Big Night
Dance music’s all grown up at the Dance Music Hall of Fame
Fly Life
The Village Voice (New York)
September 27th, 2005 3:44 PM
by Tricia Romano
While the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognizes dinosaurs of a bygone
era, the Dance Music Hall of Fame honors living legends. François
Kevorkian, Jellybean benitez, and Frankie Knuckles were among the
artists, DJs, producers, and label managers inducted at DMHOF’s second
annual ceremony last week.
Kevorkian, whose history in dance music stretches back to the disco era,
nabbed two honors – for Remixer and DJ – so it was only fair that he gave
the longest speech, in which he thanked everyone from Kraftwerk to David
Mancuso to Larry Levan. Since dance music will never get respect in
America (as host dj cousin Brucie noted in a speech), it may be the only
time you’ll hear people like Detroit techno artists Derrick May and Jeff
Mills and Kevorkian’s former Body & Soul colleague Danny Krivit getting
props from someone on a podium. After Kevorkian was finished, Brucie
cracked, “He mentioned everyone in the goddamn room!”
The awards show, held at the considerably tonier Grand Ballroom at the
Manhattan Center, was all grown up this year. Fancy banquets and glitzy
big-screen TVs, coupled with a more professional production than last
year’s seat-of-your-pants show at Spirit, led Danny Tenaglia to quip: “I
feel like I’m at an Italian wedding!” He surmised why he wasn’t getting
inducted just yet. “I’m not old enough!” Then we high-fived.
Before the show, Randy Jones – known as “the Cowboy” from the Village
People and wearing a cowboy hat to make sure you knew that – hung out with
his lawyer. “I trusted him with everything!” he said, to which his
lawyer added, “And I took it all!”
A large man later stopped me and insisted that I take his picture. “I’m
very important.” I didn’t recognize him. He was Patrick Adams, whose
name didn’t ring a bell, but whose songs did. He cited “Push Push (In
the Bush)” to jog my memory. Say no more. I took his picture.
You know how during normal awards shows you fall asleep during the
musical performances because they suck so badly? This was not a problem.
The music was so good I wished they’d skip the speeches altogether. Ray
Chew and the Crew, the Apollo Theatre’s house band, was unbelievably
good – turning out medleys of popular disco hits and backing performances
by the Trammps, Kathy Sledge leading Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,”
and a tribute to Sylvester, featuring Martha Wash, Byron Stingily, and
Alyson willia ms.
Disco was barely a twinkle when I was born, but Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will
Survive” was one of the first songs I remember. Her performance had
everyone on their feet, including producer inductee Nile Rodgers, who
was also celebrating his birthday. (“How’s everyone know that?” he
wondered earlier. I told him they probably planned the whole event just
for him.) Rodgers watched the Chic reunion with a Cheshire cat-sized
grin, as original Chic singer Fonzi Thornton, along with Sylver Logan
Sharp and Jessica Wagner, ran through a medley of the band’s monster
hits, “Le Freak,” “Dance, Dance, Dance,” and “Good Times.” Rodgers, when
accepting his induction, said, “People always ask me what the proudest
moment of my life is, and that’s when ‘Good Times’ was No. 2 for weeks
after ‘My Sharona.’ And people said dance music was dead.” Funny,
they’re still saying that. And disco really sucks too.
What doesn’t suck: hurricane benefits. The “NY Loves NOLA” benefit at
the Ace of Clubs, ACME Bar & Grill, and the Culture Project – in an
all-day cabaret and theater performance marathon featuring a hilarious
performance from Mr. Miyagi’s Theater Company – raised $4,291 for the Red
Cross.
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