Village People

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Village People
Original Village People line-up from the cover of their 1978 Macho Man album (l-r) Randy Jones, David "Scar" Hodo, Victor Willis, Felipe Rose, Glenn Hughes, Alex Briley
Original Village People line-up from the cover of their 1978 Macho Man album (l-r) Randy Jones, David "Scar" Hodo, Victor Willis, Felipe Rose, Glenn Hughes, Alex Briley
Background information
Origin Flag of United States New York City, NY, USA
Genre(s) Disco
New Wave
Dance-pop
Funk
Hi-NRG
Years active 1977–Present
Label(s) Casablanca Records
Black Scorpio
RCA
Polygram
Website http://www.officialvillagepeople.com
Members
G. Jeff Olson
Eric Anzalone
Ray Simpson
Felipe Rose
Alex Briley
David "Scar" Hodo
Former members
Randy Jones
Glenn Hughes
Victor Willis
Ray Stephens
Mark Lee
Miles Jaye
Py Douglas
Bill Whitefield
Alex Timmerman

Village People is a concept disco group formed in the late 1970s. The group is as well known for its outrageous on-stage costumes as for its catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics. The members each dress as a police officer, an American Indian chief, a construction worker, a member of the military, a leatherman (biker), and a cowboy; after the release of In the Navy, both Victor Willis and Alex Briley appeared temporarily as sailors.

Village People scored a number of disco and dance hits, including their trademark "Macho Man", "Go West", the classic club medley of "San Francisco (You've got me) / In Hollywood (Everybody is a star)", "In the Navy", "Can't Stop the Music", "Sex Over The Phone" and their biggest hit, "Y.M.C.A.". Almost thirty years later, a dance that involves forming the latter four letters with the dancer's arms is still popular at summer camps, office functions, wedding receptions, school dances, sporting events and B'nai Mitzvot. During the seventh-inning stretch of each baseball game at Yankee Stadium, the grounds crew take an on-field break from grooming the infield to dance as "YMCA" is played, typically to enthusiastic cheers from the fans of all ages.

Collectively, the Village People have sold 85 million albums and singles. The group also recorded new materials under the name "The Amazing Veepers".

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] 1977-1979

The band was assembled in 1977 by Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo (see picture), specifically to showcase and perform their disco music creations. The original ad for recruiting the group was "Macho Types Wanted: Must Have Moustache" and was placed by Jacques Morali in 1976. Much like Frank Farian's Boney M or The Spice Girls, the group was manufactured. Despite the French songwriters, the songs were all in English.

The band's name references New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood, at the time known for having a substantial gay population. Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo got the inspiration for creating an assembly of American man archetypes based on the gay men of The Village who frequently dressed in various fantasy ways.

Their 1978 song Y.M.C.A. made them one of the most successful disco groups.

In 1979, the United States Navy considered using In the Navy, another Village People hit, in a recruiting advertising campaign on television and radio. They contacted Belolo, who decided to give the rights for free on the condition that the Navy help them shoot the music video. Less than a month later, Village People arrived at the San Diego Naval base. The Navy provided them with a war ship, several aircraft, and hundreds of Navy men. When the video started showing and the Navy started the planned ad campaign, some newspapers protested using taxpayers' money to fund music videos (especially for a group considered by some to be "morally dubious"[citation needed]). The Navy quickly cancelled the campaign. The scandal tremendously boosted the popularity of the song.

Their fame reached its peak in spring 1979, shortly before disco's death. The Village People were featured on the cover of The Rolling Stone, Vol. 289, April 19, 1979.

Victor Willis left the group at the end of 1979, and the group's downfall began. It is debated why he left, but officially he was fired because of his drug addiction.

