Y.M.C.A. - Music
Y.M.C.A. by Village People
Village People
Artist Biography For Village People
Village People Is A Disco Band That Formed New York City New York United States In 1977. The Group Is 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" . The Navy Quickly Cancelled The Campaign. The Scandal Tremendously Boosted The Popularity Of The Song. Other Hits Include Their Trademark "Macho Man" "Go West" And "YMCA". More Than Twenty Years Later A Dance That Involves Forming The Latter Four Letters With The Dancer's Arms And Legs Is Still Popular At Summer Camps Office Functions Wedding Receptions School Dances Sporting Events And B'nai Mitzvahs. In The Middle Of The Seventh Inning 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. An Interesting Fact About The Village People Recordings Is That All Of The Background Vocals For Their Best Known Recordings Where Provided By 2 Session Musicians Who Went On To Front Notable Bands Bill Champlin From Chicago And Richard Page Musician From Mr. Mister. The Group Also Appeared In Their 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 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. In 1981 With The Popularity Of Disco Waning And New Wave Music On The Rise Village People Replaced Their On-Stage Costumes With A New Look Inspired By The New Romantic Movement And Released The New Wave Album Renaissance It Was Not A Commercial Success.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. The Title Track When Released As A Single Was Banned By The BBC Because Of Its Content - Credit Card Dirty Phone Calls. The Sex Album Featured Yet Another New Lead Singer Ray Stephens Of The Great Space Coaster Fame . 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. In 1994 The Village People Joined The German National Soccer Team To Sing Its Official World Cup '94 Theme "Far Away In America." Starting In 2004 Village People Performed As The Opening Act For Cher In Her Farewell Tour Until It Ended In April 2005. From July 18th To July 20th 2004 Village People Performed In Berlin For Three Shows As An Opening Act For The German Punk Band Die Ärzte.
On May 8 2012 Victor Willis Wins A Landmark Ruling In The First Case Heard Regarding The Copyright Act Of 1976 Which Allows Recording Artists And Writers To Reclaim Their Master Recordings And Publishing Rights Initially Granted To Record Companies And Publishers After 35 Years. In April 2013 Village People Recorded "Let's Go Back To The Dance Floor" -- A Song Written By Harry Wayne Casey KC & The Sunshine Band And Produced By DJ Julian Marsh.
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Y.M.C.A.
Village-People - The Best Of Village People
"Y.M.C.A." Is A Song Recorded By American Disco Group Village People. It Was Released In 1978 As The Only Single From The Album Cruisin'. The Song Reached No. 2 On The U.S. Charts In Early 1979 And Reached No. 1 In The UK Around The Same Time Becoming The Group's Biggest Hit. It Is One Of Fewer Than Forty Singles To Have Sold 10 Million Or More Physical Copies Worldwide. A Medley With "Hot Cop" Reached Number 2 On Billboard's Dance Music/Club Play Singles Chart. The Song Remains Popular And Is Played At Many Sporting Events In The U.S. And Europe. It Is Frequently Played During Breaks In The Action At Sporting Events With Crowds Using The Dance As An Opportunity To Stretch. Moreover The Song Also Remains Particularly Popular Due To Its Status As A Disco Classic And Gay Anthem Even Among Listeners Who Are Otherwise Uninvolved In Disco Or Gay Culture. It Is Also Known To Be A Favorite At Weddings And School Dances. A Popular Dance In Which The Arms Are Used To Spell Out The Four Letters Of The Song's Title May Have Much To Do With This. "Y.M.C.A." Appeared As Space Shuttle Wakeup Call On Mission STS-106 On Day 11. In 2009 "Y.M.C.A." Was Entered Into The Guinness World Book Of Records When Over 44 000 People Danced To The Song With Village People Singing Live At The Sun Bowl Game In El Paso Texas. "Y.M.C.A." Is Number 7 On VH1's List Of The 100 Greatest Dance Songs Of The 20th Century. Executive Producer Henri Belolo Recalls That He Saw The YMCA Sign While Walking Down The Street With Composer Jacques Morali Who Seemed To Know The Institution Fairly Well "Henri Let Me Tell You Something. This Is A Place Where A Lot Of People Go When They Are In Town. And They Get Good Friends And They Go Out." And Henri Got The Idea "Why Don't We Write A Song About It?" However Willis Recalls It Was Actually Morali Who While In The Studio Asked Him "What Exactly Is The YMCA?" Willis Then Quickly Wrote The Famous Lyrics And Melody And It Was The Last Track Created For The Album Cruisin'. Upon Its Release The YMCA Threatened To Sue The Band Over Trademark Infringement And Concerns About The Song's Double Entendres. The Organization Ultimately Dropped The Lawsuit When It Noticed That Membership Significantly Increased In The Wake Of The Song's Popularity. The Song Became A Number One Hit Throughout The World Although Not In The United States Where It Lost To Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" . It Has Remained Popular At Parties Sporting Events Weddings And Functions Ever Since. In 2011 Willis Filed A Notice Of Copyright Termination To The Song As Lyricist Under The Copyright Act Of 1976 Which Allows Recording Artists And Writers To Reclaim Their Master Recordings And Publishing Rights Initially Granted To Record Companies And Publishers. In A Landmark Ruling In 2012 The United States District Court For The Southern District Of California Ruled That Victor Willis Can Terminate His Copyrights Granted To The Publishers Can't Stop Productions And Scorpio Music Because "a Joint Author Who Separately Transfers His Copyright Interest May Unilaterally Terminate The Grant." YMCA And Other Hits Written By Willis For Village People And Other Can't Stop Acts Will Revert Back To Him Beginning In 2013. At A Minimum Willis Will Own Recapture 33% Of His Songs This Percentage May Increase To 50% If The Songs Are Proved To Be Written Solely By Willis And Jacques Morali With No Contribution From Henri Belolo.
