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Village People
The original Village People lineup in 1978. Left to right: Randy Jones, David Hodo, Felipe Rose, Victor Willis, Glenn Hughes and Alex Briley.
Background information
Origin	New York City, NY, U.S.
Genre(s)	Disco Dance-pop Funk R&B
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 Davis 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 their on-stage costumes as for their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics. Original members were: police officer (Victor Willis), American Indian chief (Felipe Rose), cowboy (Randy Jones), construction worker (David Hodo), leatherman (Glenn Hughes) and military man (Alex Briley). For the release of "In the Navy", both Willis and 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.".

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

Contents 1 History 1.1 1977-1979 1.2 1980-1985 1.3 1985 to present 2 Cultural references 3 Discography 3.1 Main albums 3.2 Compilations & Other 4 Lineup 4.1 Original 'People' 4.2 Replacement 'People' 5 Set List 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

The group was created by Jacques Morali, who was a French musical composer. He had written a few songs when he heard Victor Willis singing background vocals in a studio. Morali approached Willis and told him, "I had a dream that you sang lead on my album and it went very, very big." Willis agreed to sing on the first album, "Village People."

It was a success, so Morali and his business partner, Henri Belolo, (under the collaboration Can't Stop Productions), decided to build a real group around Willis for a stage act to showcase and perform their disco music creations. They took out an ad in a trade magazine band which read: "Macho Types Wanted: Must Have Moustache." Leatherman Hughes was a toll collector at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. Cowboy Jones and construction worker Hodo were both actors/singers/dancers. Soldierman Briley was a friend of Willis' and Morali literally bumped into Indian Rose on the streets of Greenwich Village.

Much like Frank Farian's Boney M or The Spice Girls, the group was manufactured. Despite the French songwriters, the songs lyrics were all in English as Morali and Belolo used American lyricists. On the first album, they brought in songwriting legends Phil Hurtt and Peter Whitehead. For the next three albums (and on other Can't Stop Productions such as Ritchie Family and Patrick Juvet) lead singer Willis was the lyricist.

The band's name references New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood, at the time known for having a substantial gay population. Morali and 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 attire.^{[citation needed]}

While the song "Macho Man" put them on the map, their 1978 anthem "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 warship, 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 1979. The Village People were featured on the cover of Rolling Stone, Vol. 289, April 19, 1979.

Willis left the group at the end of 1979, and the group's downfall began. It is debated why he left the group (though his drug use at that time was well known).^{[citation needed]} However, in a recent interview for Willis' forthcoming autobiography, Belolo insists that Willis was not fired. Rather, he and Morali had big plans for Willis to go solo and that Willis did not care to participate in the movie, Can't Stop the Music^{[citation needed]}. They convinced Willis to at least write a few songs for the movie, which he did before officially leaving the group. Willis' website concurs with Henri Belolo's recollection^{[citation needed]}.

Ray Simpson, brother of Valerie Simpson (of Ashford & Simpson}, stepped into Willis' shoes in time for the group's highly anticipated 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 (altho Willis penned the lyrics to "Milk Shake" and "Magic Night") and starring Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine, Jean-Claude Billmaer, Bruce Jenner, and the Village People. By the time it was released, however, disco was waning and 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 gone 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 in late 1981 to record the albums Fox On The Box and In the Street.

Although their last album containing new material, the 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. The "Sex Over The Phone" music video, due to the rise of video on the Internet, has become a viral video phenomenon.

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

• A now rare remix album of their 1970s & early 1980s hits was released in 1989.
• On November 15, 1991, Village People founder Jacques Morali succombs to AIDS in Paris, France.
• The Village People had a comeback and toured in 1993.
• In 1994, Village People joined the German national football team to sing its official World Cup '94 theme Far Away 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, Cowboy Randy Jones sang Greg Brady's part on a punk cover of The Brady Bunch classic 'Time To Change'.
• On March 4, 2001, original member Glenn Hughes (Leatherman) passes away from lung cancer in New York City.
• 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, made 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 2008 and he will embark on an international tour to coincide with its release.
• On September 5, 2006, 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.
• 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.
• On August 31, 2007, Victor Willis gave his first live concert in 28 years, in Las Vegas.
• On October 8, 2007, Village People performed at Toyota in Torrance, CA.
• On October 23, 2007, Village People performed on the NBC game show The Singing Bee.
• On October 31, 2007, Victor Willis took the stage in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• On November 17, 2007, Victor Willis wed his long-time love Karen, a lawyer and executive.

