David Mancuso
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| - | '''David Mancuso''' is the creator of the [[infamous]] "by invitation only" parties in [[New York City]] which have come to be known as '''[[The Loft]]'''. | + | '''David Mancuso''' (October 20, 1944 – November 14, 2016) was an American disk jockey who created the popular "by invitation only" parties in [[New York City]], which later became known as "[[The Loft (New York City)|The Loft]]". The first party, called '[[Love Saves the Day]]', was in 1970. |
| - | The first such party was held in [[1970]] and was called '''Love Saves The Day'''. Prior to that, he was playing records for his friends on a semi-regular basis as early as [[1966]], and these parties became so popular that by [[1971]] he and Steve Abramowitz, who worked the door, decided to do this on a weekly basis. His parties have the free-wheeling feel and intimacy found in the classic [[rent party]] or [[house party]]. Mancuso is a pioneer in that he carefully thought out and refined his concept of "private party", as distinct from the more overtly commercial business model of the [[nightclub]]. In the early 70's, Mancuso prevailed after one of longest ever administrative trials of the '''New York City Department of Consumer Affairs''' found that he was not selling food or beverages to the public and so was exempt from the need for a NYC "Cabaret License". Mancuso's success at keeping his parties "underground" and "legal" at the same time was an inspiration to other music entrepreneurs and DJ's, and many famous private Discotheques of the 70's and 80's were modeled after The Loft's operational blueprint, including the [[Paradise Garage]], The Gallery, and [[The Saint (club)|The Saint]], to name but a few. Mancuso also helped start the [[record pool]] system for facilitating the distribution of promotional records to the qualified [[disc jockey]]. Despite Mancuso's importance in the history of DJ culture, by the late 70's he had fully abandoned the accepted DJ practice of [[audio mixing]], [[beatmatching]] and pitch-shifting, in favor of a purist "[[audiophile]]" approach to sound reproduction. Mancuso prefers to use the original [[Mark Levinson]] "Class-A" [[Amplifier]], [[Klipsch]] speakers, and "moving coil cartridges". | + | Mancuso pioneered the "private party" as distinct from the more commercial [[nightclub]] business model. In the early 1970s, Mancuso won a long administrative trial when the [[New York City Department of Consumer Affairs]] found that he was not selling food or beverages to the public and therefore did not need a NYC "Cabaret License". |
| - | David unearthed and made hits out of many songs, such as [[D-Train]]'s Keep On, [[Eddie Kendricks]]'s "[[Girl You Need A Change of Mind]]", [[Chuck Mangione]]'s Land of Make Believe, [[Third World]]'s Now That We've Found Love, and many more. | + | |
| - | On September 19, 2005 Mancuso was inducted into the [[Dance Music Hall of Fame]] for his outstanding achievement as a [[DJ]]. | + | Mancuso's success at keeping his parties "[[underground]]" and legal inspired others, and many famous private discotheques of the 1970s and 1980s were modeled after The Loft, including the [[Paradise Garage]], [[The Gallery (disco)|The Gallery]], and [[The Saint (club)|The Saint]]. Mancuso also helped start the [[record pool]] system for facilitating the distribution of promotional records to the qualified [[disc jockey]]. Elements of Mancuso's influence can also be seen in the famous nightly scene outside of [[New York City|New York City's]] [[Studio 54]], where legendary owner [[Steve Rubell]] understood the appeal of selectivity and took Mancuso's "invitation only" idea and expanded it to ridiculous, and ridiculously effective, extremes. Some nights Rubell would famously keep almost everyone standing outside and only admit 100 patrons or so. The effect was to make admittance to 54 even more sought after, increasing the club's popularity exponentially over the course of the mid and late 1970's. |
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| + | ==Career== | ||
| + | Before hosting his first Loft party in 1970, Mancuso was playing records for his friends on a semi-regular basis as early as 1966. These parties became so popular that by 1971 he and Steve Abramowitz, who worked the door, decided to do this on a weekly basis. These parties were similar to [[rent party]] or [[house party]]. | ||
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| + | By the late 1970s Mancuso abandoned [[beatmixing|audio mixing]], [[beatmatching]], and [[pitch-shifting]] in favour of an "[[audiophile]]" approach to sound reproduction. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 1999 and 2000, Mancuso and [[Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy|Colleen Murphy]] produced the compilation series ''[[David Mancuso Presents The Loft]]'', Volumes One and Two on [[Nuphonic]]. But even before that, there was the bootleg series ''[[Loft classics (mid 1990s vinyl bootleg series)|Loft Classics]]''. | ||
