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Biography
Infobox musical artist|name = Village People|image = VillagePeople1978.jpg|Img size = 300 px|landscape = yes|caption = from left: Randy Jones, Glenn Hughes, Felipe Rose, Victor Willis, David "Scar" Hodo, Alex Briley in 1978|background = group_or_band|alias =|origin = New York City, United States|instrument =|genre = Disco |occupation =|years_active = 1977present|label = Casablanca Records Black Scorpio RCA Polygram |associated_acts =|website = http://www.officialvillagepeople.com/ www.OfficialVillagePeople.com|current_members = Felipe Rose Alex Briley David Hodo|David "Scar" Hodo Jeff Olson (singer)|G. Jeff Olson Eric Anzalone Ray Simpson |past_members = Victor Willis Randy Jones (singer)|Randy Jones Glenn Hughes (Village People)|Glenn Hughes Ray Stephens (singer)|Ray Stephens Mark Lee Miles Jaye Davis Py Douglas Bill Whitefield Alex Timmerman Angel Morales|notable_instruments = Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costume s depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics.
Originally created to target disco's gay audience by featuring popular gay fantasy personas,cite web|url= http://www.spin.com/articles/ymca-oral-history |title=Spin Magazine Online: Y.M.C.A. (An Oral History) '& #39; |publisher=Spin.com |date=2008-05-27 |accessdate=2011-08-19 the band's popularity quickly brought them into mainstream. Village People scored a number of disco and dance music|dance hits, including their trademark " Macho Man (song)|Macho Man ", " Go West (song)|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 (song)|Can't Stop the Music ", and their biggest hit, " Y.M.C.A. (song)|Y.M.C.A. ".
They have sold upwards of 100& nbsp;million records world-wide.cite web|url= http://www.officialvillagepeople.com/history.php |title=Village People - The Official Site |publisher=Officialvillagepeople.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-19
History
19771979
The group was the creation of Jacques Morali , a French people|French musical composer. He had written a few dance tunes when he was given a demo tape recorded by singer/actor Victor Willis . 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 (album)|Village People .Village People, Rolling Stone Magazine Vol. 289, April 19, 1979
It was a success, and demand for live appearances soon followed. Morali and his business partner, Henri Belolo (under the collaboration Can't Stop Productions) hastily built a group of dancers around Willis to perform in clubs and on Dick Clark 's American Bandstand . As Village People's popularity grew, Morali, Belolo and Willis saw the need for a permanent "group." They took out an ad in a music trade magazine which read: "Macho Types Wanted: Must Dance And Have A Moustache."
Morali met the first recruit, Felipe Rose (Native American), on the streets of Greenwich Village. Rose was a bartender who wore jingle bells on his boots. He was invited to take part in the sessions for the first album. Alex Briley (who started as an athlete, but eventually took on the soldier persona) was Willis' friend. The others, Mark Mussler (construction worker), Dave Forrest (cowboy), Lee Mouton (leatherman) and Peter Whitehead (one of the group's early songwriters) appeared on American Bandstand and in the video for the group's first hit, "San Francisco (You Got Me)". They were later replaced by David Hodo, Randy Jones and Glenn Hughes, who all had more experience as actors/singers/dancers. Hughes had first been spotted as a toll collector at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel .
Because Morali could not speak English, songwriters Phil Hurtt and Peter Whitehead were brought in to write the lyrics for the first album. However, Willis wrote the lyrics to the group's biggest hits, including "Y.M.C.A.", "Macho Man," "Go West" and "In the Navy," and for other Can't Stop Productions acts such as Ritchie Family and Patrick Juvet ).Village People Official Tour Program, 1979, Can't Stop Productions Likewise, Gypsy Lane (the Village People band) and their conductor, Horace Ott, provided much of the musical arrangements for Morali, who did not play any instruments.Straight, No Chaser by Victor Willis, 1990
The band's name refers to New York City's Greenwich Village , at the time known for its large gay population.Review: Gay Sex in the 70s: http://kdhx.org/index.php? option=com_content& task=view& id=378& Itemid=142 , 2000 Morali and Belolo decided to create a group of stereotypes based on the gay men of Greenwich Village, who often dressed in fantasy attire.
