.D.
THE GODFATHER OF DISCO (check out this documentary's trailer below.)
In 2005, Mel was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame with their Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor which meant a great deal to him. For all of his accomplishments in the music industry, Mel was most proud of his work in support of various causes and charities and in particular his efforts in support of the LGBT Community and the fight against AIDS. He was part of the vanguard of gay men who first responded to the AIDS crisis in New York in the early Eighties and gave GMHC their first home in his Chelsea brownstone which he later operated for over 20 years as a successful bed-and-breakfast, the Colonial House Inn. He was the founder of 24 Hours For Life, an AIDS charity that was the fiscal sponsor for LIFEbeat, on whose Board he served as a Charter Director. Mel was also quietly a friend to many friends and strangers in need as well as an accomplished painter. A large number of Mel’s works of art memorialize friends lost to AIDS.
It is a sad irony that he is a fatality of the same health crisis that he fought so long to eradicate. Even in his last days he took a stand for AIDS prevention in a cautionary interview aired on the LOGO channel throughout the week of World AIDS Day. Mel Cheren is survived and will be greatly missed by many family members, prominent among them being Illya Dekhtyar, Mark Cheren and Barry Cherin, as well as a large extended family of close friends, colleagues and fellow activists.
· thegodfatherofdiscodoc.com
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Mel Cheren is a man anyone with a love of dance music and a respect for the importance of this music in our lives should know. As "The Godfather of Disco," his accomplishments have clearly shown him to truly be one of the most important and passionate figures in dance music history. He has exhibited this same dedication in his AIDS charity work - an arena where, again, his contributions have garnered him recognition worthy of a hero.
ABC
Mel Cheren began his career in the music business in 1959 at ABC-Paramount Records where
he eventually became head of the label's production department. Hot acts on ABC-Paramount
included Ray Charles, Lloyd Price, Paul Anka and B.B. King. At one point ABC bought
Dunhill Records which allowed Cheren to work with artists like The Mamas and the Papas,
Three Dog Night and Richard Harris (the artist behind the original version of "MacArthur
Park"). When the company moved operations to Los Angeles in 1970, Cheren left to become
head of production for Scepter Records.
Trendsetter
It was at Scepter that his career took off. Disco was around the corner, and being at
the right place at the right time with the right ideas, Cheren forged new territory: He
was instrumental not only in creating the first 12" single for DJs, in forming the first
record pool (The New York Record Pool - later to become For The Record Record Pool) and the
first to release an instrumental mix on a 12" B-side ("We're On The Right Track" by Ultra
High Frequency). This innovation earned Cheren and Scepter a Billboard Trendsetter Award
and soon set the standard for an industry-wide practice. Some Scepter hits include "Nice
And Slow" by Jesse Green (Cheren's remix of this won him Billboard's 1977 Best Disco Edit
of the Year*), B.T. Express' "Do It Till You're Satisfied," and Patti Jo "Make Me Believe
in You."
West End Records Hot Shot
When Scepter closed in 1976, Mel co-founded West End Records and soon after signed Karen
Young, whose single "Hot Shot" sold 800,000 copies making it one of the biggest selling
12" in history. The label went on to release a string of smash R&B and dance hits
including, among many, The Bombers "(Everybody) Get Dancin'," Taana Gardner's "Work That
Body" and "Heartbeat" and Raw Silk's "Do It to The Music."
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The Paradise Garage
Cheren, though respected for his record label, is loved by many for making possible one
of the world's most revered nightclubs, The Paradise Garage. He was the financial backer
for the club which was owned and operated by his former partner, Michael Brody. During
the Garage years, Cheren's relationship with the club's influential DJ Larry Levan
blossomed, resulting in some of the most memorable records to come out of the late
Seventies and early Eighties. (A collection of these digitally remasterd singles is out
now: Larry Levan's Classic West End Records Remixes [Made Famous at the Legendary
Paradise Garage].) In Summer 2000, West End, in conjunction with Strut Records UK
released the critically acclaimed (truly, this is not just a buzz-word in this case)
double CD set, Larry Levan Live at the Paradise Garage, which contains 2 CD made directly
from remastered reel-to-reel tapes recorded live at the Garage in 1979 and a 36-page
liner notes booklet.