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| + | In [[2003 in literature|2003]], British journalist and lecturer [[Tim Lawrence (writer)|Tim Lawrence]] published an influential and comprehensive study of the New York roots of modern dance music culture that placed Mancuso at its narrative center. Entitled ''[[Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970–1979]]'', the book highlights the influence of Mancuso's late 1960s and early 1970s Loft parties on every major figure in the New York dance music scene, including Robert Williams, founder of Chicago's [[Warehouse]] and [[Muzic Box]], [[Nicky Siano]] founder of the Gallery, [[Larry Levan]] DJ at the Garage, [[Tony Humphries]] founder of Zanzibar, among numerous others. His first major loft party, called "Love Saves The Day", was held Saturday, February 14, 1970, at 647 Broadway. The importance of Mancuso and The Loft are also chronicled in [[Josell Ramos]]' documentary, ''[[Maestro (2003 film)|Maestro]]'' ([[2003 in film|2003]]), a Garage and Levan-centered narrative of New York dance music culture in the 1970s and 1980s. | ||
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| + | On September 19, 2005, Mancuso was inducted into the [[Dance Music Hall of Fame]] for his outstanding achievement as a [[DJ]]. | ||
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| + | On December 23, 2006, a nightclub named after Mancuso opened in [[Tübingen]], in southern [[Germany]]. | ||
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| + | In May 2008, David Mancuso, with the help of Goshi Manabe, Colleen Murphy, and Satoru Ogawa, launched his own audiophile record label, The Loft Audiophile Library of Music. The music is mastered by Stan Ricker. | ||
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Revision as of 20:09, 15 November 2016
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David Mancuso (October 20, 1944 – November 14, 2016) was an American disk 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.
Mancuso pioneered the "private party" as distinct from the more commercial nightclub business model. In the early 1970s, Mancuso won a long administrative trial when the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found that he was not selling food or beverages to the public and therefore did not need a NYC "Cabaret License".
Mancuso's success at keeping his parties "underground" and legal inspired others, and many famous private discotheques of the 1970s and 1980s were modeled after The Loft, including the Paradise Garage, The Gallery, and The Saint. Mancuso also helped start the record pool system for facilitating the distribution of promotional records to the qualified disc jockey. Elements of Mancuso's influence can also be seen in the famous nightly scene outside of New York City's Studio 54, where legendary owner Steve Rubell understood the appeal of selectivity and took Mancuso's "invitation only" idea and expanded it to ridiculous, and ridiculously effective, extremes. Some nights Rubell would famously keep almost everyone standing outside and only admit 100 patrons or so. The effect was to make admittance to 54 even more sought after, increasing the club's popularity exponentially over the course of the mid and late 1970's.
Career
Before hosting his first Loft party in 1970, Mancuso was playing records for his friends on a semi-regular basis as early as 1966. These parties became so popular that by 1971 he and Steve Abramowitz, who worked the door, decided to do this on a weekly basis. These parties were similar to rent party or house party.
By the late 1970s Mancuso abandoned audio mixing, beatmatching, and pitch-shifting in favour of an "audiophile" approach to sound reproduction.
In 1999 and 2000, Mancuso and Colleen Murphy produced the compilation series David Mancuso Presents The Loft, Volumes One and Two on Nuphonic. But even before that, there was the bootleg series Loft Classics.
In 2003, British journalist and lecturer Tim Lawrence published an influential and comprehensive study of the New York roots of modern dance music culture that placed Mancuso at its narrative center. Entitled Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970–1979, the book highlights the influence of Mancuso's late 1960s and early 1970s Loft parties on every major figure in the New York dance music scene, including Robert Williams, founder of Chicago's Warehouse and Muzic Box, Nicky Siano founder of the Gallery, Larry Levan DJ at the Garage, Tony Humphries founder of Zanzibar, among numerous others. His first major loft party, called "Love Saves The Day", was held Saturday, February 14, 1970, at 647 Broadway. The importance of Mancuso and The Loft are also chronicled in Josell Ramos' documentary, Maestro (2003), a Garage and Levan-centered narrative of New York dance music culture in the 1970s and 1980s.
On September 19, 2005, Mancuso was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his outstanding achievement as a DJ.
On December 23, 2006, a nightclub named after Mancuso opened in Tübingen, in southern Germany.
In May 2008, David Mancuso, with the help of Goshi Manabe, Colleen Murphy, and Satoru Ogawa, launched his own audiophile record label, The Loft Audiophile Library of Music. The music is mastered by Stan Ricker.