"Macho Man" brought them mainstream attention, and their 1978 recording " Y.M.C.A. (song)|Y.M.C.A. " became one of the most popular hits of the 1970s.
In 1979, the United States Navy decided to use "In the Navy" in a television and radio recruiting campaign. Belolo offered them the rights for free if the Navy would help them film the music video. The Navy provided them access to the San Diego Navy base, where the USS Reasoner (FF-1063) , several aircraft, and the crew of the ship would be used. The Navy canceled the campaign after a short time.cite news| url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/nov/12/popandrock8 | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Everyday people | first=Ed | last=Vulliamy | date=November 12, 2006 | accessdate=May 27, 2010
The group's fame peaked in 1979, when Village People made several appearances on The Merv Griffin Show and traveled with Bob Hope to entertain U.S. troops. They were also featured on the cover of Rolling Stone , Vol. 289, April 19, 1979. Willis left the group at the end of an international tour in 1979, and a decline in popularity followed.
19801985
Ray Simpson , brother of Valerie Simpson (of Ashford & Simpson ), replaced Willis 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 (although Willis penned the lyrics to Milkshake and Magic Night ) and starring Steve Guttenberg , Valerie Perrine , Jean-Claude Billmaer, Bruce Jenner , and Village People. By the time it was released, however, disco had waned and the movie won the Razzies|Worst Picture and Razzies|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. However, it too (Can't Stop the Music, the song) was nominated for Worst Original Song by the 1981 Razzies, and flopped by Village People standard in that it never obtained gold status as a single or album.IMBD http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000558/1981 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 (band)|Toto and one of the main contributors to the Village People's next album. The movie itself has since become a cult favorite, developing a worldwide fan base.
The group was one of the featured guests on a November 22, 1980 episode of Love Boat , (7th episode of season 4), entitled "Secretary to the Stars/Julie's Decision/The Horse Lover/Gopher and Isaac Buy a Horse". At the end of 1980, cowboy Randy Jones left the group and was replaced by Jeff Olson.
In 1981, with the popularity of disco having faded 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 (Village People album)|Renaissance . It only attracted minor, mostly negative attention and produced no hits.
Victor Willis returned to the group briefly in late 1981 for the album Fox on the Box , which was released in 1982 only in Europe but did have limited release in the United States in 1983 under the title In the Street . Miles Jaye had briefly taken over for Ray Simpson as lead singer by 1983 and contributed an extra track to In the Street . Mark Lee replaced David Hodo in 1982.
Their last album containing new material, the 1985 dance/ Hi-NRG release Sex Over the Phone , was not a huge commercial success, but it fared better in sales and club play than their Renaissance album. In recent years, "Sex Over the Phone" has become a cult classic. Recently, an Associated Press declared "Sex Over the Phone" to be the " 'Citizen Kane' of music videos." The Sex album featured yet another new lead singer, Ray Stephens. Py Douglas came in to sub for Stephens for some of the group's live appearances in 1985.
In 1985, the group took a hiatus but reunited in 1987 with the line-up of Randy Jones, David Hodo, Felipe Rose, Glenn Hughes, Alex Briley and Ray Simpson.
Since 1988 the group has managed itself under the name Sixuvus Ltd. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2001/mar/30/guardianobituaries1 Obituary, Glen Hughes,The Guardian, Friday 30 March 2001
1990s to present
November 15, 1991: Village People founder Jacques Morali dies from AIDS in Paris, France.
1993: the group makes a guest appearance on the hit show Married With Children in the episode "Take My Wife, Please".
1994: Village People join the German national football team to sing its official 1994 FIFA World Cup|World Cup '94 theme Far Away in America .
1994: Cowboy Randy Jones sings Greg Brady (Brady Bunch)|Greg Brady 's part on a punk cover of The Brady Bunch classic Time to Change .
1995: Eric Anzalone replaces Glenn Hughes as the Leatherman/Biker.
1996: Village People appears with Kelsey Grammer , Rob Schneider , and other cast members during the end-credits sequence of the film Down Periscope .
2000: The group releases new material under the name Amazing Veepers.