[edit] 1980-1989

Village People attempting their transition to New Wave music
Village People attempting their transition to New Wave music

The group also appeared in its 1980 feature film Can't Stop the Music, directed by Nancy Walker, written by Allan Carr and Bronte Woodard, music and lyrics by Jacques Morali and starring Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine, Bruce Jenner, and the Village People. The movie "won" the Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay prizes at the 1980 Golden Raspberry Awards in March 1981 and was nominated in almost all the other categories. Despite that, the song, "Can't Stop The Music" became a Club Play chart hit and moderate radio hit. The soundtrack also featured the talents of "David London," who under his real name Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen went on to become the future lead singer of Toto and one of the main contributors to the Village People's next album.

In 1981, with the popularity of disco waning and New Wave music on the rise, Village People replaced its on-stage costumes with a new look inspired by the New Romantic movement, and released the New Wave album Renaissance; it was a minor success.

Victor Willis returned to the group again in late 1981 for the albums Fox On The Box and In the Street.

Although their 1985 dance/Hi-NRG release, "Sex Over The Phone" was not a huge commercial success, it fared better in sales and club play than their "Renaissance" album. A now rare remix album of their 1970's & early 1980's hits followed in 1989.

The Village People took a leave of absence in 1986. They reunite the following year with the line-up of Randy Jones, David Hodo, Felipe Rose, Glenn Highes, Alex Briley, and Ray Simpson.

[edit] 1990 to present

  • In 1994, Village People joined the German national football team to sing its official World Cup '94 theme, "All the way in America."
  • From July 18 to July 20, 2004, Village People performed in Berlin for three shows as an opening act for the German punk band Die Ärzte.
  • In 1994, the indie punk rock label Go Kart Records wanted the Village People to release an all Sex Pistols cover album. The group declined. Instead, The Cowboy (Randy Jones) from the group sang Greg Brady's part on a punk cover of The Brady Bunch classic 'Time To Change'.
  • Starting in 2004, Village People performed as the opening act for Cher on her Farewell Tour until it ended in April 2005. It was a highly successful tour for both artists.
  • On June 6, 2006 Village People were scheduled to be the headline act at Asbury Park's famous Gay Pride parade and festival.
  • On June 20, 2006, Victor Willis, original lead singer, makes his first direct statement to the media in over 25 years indicating that the "nightmare of drug abuse" is being lifted from his life and that he looked forward to being released into a residential drug treatment program. Moreover, he apologized to Village People fans for refusing to perform live concerts since leaving Village People. In that same press statement, Victor Willis revealed that a book based on his life as lead singer of Village People is due for release in 2007 and that he plans to return to the stage in the summer of 2007. On September 5, 2006, Victor Willis was ordered released from custody and into the Betty Ford Center. He was given 3 years probation and ordered to abstain from further use of drugs. The sentence was part of a plea bargain struck in July of 2006. This officially resolved all of Victor's legal troubles, as long as he does not violate the terms of his probation.
  • On July 4, 2006 Village People opened for Los Lonely Boys at the Chevy Freedom Over Texas Fourth of July extravaganza.
  • On September 4, 2006, Village People performed at The 2006 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
  • On September 30, 2006, Village People performed at Hard Rock Cafe in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Extra help was also from Daniel Gardner for production purposes, tracks produced were songs such as In The Navy and YMCA

  • On March 23, 2007, Victor "Macho Man" Willis was arrested in San Diego for allegedly choking his girlfriend, putting a knife to her throat and threatening to kill her. Willis was taken into custody without incident.
  • This year (2007), will mark the band's 30th Anniversary...

