Richard Long (1933–1986) was an American sound designer.[1][2] He is known as the preeminent sound designer of the disco era, having installed systems at clubs including Paradise Garage, Dorian Gray, Studio 54, City Hall, and Max's Kansas City.[1][3][4]

ANNABEL'S, London, England

THE BIG APPLE, Berlin, Germany CASABLANCA, Tulsa, Oklahoma

CE SOIR, New York City

THE CIRCUS, Brussels, Belgium CITY HALL, Caracas, Venezuela

CLASS 1, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

CLUBHOUSE EAST & WEST, Washington, D.C.

DE CAMERON, Levittown, New York DISCO FORUM 1 & 3, New York City DORIAN GRAY, Frankfurt, Germany

ELEPHAS, Hunter Mt., New York ELEPHAS, Queens, New York

EMERALD CITY, Cherry Hill, New Jersey EMMANUELLE, Columbus, Ohio

GASTATION, Boise, Idaho

HALSTON'S FASHION SALON, New York City

INFINITY, New York City

LA FOLIE, New York City

LE CLUB, New York City

MELON'S, New York City

NEW YORK, NEW YORK (New System), N.Y.C.

PARADISE GARAGE, New York City

REGINES, Montreal, Canada

REGINES, New York City

TOMORROW'S, Cincinnati, Ohio

TRINITY, Hamburg, Germany

ST. REGIS HOTEL, New York City

STUDIO 54, New York City

VILLAGE NIGHT CLUB, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

WALDO'S DISCO, Santo Domingo

ZANZIBAR, Newark, New Jersey Custom Designed Disco Sound By

Career

Richard Long initially worked for Alex Rosner, famous for his system installed at the Loft.[1] Rosner would send Long to fix sound systems that were broken down, but eventually Long became a designer in his own right.[5] Long's first nightclub was SoHo Place.[1] In 1977, he designed the custom sound system for Paradise Garage. This system became his flagship.[6][7] Long was known for his heavy bass sound.[1] Nicky Siano described Long's sound as more "funky and down-home", compared to a more polished sound from Rosner's systems.[7] Long also developed a J-Horn, a bass speaker cabinet designed to protect the lower frequencies.[7]

Paradise Garage had a custom speaker, the "Levan Horn", designed to increase bass in the club, and named after DJ Larry Levan.[8] The club was Long's showroom–he continued to maintain and tweak the design after it opened.[7]

Over the course of his career, Long installed more than 300 systems.[8] Locations included Copacabana, Directoire, the Ginza, the Limelight, Max's Kansas City, Studio 54, Area, Bonds International Casino, Zanzibar (Newark), The Box (Chicago), Ware House, Paradise Garage.[1] and City Hall (Venezuela).[9] In 1980, Long won the Billboard award for Best Disco Sound Design.[10]

Long died of AIDS in 1986.[1] The only surviving Richard Long soundsystem is at the Eldorado Bumper Car ride in Coney Island, NY.[1][11][12] Long was invited to install the system by the Eldorado's owner, Scott Fitlin.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Magic Touch: Richard Long's Life-Changing Soundsystems". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  2. ↑ "Richard Long DJ Console — DEEPBLAK". Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  3. ↑ "In Paradise". Design Observer. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  4. ↑ "The Story of NYC Through Sound And Change". Boy's Own. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  5. ↑ "Richard Long's Life-Changing Soundsystems – Blitz". Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  6. ↑ "Moments in Music: 8 Sound Systems that Changed the World". LANDR Blog. 2016-11-07. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Tuning the room: The origins of sound systems on the dance floor". Jaeger. 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  8. 1 2 "The Disco Soundsystems That Birthed Modern Dance Music". reverb.com. 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKM7Zw6TNjY
  10. ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1980-07-26). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. ↑ "From Studio 54 to a Bumper Car Birthday: the Legacy of Disco King Nicky Siano". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  12. ↑ Sloan, Brian (2015-03-26). "Disco Pioneer Nicky Siano Hasn't Lost the Beat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  13. ↑ "Is New York City's Best Club Soundsystem in a Bumper Car Arena?". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
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