Photos

Recent Articles  

Shop on ChicagoPride.com

Share

Over the last few years, Manny Lehman has arguably been the hardest working person on the circuit.  He has headlined such major events as Montreal's Black and Blue Festival, Washington DC’s Cherry Ball, Philadelphia's Blue Ball, Houston’s Jungle Party, both the White and Winter Parties in Miami, and of course Chicago’s Fireball in 2001.  And that’s just a partial list of his Main Event headlining credits. 

Lehman's high-octane blend of aggressive big room vocals infused with hard tribal beats and slamming drums works wonders on any dance floor that’s before him and has kept in high demand for many years.  In addition to his high visibility on the circuit scene, Lehman can routinely be spotted in the DJ booths at the biggest and most famous nightclubs around.  This includes The Roxy in New York City, the Crobars in Miami and Chicago, Washington DC's Nation, and in his home base at The Factory and Here in Los Angeles. 

Not content with just being in the DJ booth, Lehman is active and busy in the studio as well. He has produced a plethora of Billboard charting remixes for artists such as Madonna and Janet Jackson and has released several top-selling compilation CDs for Centaur Entertainment, 4 Play Music, and Tommy Boy Records. His next compilation effort, “Freedom,” is due out in Spring 2005.

Lehman, who is often referred to as the 'Latin from Manhattan,' came from humble beginnings, born and raised in the barrios of New York City's Bronx.  After listening to the music of Barry White, Donna Summer, Stevie Wonder, and Chaka Khan in his youth, his formal relationship with dance music started when he began working at a downtown Manhattan record store. "It was one of the most important experiences in my musical education," he says. "Eight years behind that counter instilled in me a street sensibility for hot dance beats that I carry to this day."

Connections made while working at the store allowed Manny to move from the retail side of the industry into production, where he became a record producer at A&M Records.  He developed and nurtured new artists, including CeCe Peniston, whose mega-hit "Finally" remains a dance floor staple.

Despite his behind-the-scenes success, Lehman wanted to follow his own artistic aspirations, and set a course for stardom with the use of vinyl records and turntables as his voice.  His fan base has grown exponentially over the years with a grueling tour schedule taking him all across the country and with his CDs being distributed worldwide.  Stardom is definitely upon Lehman and dance floors near and far are grateful to have him in the booth. 

2005 Fireball Participation: Ignition Party

COMMENTS

No one has commented on this article yet.
Be the first one to comment!