Village People

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Village People were a novelty disco band of the late 1970s. The group were as well known for their outrageous on-stage costumes (the members dressing up as a police officer, an American Indian chief, a construction worker, a soldier, a leatherman (biker) and a cowboy) as for their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics.

The band was assembled in 1977 and managed by two French musicians, Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo, specifically to showcase and perform their disco music creations. Much like Frank Farian’s Boney M. or Spice Girls, the group was manufactured. Despite the French song writers, the songs were all in English.

The band’s name references a well-known gay area of New York City, Greenwich Village. 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. The police officer character is said to have been inspired by an actual Sacramento County (California) Sheriff’s Deputy - David Orth.

The United States Navy considered using the Village People hit “In the Navy” 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 airplanes, and hundreds of Navy men. When the video started showing and the Navy started the planned ad campaign, some newspapers protested using taxpayer money to fund music videos (especially for a group considered by some to be “morally dubious”).

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Popular tags: disco, pop, 70s, 80s, dance  See more

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• The Best of Village People
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• YMCA, Volume 1
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1		YMCA			742
2		Y.M.C.A.			443
3		Macho Man			343
4		In The Navy			339
5		Go West			159
6		Y.M.C.A			116
7		Can't Stop the Music			64
8		Sex Over the Phone			28
9		Y.M.C.A. - Single Version			21
10		Hot Cop			19
11		San Francisco (You've Got Me)			18
11		In Hollywood (Everybody is A Star)			18
11		Fire Island			18
14		Key West			15
14		Ready for the 80's			15

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