David Padilla (February 16, 1961 – August 19, 2020) was an American

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

of electronic dance music, house music,

progressive house Progressive house is a subgenre of house music. The progressive house style emerged in the early 1990s. It initially developed in the United Kingdom as a natural progression of American and European house music of the late 1980s.Gerard, Morgan; ...

, and

trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes. Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minut ...

. Padilla was the resident DJ at the Warsaw Ballroom 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 John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters ...

at a house party, who inspired him interest in becoming a disc jockey. Padilla was an early regular at David Mancuso's

The Loft The Loft may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * The Loft (British band), a British indie band * The Loft (Danish band), a Danish band * ''The Loft'' (film) (2014) an American film * The Loft (Sirius XM), a music channel on satellite r ...

where he met

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 ...

, Frankie Knuckles,

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including ...

, 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 in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, Florida, where he was offered the resident DJ spot at the Warsaw Ballroom, where he began gaining more recognition. Padilla worked at the Warsaw while celebrities such as Madonna,

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...

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