West End Records is an American music record label based in New York City. Led by co-founder

Mel Cheren Melvin Cheren (1933 – December 7, 2007) was a record executive who helped start the Paradise Garage, also known as "Gay-rage", a New York City gay discothèque popular in the 1970s and '80s. Early life Melvin "Mel" Cheren was born on January 21 ...

, West End was one of the most prominent labels in dance music's history, along with

Prelude Records Prelude Records was a New York-based independent record label that was active from 1976 to 1986. At one time, François Kevorkian held an A&R position at Prelude. The label's owner was Marvin Schlachter. History Prelude was first launched in 1 ...

Salsoul Records Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, ...

, and

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label current ...

. West End Records helped introduce the

twelve-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

, the vinyl format popularized by disco music in the 1970s and promoted the nascent garage house music pioneered by DJ

Larry Levan Larry Levan (; born Lawrence Philpot, July 20, 1954 – November 8, 1992) was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern da ...

Paradise Garage Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and ...

. West End Records was acquired by Verse music group in 2010. On June 29, 2015, Verse Music was acquired by BMG Rights Management.

History

It was founded by Mel Cheren and Ed Kushins in 1976 and the label went on to define the sound of New York City in the heyday of disco. That sound eventually filtered to dance floors and clubs across the country and around the world. West End released disco hits like Taana Gardner's "Heartbeat," Karen Young's "Hot Shot," Loose Joints' "Is It All Over My Face," Barbara Mason's "Another Man," and The NYC Peech Boys' "Don't Make Me Wait”. These titles, along with many others in the West End Records catalog, went on to become some of the most sampled songs in music history. In 1992, a UK music production and remix team called West End produced numerous UK #1 Club Chart hits influenced by the style of the West End Records label and associated Garage sound. Samples of West End Records' titles appear in productions of million selling artists: Jennifer Lopez, Notorious B.I.G, Ja Rule, Ini Kamoze, DMX and many others. West End's music is found in such films as "The Cookout" (Lions Gate Films, 2004), "Honey" (Universal Pictures, 2003), "Loving Jezebel" (Shooting Gallery, 1999), "Reversal of Fortune" (Warner Bros, 1990) and much more. West End's music has also been featured on such television programs as "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", "Queer Eye for the Straight Girl", and "Showtime at the Apollo". The label released such hits as *

Taana Gardner Taana Gardner (born September 3, 1960) is an American disco and post-disco singer who found her success through West End Records since 1979. She is also a former member of the Aural Exciters. Early life Born in Newark, New Jersey (where sh ...

– "Heartbeat" * Karen Young – "Hot Shot" *

Barbara Mason Barbara Mason (born August 9, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American soul singer with several R&B and pop hits in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her self-written 1965 hit song "Yes, I'm Ready". She has released ...

– "Another Man" *

Loose Joints Charles Arthur Russell Jr. (May 21, 1951 – April 4, 1992) was an American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician from Iowa, whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. After studying contemporary composition and Indian classic ...

– "Is It All Over My Face?" *

The New York Citi Peech Boys The Peech Boys, also known as the New York Citi Peech Boys or NYC Peech Boys, were a band that comprised Bernard Fowler, Steven Brown, Robert Kasper, Darryl Short, Larry Levan and Michael de Benedictus. The group formed at the Paradise Garage, b ...

– "Don't Make Me Wait" *

Raw Silk Raw Silk was an American dance band, which originated in New York. History Raw Silk first signed to West End Records, which was once a popular garage label, where they recorded moderate hits. Their songs were remixed by post-disco/ R&B produ ...

- "Do It To The Music" ''The Godfather of Disco'' is a 2006 feature-length documentary based on Mel Cheren's autobiography, ''My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep On Dancin'' directed by Gene Graham and produced by Determined Pictures.

References

{{Authority control American independent record labels Post-disco record labels Electronic music record labels