2001: Felipe Rose appears as himself on the game show To Tell the Truth .
March 4, 2001: original member Glenn Hughes (Leatherman) dies from lung cancer in New York City. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/villagepeople/articles/story/5932983/village_peoples_hughes_dead dead link|date=August 2011
2004: Village People perform as the opening act for Cher on her Living Proof: The Farewell Tour|Farewell Tour until it ends in April 2005. It was a highly successful tour for both artists.
May 7, 2004: Original Cowboy Randy Jones marries Will Grega, his boyfriend of 20 years.cite web|last=Rashbaum |first=Alyssa |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1486934/20040511/village_people.jhtml |title=Village People's Cowboy Ropes Himself A Husband - Music, Celebrity, Artist News |publisher=MTV |date=2004-05-11 |accessdate=2011-08-19
Summer 2004: Village People perform at Lincoln Center Out Of Doors.
September 4, 2006: Village People perform on Jerry Lewis' MDA Telethon.
August 31, 2007: Victor Willis gives his first live concert in 28 years in Las Vegas.
October 23, 2007: Village People perform on the NBC game show The Singing Bee .
November 17, 2007: Victor Willis weds long-time love, Karen, a lawyer and executive.
July 15, 2008: At the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium , Village People perform "Y.M.C.A." with the Yankees grounds crew during the 7th inning stretch .
September 12, 2008: Village People receive star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .
September 3, 2010: Village People perform at the American Music Festival in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
August 16, 2011: Victor Willis files notices of copyright termination for his portion of the songs (as lyricist) under the 1976 copyright act which allows recording artists and writers to reclaim their master recordings and publishing rights initially granted to record companies and publishers after 35 years.cite web|url= http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2011/08/23/Former-Village-People-cop-sues/UPI-45331314148319/ |title=Former Village People 'cop' sues |publisher=UPI.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-08
Cultural references
Due to their easily recognizable characters, the group have frequently been imitated or parodied in films, television 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 a horseshoe moustache , have also become a widespread pop culture icons associated with male gay culture and YMCA has become something of an anthem of the LGBT community.
The song "In the Navy" was featured in an episode of The Muppet Show and The Simpsons.
In the film '' Wayne's World 2 '', Wayne and his friends disguise themselves as members of the Village People in order to spy on Wayne's girlfriend; Wayne dresses as a construction worker, Garth as a cop, Neil as a leather-clad biker and Terry as a sailor. They are then chased into a men's club where they are mistaken for the real Village People.
A 1993 episode of Married with Children had Peg disguising herself as the Indian, along with Kelly as the sailor, Bud as the construction worker and Jefferson as the biker in order to appease angry Halloween party guests of Marcy's, and a joke being they could only lip synch to one song, YMCA, as that was the sole Village People album Marcy owned. When the real Village People appear at the party, they start their concert with YMCA, causing the enraged women who were sick of the song to pelt them with toilet paper.
In 1995, a parody of the Village People was seen on the computer-generated imagery|CGI show ReBoot with the group the Small Town Binomes singing "BSnP", a parody of "Y.M.C.A." They were seen in the ReBoot episode "Talent Night" and each individual was modeled after a singer from the Village People using the show's common Binome characters. Their song "BSnP" was a jab at ABC network's Broadcast Standards and Practices organization, which frequently edited content from the show which they deemed not suitable for its younger viewers (lyrics included "Oh, it's fun to play in a non-violent way").
Discography
Main albums
Year
Album Title
Peak chart positions
Certifications ( List of music recording sales certifications
US cite web
US R& B
UK cite web
1977
Village People
54
36
-
Recording Industry Association of America|US : Goldcite web|url= http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php? table=SEARCH|title=Searchable Database|publisher= Recording Industry Association of America |accessdate=2012-01-15 Note: User must define 'Artist' search parameter as "Village People".
