By Sherdina Straughn

Mel Cheren, known as the Godfather of Disco, co-founder of West End Records and co-owner of the Paradise Garage, died of AIDS on Friday, Dec. 7. He was an early AIDS activists who spent years fundraising for AIDS research and prevention. He discovered he was HIV positive only a few weeks before his sudden death. In a very weakened state, he appeared on LOGO CBS News on Nov. 29 and, in his very last interview, pleaded with the public to practice safer sex. That was the type of man he was—always thinking of others first. With all his fame, he was always very humble.

Mel was a living treasure who touched the lives of many people through his acts of kindness, unselfish love and, of course, the magical and healing music he helped to create through his record label. He was also a very talented artist whose huge works, done in neon paints, are displayed in the 24 Hour For Life Gallery at his bed and breakfast, Colonial House Inn, located at 318 W. 22nd St. The site is a landmark building, and Mel, before he made it into a bed and breakfast, donated the space for the first location of Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Colonial House was also his home.

Most recently, I had the pleasure of working with Mel as the only women DJ for the fundraising party to honor the memory of DJ Larry Levan from the Paradise Garage, and artist Keith Haring. I also DJ’d for a black-tie dinner at Lincoln Center in which Mel was honored for his outstanding AIDS work.

Mel was my friend and neighbor for more than 30 years. I will truly miss seeing him on the block, and dancing with him at all the great parties. My first memories of him run deep, from the very first parties at Paradise Garage in the early 1970s, when I, along with my DJ partner, Margarita Cancel, became members compliments of Mel and co-owner Michael Brody. This was indeed a great honor for the both of us, because the Paradise Garage was a very special place, a second home where we took all our friends, for every Saturday night was filled with electricity and positive energy, sparked by love, happiness and peace through music.

I can remember some of the rooms at the Garage, including the Crystal Room. The music was always hot and funky, mixed by the master of all DJ’s, Larry Levan. The crowd was mixed and from all over the city. Walking up the long ramp, seeing the neon Paradise Garage emblem over our heads, and hearing the low rumbles of the bass speakers from the music inside, it was an invitation to the dance—pure and simple.

Once inside, the experience was spiritual, almost religious. The sight of more than 2,000 sweaty bodies moving in unison to the pulsating bass and crystal clear highs of the speakers—that was the unique sound of the Garage. You literally felt every beat of the music pulse through your mind and body. The Garage also had one of the best lighting systems of its time. At times you felt like you had just stepped out of a giant spaceship and onto another planet.

The Paradise Garage also special because of its gracious staff, starting with owners Mel and Michael, DJ Larry Levan, membership coordinator Jamie and Noel, who always greeted us with a big smile and warm hug. They, plus the many other staffers, made you feel like you were part of a unique family, and the Garage was indeed your home. The feeling of brotherhood, love and unity was always magically weaved in and out of the music, and Love Is The Message, by M.F.S.B, was the Garage’s theme song.

The Garage also had the very best of the underground dance record labels, starting with Mel Cheren’s West End Records, Sleeping Bag Records, Salsoul Records, 4th and Broadway Records, and Prelude Records. Onstage were always some of New Yorks’ hottest performers such as Loleatta Holloway, Taana Gardner, The WeatherGirls, Cherl Lynn, D-Train, Sylvester, First Choice, Chaka Khan, McFadden and Whitehead, and Sharon Redd.

A void was left with the Paradise Garage’s closing in 1987. Many clubs have since tried to capture the sound of that sacred space. Some have come close, but no one can really capture the soul, spirit and energy of the Paradise Garage, because it was a truly unique place, a reflection of the period of time from which it sprang. As long as we keep their memory in our hearts, their spirits will never die.