Due to their easily recognizable characters, the group have frequently been imitated or parodied in films, TV-series, video games and music. Numerous covers and homages of their songs have been recorded. The stereotypical masculine characters, particularly the leather-clad biker character with handlebar moustaches, have also become a widespread pop culture icons associated with male gay culture and YMCA has become something of an anthem of the LGBT movement.

Album Title	Release Year
Village People	1977
Macho Man	1978
Cruisin'	1978
Go West	1979
Live and Sleazy	1979
Can't Stop the Music	1980
Renaissance	1981
Fox On The Box	1982
In the Street	1983
Sex Over the Phone	1985

• Live: Seoul Song Festival (1984)
• Greatest Hits (1988)
• Greatest Hits '89 Remixes (1989)
• The Best Of Village People (1994)
• The Very Best Of (1998)
• 20th Century Masters, The Millennium Collection...The Best Of Village People (2001)

The Village People have had a number of lineup changes over the years. Those listed with an * below are in the current lineup.

• 

  

  Original Policeman, Victor Willis
• Alex Briley - the G.I./Sailor
• David Hodo - the Construction Worker
• Felipe Rose - the Indian
• Glenn Hughes - the Leatherman/Biker. Hughes died of lung cancer on March 4, 2001. (Not to be confused with Glenn Hughes, the former Deep Purple bassist and vocalist.)
• Randy Jones - The cowboy, from 1987 until 1991.
• Victor Willis- the Policeman original lead singer/writer- until late 1979). He returned to the group again however in late 1981 for the 1982 album, Fox On The Box. He wrote the lyrics to all of the group's major hits, including "In the Navy", "YMCA", "Macho Man", and "Go West". In addition, he wrote the lyrics for the songs "Milk Shake" and "Magic Night." from the Can't Stop the Music movie soundtrack.

• Eric Anzalone - the Leatherman/Biker, replacement, since 1995
• G. Jeff Olson - the Cowboy, replacement, 1981-1985, 1991- present.
• Ray Simpson - the Policeman, replacement, 1979-1982; 1987-present. He was the lead vocalist for Can't Stop the Music and its soundtrack, Renaissance, and select tracks on Live and Sleazy and Fox On The Box / In the Street.
• Miles Jaye - the Policeman, replacement, 1983-1984. He was the lead vocalist on the In the Street bonus track "America" and Live: Seoul.
• Ray Stephens- the Policeman, replacement, 1985. He was the lead vocalist on Sex Over The Phone. He died in 1990.
• Py Douglas - The Policeman. Briefly replaced Ray Stephens in some TV appearances during their ' 85 European tour promoting album Sex Over The Phone...
• Mark Lee - the Construction Worker, 1982-1985. On the albums Fox On The Box, In the Street, Live: Seoul, and Sex Over The Phone
• Bill Whitefield- the Construction Worker. Made some concert appearances in 2002 and 2003.

• We're an American Band
• Macho Man
• Iko Iko
• San Francisco/In Hollywood
• Trash Disco
• Take My Breath Away
• Mighty Real
• In The Navy
• Obsession
• Don't Leave Me This Way
• YMCA

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".

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
• List of artists who reached number one in Ireland

• Village People at Quasimodobell.com Full discography with covers & UK chart information.

• Village People Home Page
• Official Randy Jones Website
• Interview with Henri Belolo
• Official Miles Jaye Website
• Official Victor Willis Website
• Official Felipe Rose Website
• Village People at Rolling Stone