Melvin Cheren, a New York disco legend and AIDS activist who set up the club Paradise Garage and helped start 12-inch records, passed away Dec. 7. He was 74.
Cheren began his five-decade career in the music business at ABC/Paramount. He co-founded his own company (West End Records) in 1976, which has been associated for over 30 years with dance classics like Heartbeat.
The history of Paradise Garage is documented in Cheren’s autobiography, My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep on Dancin’, and in a recent documentary, The Godfather of Disco. In 2005, Cheren was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Cheren is survived and will be greatly missed by many family members, friends and fellow activists. A memorial service/celebration and various memorial benefit parties are slated to take place over the third weekend in January. Donations can be made to GMHC, 119 W. 24th, NY, NY 10011; The LGBT Community Center at 208 West 13th Street, NY, NY 10011; or LIFEbeat, 630 9th Avenue Suite 1010, NY, NY 10036.