[edit] Cultural references

  • U2 pays an ironic homage to Village People by dressing up in similar costumes in the video for "Discothèque".
  • In the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in Club Malibu five men dressed in similar costumes to the ones Village People dance in on the stage. Interestingly, if the player starts breaking the law, the cop on the stage does nothing, and the whole troupe carry on dancing even if you kill all but one of them.
  • Additionally, in Grand Theft Auto III, one of the construction workers says these lyrics from the song, YMCA:"Call the YMCA" "Young Man" "there's a place you can go" and "There's no need to feel down.", as well as "In the Navy".
  • In the early 1990s, British pop group Pet Shop Boys released a successful cover of Village People's Go West and the song has now become a popular anthem at English football games.
  • There is a parody in the movie Wayne's World 2 where Wayne, Garth, and two friends Patrick Cummins and Neil Gentles inadvertently dress up like Village People and dance to YMCA in a gay bar.
  • A parody of Village People (the "Small Town Binomes") made an appearance in the animated series ReBoot, performing a YMCA-style song called BS&P.
  • In the television show "8 Simple Rules"(For Dating My Teenage Daughter), the episode 'Halloween' (Season 3), C.J. has a recurring bad memory of a Halloween party where he was dressed as a cowboy, and seen standing with other kids dressed up in costumes such as a police officer, etc. and is made fun of (quote: "Look! It's the Village People!"). Also, C.J. (now in the present) was hired as a security guard at Bridget, Kerry, and Rory Hennessy's Halloween dance. He was tricked into going on-stage (dressed as a police man) along with four other men who were dressed in the Village People costumes. Rory then loudly announces "Look! It's the Village People!".
  • In the Mel Brooks musical movie "The Producers," residents of Roger Debris' home, dressed as the Village People join in the dancing during the song "Keep It Gay"
  • In the musical "Spamalot" the lyrics and gay culture association of the song "YMCA" are parodied in the song "His Name is Lancelot" "You can all find him/pumping at the gym/ at the Camelot YMCA!" and "He can finally/come out and say/ that he is G-A-Y...M-C-A!"
  • In an episode of "The Simpsons" entitled 'Simpson Tide', Homer and his friends (Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Barney Gumble, and Moe Szyslak) join the United States Navy. When the submarine they're assigned to first leaves port, the Village People's "In the Navy" is played. Additionally, the Village People themselves are seen dancing on the submarine's deck in a similar fashion to the video clip of the song. As an additional joke, Waylon Smithers is shown dancing beside them, a reference to the fact that Smithers, like the members of the group, is a homosexual. The song comes to an abrupt end when the submarine dives and the Village People apparently drown.
  • On "Johnny Bravo", Johnny ends up on "The Island of Beautiful Men" all the residents are muscular, good looking men wearing black speedos. Several members of the Village People can be seen among them.
  • In a "You Can Learn a Lot from a Dummy" PSA from the 1990s, Vince and Larry are driving at night and run into a cardboard cutouts of things like a deer, but also the Village People.
  • In the movie "Down Periscope" starring Kelsey Grammar and Lauren Holly as part of a misfit submarine crew, the Village People appear singing "In The Navy" during the closing credits.
  • In the movie, Elvira's Haunted Hills, a character tells Elvira that "The village people say this castle is evil.", to which Elvira responds "Eh, who listens to the Village People anymore?".
  • In an episode of the BBC British comedy The Vicar of Dibley, everyone is gathered to commemmorate a loss of someone, and in one instance they all stand up from the pews singing and doing the actions to "Y.M.C.A.".
  • British indie-rockers Arctic Monkeys, were dressed up in Village People-inspired outfits for their acceptance speechs after they received their "Best British Band" and "Best British Album"-awards during Brit Awards, 14th of February 2007.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Original 'People'

[edit] Replacement 'People'

[edit] Set List

When performing in other parts of the world the band will open with "Go West" instead of "We're an American Band". In Australia and parts of Asia, "Milkshake" and "Can't Stop The Music" are frequently performed. In Italy the band is asked to perform " 5 O'Clock in The Morning." and "Sex Over The Phone" due to the success over there. Other selections include "Fire Island", "Hot Cop", "Key West", "Rock n Roll is Back", "Ready For The 80's", "Save Me" (done as a ballad with Alexander Briley (G.I.) doing a solo), "Magic Night" and a cover of "Gimmie Some Lovin".

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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