David Padilla (February 16, 1961 – August 19, 2020) was an American disc jockey of electronic dance music,

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

, progressive house, and trance music. Padilla was the resident DJ at the

Warsaw Ballroom The Warsaw Ballroom, or more commonly referred to simply as "Warsaw" was a gay night club located in South Beach, Florida, United States, at Collins Avenue and Espanola Way. Prior to becoming Warsaw it was known by many other names including "Ovo ...

and The Mix. Padilla is credited as a pioneer of Miami's after-hour scene.

Early life and career

Padilla began experimenting with music in his early teens. He met John Benitez at a house party, who inspired him interest in becoming a disc jockey. Padilla was an early regular at David Mancuso's The Loft where he met Larry Levan,

Frankie Knuckles Francis Warren Nicholls, Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014), better known as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the 1 ...

, David Morales, among other notable DJs. Brad LeBeau, a disc jockey at Xenon Club, called Padilla and offered him a job there.

Miami Beach

In 1989 Padilla moved to what was later known as

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard. This area was the fi ...

in Miami, Florida, where he was offered the resident DJ spot at the

, where he began gaining more recognition. Padilla worked at the Warsaw while celebrities such as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, Gianni Versace and Donatella Versace attended. The club closed on Friday 25 May 2002. His CDs “The Mix Afterhours” a 2-disc set was released on June 1, 1999 on the Max Music & Entertainment label; according to Max Music head Rama Barwick, it was their best-selling release. Padilla's “The South Beach Experience” on the Ultra Records label was released on October 3, 2000.

Later life

During the first week of December in 2012 Padilla suffered three successive strokes leaving him partially paralyzed.

References

External links

Warsaw Ballroom
DiscoMusic {{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, David 1961 births Living people American DJs DJs from New York City