Music Canada|CAN : Platinum" http://www.musiccanada.com/gpSearchResult.aspx Certified Awards Search". Music Canada . Retrieved on 2012-01-15. Note: User needs to enter "Village People" in the "Search" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
1978
Macho Man
24
31
-
US: Platinum
CAN: 3Χ Platinum
Cruisin'
3
5
24
US: Platinum
CAN: 4Χ Platinum
1979
Go West
8
14
14
US: Platinum
CAN: 3Χ Platinum
British Phonographic Industry|UK : Gold" http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved on 2012-01-15. Note: User needs to enter "Village People" in the "Search" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
Live and Sleazy
32
57
-
US: Gold
CAN: Platinum
1980
Can't Stop the Music
47
-
9
1981
Renaissance
138
-
-
1982
Fox on the Box
-
-
style="text-align:center;"
1983
In the Street
-
-
-
1985
Sex Over the Phone
-
-
-
Compilations and other albums
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& nbsp;... The Best of Village People (2001)
Singles
Year
Single
Peak chart positions
Album
US cite web
US Disco http:/ / allmusic.com/ artist/ the-village-people-p134812/ charts-awards/ billboard-singles Allmusic Peak Positions
AUS cite book
CAN cite web
UK cite book
1977
" San Francisco (You've Got Me) "
102
15
45
Village People
"Village People"
1978
"I Am What I Am"
Macho Man
" Macho Man (song)
25
4
3
16
" Y.M.C.A. (song)
2
2
1
1
1
''Cruisin'
1979
" In the Navy "
3
14
7
1
2
Go West
" Go West (song)
45
41
15
" Ready for the 80's "
52
Live and Sleazy
"Sleazy"
26
87
1980
" Can't Stop the Music (song)
10
30
1
11
''Can't Stop the Music
"Magic Night"
88
1981
"Do You Wanna Spend the Night"
48
Renaissance
"5 O'Clock in the Morning"
1985
" Sex Over the Phone (song)
59
Sex Over the Phone
"New York City"
97
1989
"Livin' in the Wildlife"
Singles only
1994
" Far Away in America "
Lineup
The Village People have had a number of lineup changes over the years.
Original "People"
Alex Briley & nbsp; G.I./Sailor
Mark Mussler & nbsp; Construction Worker, 1977 (prior to Hodo)
Dave Forrest& nbsp; Cowboy, 1977 (prior to Jones)
Lee Mouton& nbsp; Leatherman, 1977 (prior to Hughes)
Peter Whitehead& nbsp; (co-songwriter with Belolo, Phil Hurtt & Morali) in 1977; briefly performed onstage with the group
Felipe Rose & nbsp; Native American
Victor Willis & nbsp; Cop/Admiral (original lead singer/writer)
Replacement "People"
Eric Anzalone & nbsp; Leatherman/Biker since 1995
G. Jeff Olson& nbsp; Cowboy 19801985, 1991present
Ray Simpson & nbsp; Lead vocalist/Policeman 19801982; 1987present
Miles Jaye& nbsp; Policeman 19831984. He was the lead vocalist on the In the Street bonus track "America" and "Live: Seoul"
Ray Stephens (singer)|Ray Stephens & nbsp; Policeman 1985. Lead vocalist on Sex Over The Phone (album)|Sex Over The Phone . He died in 1990
Py Douglas& nbsp; Policeman (briefly replaced Ray Stephens in some television appearances during their 1985 European tour promoting album Sex Over the Phone )
Mark Lee& nbsp; Construction Worker, 19821985
Bill Whitefield& nbsp; Construction Worker 2002 and 2003
Alec Timerman& nbsp; G.I. 2001-2003
Angel Morales& nbsp; Native American (stand-in for original member Felipe Rose from 20082009 )
Richard Montoya& nbsp; Construction Worker (stand in for David Hodo at some concerts in 2008).
Current "People"
Eric Anzalone Leatherman/Biker
Alex Briley G.I./Sailor
David Hodo Construction Worker
G. Jeff Olson Cowboy
Felipe Rose Native American
Ray Simpson Lead vocalist/Policeman
See also
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
References
Reflist|2
External links
commons category
http://www.officialvillagepeople.com/ Official website of the Village People
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/villagepeople Village People at Rolling Stone
Village People DEFAULTSORT:Village People Category:Musical groups established in 1977 Category:American disco musicians Category:American dance music groups Category:Bands with fictional stage personas Category:Disco groups Category:Hi-NRG groups Category:LGBT-themed musical groups
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