Charity Junkie
In addition to his role in music history (he was featured in the April, 1979 issue of
Rolling Stone--"Disco's Top Thirty": "His small independent West End label makes some of
disco's finest records such as last year's 'Hot Shot' by Karen Young"), and being dubbed
"The Godfather of Disco" by trade magazine Dance Music Report), Cheren is one of the most
dedicated AIDS awareness activists on the planet. Often referring to himself as a
"charity junkie," Mel was first recognized in 1982 when he became actively involved with
the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC).
During that year, he donated his building in Chelsea
(now a bed & breakfast hotel - The Colonial House Inn - and his home) to GMHC for use
as their headquarters. No rent was paid to Cheren for the first year, and GMHC paid only
basic upkeep costs until they moved into larger quarters in 1984.
24 Hours For Life
Cheren's philanthropic efforts remained an integral part of his life and in 1987 he
formed 24 Hours For Life, a not-for-profit organization of media and music professionals
which produced fundraising events for AIDS relief and education. Gladys Knight was its
chairperson and some of New York City's most prominent names sat on the founding board.
24 Hours For Life initially served as the fiscal sponsor of LIFEbeat, the music industry's
AIDS awareness and resource organization, of which Cheren is an active member on the
Board of Directors.
"Personally, I have known over 500 people who have died of AIDS. I put together 24 Hours For Life so that they will not have died in vain," says Cheren. He feels that this is his "Payback" for surviving and remaining HIV negative. He notes one unexpected frustration that popped up in his charity efforts, "When you want do something without taking a profit for yourself, people are always suspicious of an ulterior motive. Frankly, if knowing 500 who have died of AIDS isn't a good enough reason, I don't know what is."
Payback Time
Cheren remains in the music mix while at the same time admirably fighting to make a
difference in people's lives. He is recently realizing one of his long-held dreams by
forming Payback Industries, Inc., which includes the 1998 reopening of West End Records
and the launching of two new labels: Payback Records and Garage Records. The concept for
Payback was inspired by Paul Newman's (salad dressing/popcorn) company which has donated
more than 100 million dollars to charity. Cheren intends to use the same concept
with Payback Industries by creating music with a purpose. Profits from Garage Records,
less taxes and expenses, will go to charity. West End and Garage will feature "danceable
R&B" as well as compilation projects. Summer '98 saw the first new release from West End
Records - Taana Gardner's old-school-meets-new school single "I'm Comin'." West End
continues to remaster and rerelease their rare classics, remixes of classics and is
currently preparing new artists for their West End Records debuts.
Keep On Dancin'
Summer 2000 saw the release of Cheren's book, Keep On Dancin' (My Life and The Paradise
Garage). It is a revealing autobiography in which he talks about his personal
relationships, experiences in the music industry and his consuming involvement in The
Paradise Garage. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive in everything from tiny
websites like www.dcsanctuary.com to
www.amazon.com to an 1800-word feature in the New
York Times. His share of the profits will also be donated to various organizations via
his charity 24 Hours For Life, Inc.
The Painter
Finally, Cheren is also an accomplished painter. His works, which have been featured on
a ten different album covers, five of which were nominated for Grammy Awards. Many
currently line the halls of his bed & breakfast on West 22nd St., and he continues to
paint in the studio of his duplex in the same building. All profits from these paintings
as well, go to charity.
Mel can often be found at home surrounded by his paintings, a serious sound system, the original West End and Paradise Garage neon signs and his fiercely loyal (and vocal) gray schnauzers, the brothers Josh and Danny.
*Jesse Green/"Nice and Slow" was also nominated for:
Billboard's Disco Single of the Year (1977),
Disco Artist of the Year (1976, 1977), and
Most Promising New Disco Artist of the Year (1977).
