Song:Y.M.C.A.
Album:The Best of Village People
Y.M.C.A. was the biggest hit for Village People in 1978. I think most fans remember that they all wore costumes. The man behind Village People was French producer Jacques Morali. In 1975. Morali and partner Henri Belolo opened an office in Philadelphia and produced The Ritchie Family hit Brazil. When Morali went to a gay disco in Greenwich Village in New York, he found that everyone was in costume. He thought that he could form a music group in costumes and aim it at the gay market. The other key figure was lead singer Victor Willis. A native of Dallas, Willis grew up singing in his father's church. He moved to New York and was a member of the theater group Negro Ensemble Company and he appeared in the Broadway musical The Wiz. After hearing his demo, Morali hired Willis to perform all the vocals on the 1977 album Village People. All the songs were written by Phil Hurtt and Peter Whitehead who wrote songs for The Ritchie Family. When the single San Francisco topped the dance charts, Morali hired dancers and put them all in costumes so Village People could tour. Macho Man was their second big hit. By this time, Willis was writing the songs with Morali. Y.M.C.A. reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Apparently Willis had to explain to Morali about the Y.M.C.A. Willis says he didn't intend to write a gay anthem. The song was about all the fun activities. The follow up single In The Navy reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Village People appeared on TV and toured military bases with Bob Hope. Things went south when Morali signed to do the film Can't Stop The Music. Willis left Village People and was replaced by Ray Simpson (Valerie Simpson's brother). After the film bombed and disco faded, early 80s albums did not do well and Morali ended Village People in 1985. You can get all their hits on this comp. The group is still around. Willis has returned in recent years and they performed Y.M.C.A. on Fox's New Year's Eve with Steve Harvey. They are a nostalgia act. Here's the video for Y.M.C.A. by Village People.
I remember them and the craze of the dance, I did at a couple of weddings. Mostly I remember them for being a gay-themed band and not being ashamed of it. It was a very different time and place.
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