What do you do if you play new song that you love, but it clears the dance floor? Do you quickly mix into something familiar that you know will bring dancers back to the floor? Or, do you let it play, figuring the damage is already done? There isn’t much else you can do, right? Wrong. There is a third option, and it’s the one that Larry Levan famously chose at the Paradise Garage in 1981.

I’ll say up front that this story may be apocryphal or exaggerated, but I’ve heard it from several sources, and all claim it’s completely true.

When West End Records released the 12″ single for Taana Gardner’s post-disco track “Heartbeat,” they placed a remix by New York legend (god?) Larry Levan on the a-side of the record. It ran for 9:34, and was very different from the music being played by Larry at Paradise Garage, and by most club DJs at the time. In an era when most clubs were playing High-NRG disco records that clocked in at around 130 BPM, and even Levan, who played slower music, was consistently playing in the 118-125 range, “Heartbeat” positively crawls around the turntable at a snail’s pace of 98 BPM.

The first time Levan played the song, the entire dance floor cleared. Guests went to get food or punch in the other room, or took a seat to rest. This didn’t phase Larry. Not long after, when the dance floor was again full, he put “Heartbeat” on again, to the same result. This time, he didn’t wait to play it again. He let it run for the full 9:34, then followed it up with… you guessed it… the same song! Another 9:34 of “Heartbeat” played to an empty dance floor. Then another. Some say he played it 20 times in a row that night. At first, the crowd staged a sit-in on the dance floor, glaring up at the booth, while Levan smiled back down on his audience. Eventually, it worked, as people began to nod their heads or tap their feet to the song’s infectious beat. Some relented, and started dancing, and that broke the spell. Suddenly the entire room was dancing and chanting along.

Heartbeat
It makes me feel so weak
Heartbeat
It makes me feel so weak

One dancer later said “we were Stockholm Syndrome’d into loving that song,” but whatever the case, from then on, “Heartbeat” became a Paradise Garage anthem, and the song blew up in clubs and on the radio, and became one of the top-selling 12″ singles of all time. It also became a hip hop staple, and has been sampled by dozens of rappers including De La Soul, Eazy-E, Lil Wayne, Black Moon, Mos Def, and others.

I don’t recommend you try this yourself. Larry Levan was revered by his audience in a way no DJ ever has been before or since. He could get away with things no one else could, including playing the same song 20 times in a row. Or– maybe you should try this? If you do, be sure to let us know how it went by leaving a comment!