It was decorated with high-tech industrial black rubber trim and flooring that could be easily washed down. The legendary Rubber Room was the dark balcony and bar area, seventy-five or so feet above the dance floor at the very top of Studio 54. Before long, our float was in total shambles, but clearly we made an impression on the judges: we won one of the top prizes.
Then she started hurling the pieces of wood like javelins in the direction of the judges. She tore apart the entire wooden structure of our float with her bare hands, one plank at a time. By the time our float got to the judges, Grace Jones had gone completely crazy. As we slowly made our way down the crowded main street, people were singing and chanting, “Grace.Grace.” dancing alongside and looking up to catch a glimpse of Grace Jones.Įach float took one lap around the field and then one pass in front of the judges’ stand. It was almost one hundred degrees that day, but nobody complained. Whether we were on the truck, or in the street dancing around it, we snorted uncut coke (except for the Senators) and drank 151-proof rum straight from the bottle, while tall, sinewy Grace Jones gyrated as our “star” on top of the cab. Everyone, including the staff, was dressed in white with green ribbons and powdered with green glitter to match Grace’s green satin outfit. My friend Senator Mike Gravel from Alaska brought Senator Bennett Johnston from Louisiana, and a number of other high-profile friends joined us as our guests for that year’s Carnival. The Virgin Isle Hotel float was decorated with green fabric and glitter.
Studio 54 busboy generator#
The theme songs for our float were Sister Sledge’s hit song “We Are Family” and the music of Grace Jones, including “Private Life” and “A Rolling Stone.” We had a generator on the truck to power the sound system, and we built a large wooden platform on the cab for Grace to dance on.
We entered a float, calling it “Disco at the Carnival.” We set up a great moving sound system on the hotel’s truck and played all the disco hits that were popular at the time. At Carnival, there is always a big parade with floats created by churches, merchants, and other local entities moving down the main street of town. In addition to opening Studio 54, the Virgin Isle Hotel staged other promotions as well. At one event, we invited disco icon Grace Jones to join us for Carnival. Tall and strikingly beautiful, Grace was not only a superstar, but was also from nearby Jamaica, and everyone was excited to have her on the island.
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