A Q&A with Manny Lehman

Last Saturday, one of the icons of the DJ community spun in Philadelphia. DJ Manny Lehman is the central part of many gay community members' dance memories. He's spun everywhere from Montreal to Miami; New York to LA. He's headlined almost every circuit party on the planet, and now he's extended his network of fans to the thousands of boys and girls who take to the ever-growing gay cruise market. Associated Content chatted with Manny while he spun to a packed house of sweaty dancers.

Associated Content: You were a bigwig at A&M Records. Why did you go from recording company executive to DJ?
Manny Lehman: I was always spinning, even during my years working at the record label. I felt it gave me a sense of the music in streets and where the next vibe was coming from. I had just left A&M and was considering another position at another record label, when the DJ thing took on a life of it's own. Before I knew it, it was a full fledging career.

AC: You held the title of "Director of Dance Promotions" at A&M...Sounds like a job that would take you to a lot of clubs....

ML: It did take me to many clubs all over the country, but most of the jobs entailed speaking to the DJs on a weekly basis to ensure chart activity on the Billboard Charts and club rotation.

AC: Can you tell me a little bit about your discovery of CeCe Peniston?

ML: I discovered CeCe Peniston singing background on a rap record I was working on. One of the songs "Female Preacher" had a solo in it and it was CeCe. I heard that voice and was like " Who in the world is that?" I flew to Phoenix to meet her and she was just a doll. I asked her if she was interested in a solo career, she gleamed and said "Absolutely!" We cut a demo, which was Finally. I knew it was going to catch on as a club record, but I never anticipated it to be such a huge radio hit and then spread to international success. It still gives me goosebumps when I hear it on the radio.