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Biography - Village People
Village People Is A Disco Band That Formed New York City New York United States In 1977. The Group Is 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" . The Navy Quickly Cancelled The Campaign. The Scandal Tremendously Boosted The Popularity Of The Song. Other Hits Include Their Trademark "Macho Man" "Go West" And "YMCA". More Than Twenty Years Later A Dance That Involves Forming The Latter Four Letters With The Dancer's Arms And Legs Is Still Popular At Summer Camps Office Functions Wedding Receptions School Dances Sporting Events And B'nai Mitzvahs. In The Middle Of The Seventh Inning 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. An Interesting Fact About The Village People Recordings Is That All Of The Background Vocals For Their Best Known Recordings Where Provided By 2 Session Musicians Who Went On To Front Notable Bands Bill Champlin From Chicago And Richard Page Musician From Mr. Mister. The Group Also Appeared In Their 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 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. In 1981 With The Popularity Of Disco Waning And New Wave Music On The Rise Village People Replaced Their On-Stage Costumes With A New Look Inspired By The New Romantic Movement And Released The New Wave Album Renaissance It Was Not A Commercial Success.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. The Title Track When Released As A Single Was Banned By The BBC Because Of Its Content - Credit Card Dirty Phone Calls. The Sex Album Featured Yet Another New Lead Singer Ray Stephens Of The Great Space Coaster Fame . 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. In 1994 The Village People Joined The German National Soccer Team To Sing Its Official World Cup '94 Theme "Far Away In America." Starting In 2004 Village People Performed As The Opening Act For Cher In Her Farewell Tour Until It Ended In April 2005. From July 18th To July 20th 2004 Village People Performed In Berlin For Three Shows As An Opening Act For The German Punk Band Die Ärzte.
On May 8 2012 Victor Willis Wins A Landmark Ruling In The First Case Heard Regarding The Copyright Act Of 1976 Which Allows Recording Artists And Writers To Reclaim Their Master Recordings And Publishing Rights Initially Granted To Record Companies And Publishers After 35 Years. In April 2013 Village People Recorded "Let's Go Back To The Dance Floor" -- A Song Written By Harry Wayne Casey KC & The Sunshine Band And Produced By DJ Julian Marsh. read less
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On May 8 2012 Victor Willis Wins A Landmark Ruling In The First Case Heard Regarding The Copyright Act Of 1976 Which Allows Recording Artists And Writers To Reclaim Their Master Recordings And Publishing Rights Initially Granted To Record Companies And Publishers After 35 Years. In April 2013 Village People Recorded "Let's Go Back To The Dance Floor" -- A Song Written By Harry Wayne Casey KC & The Sunshine Band And Produced By DJ Julian Marsh. read less
16 Similar Artists To Village People - Frogtoon Music
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"Y.M.C.A." is a song recorded by American disco group Village People. It was released in 1978 as the only single from the album Cruisin'. The song reached No. 2 on the U.S. charts in early 1979 and reached No. 1 in the UK around the same time, becoming the group's biggest hit. It is one of fewer than forty singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide. A medley with "Hot Cop" reached number 2 on Billboard's Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart.
The song remains popular and is played at many sporting events in the U.S. and Europe. It is frequently played during breaks in the action at sporting events with crowds using the dance as an opportunity to stretch. Moreover, the song also remains particularly popular due to its status as a disco classic and gay anthem, even among listeners who are otherwise uninvolved in disco or gay culture. It is also known to be a favorite at weddings and school dances. A popular dance in which the arms are used to spell out the four letters of the song's title may have much to do with this. "Y.M.C.A." appeared as Space Shuttle Wakeup call on mission STS-106, on day 11. In 2009, "Y.M.C.A." was entered into the Guinness World Book of Records when over 44,000 people danced to the song with Village People singing live at the Sun Bowl game in El Paso, Texas. "Y.M.C.A." is number 7 on VH1's list of The 100 Greatest Dance Songs of the 20th Century.
Executive producer Henri Belolo recalls that he saw the YMCA sign while walking down the street with composer Jacques Morali, who seemed to know the institution fairly well: "Henri, let me tell you something. This is a place where a lot of people go when they are in town. And they get good friends and they go out." And Henri got the idea: "Why don't we write a song about it?" However, Willis recalls it was actually Morali who, while in the studio, asked him, "What exactly is the YMCA?" Willis then quickly wrote the famous lyrics and melody and it was the last track created for the album Cruisin'.
Upon its release, the YMCA threatened to sue the band over trademark infringement and concerns about the song's double entendres. The organization ultimately dropped the lawsuit when it noticed that membership significantly increased in the wake of the song's popularity.
The song became a number one hit throughout the world (although not in the United States where it lost to Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"). It has remained popular at parties, sporting events, weddings and functions ever since.
In 2011, Willis filed a notice of copyright termination to the song as lyricist under the Copyright Act of 1976 which allows recording artists and writers to reclaim their master recordings and publishing rights initially granted to record companies and publishers.
In a landmark ruling in 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that Victor Willis can terminate his copyrights granted to the publishers Can't Stop Productions and Scorpio Music because "a joint author who separately transfers his copyright interest may unilaterally terminate the grant." YMCA and other hits written by Willis (for Village People and other Can't Stop acts) will revert back to him beginning in 2013. At a minimum, Willis will own (recapture) 33% of his songs; this percentage may increase to 50% if the songs are proved to be written solely by Willis and Jacques Morali, with no contribution from Henri Belolo.
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