VILLAGE PEOPLE

Updated 04-May-2020.

Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about VILLAGE PEOPLE!

Jury Decides Village People ‘Y.M.C.A.’ Songwriter Has 50 Percent Song Share: After a trial that lasted nearly a month, Victor Willis wins the right to remove a formerly credited French author from 13 group songs.

A Copyright Victory, 35 Years Later: Victor Willis, a former member of the Village People, is set to take control of a share of the copyright to songs he wrote for the group.

Village People Singer Wins a Legal Battle in Fight to Reclaim Song Rights: Victor Willis, a former lead singer of 1970s disco group the Village People, had invoked a provision of copyright law that gives recording artists and songwriters the ability to reacquire and administer their work themselves after 35 years have elapsed.

Village People police officer arrested: In September, Willis avoided prison when San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Mark Forcum sentenced the faded disco star to substance-abuse treatment and three years of probation for a host of drug and other charges. The judge ordered Willis to complete at least seven months of drug treatment and follow conditions of his probation, including abstaining from drugs and alcohol, or face three years and eight months in prison.

Village People’s Cowboy Ropes Himself A Husband: Randy Jones marries partner of 20 years at New York club.

Village People’s Hughes Dead: Leatherman Hughes was fifty

Obituary: Glenn Hughes: Glenn Hughes, who has died of lung cancer aged 50, was a member of the Village People, whose camp innuendo and humour made them one of the most popular disco groups of the 1970s.

Ed Vulliamy on the Village People story: Young man! Ever wondered what happened to the Village People? Ed Vulliamy traces the extraordinary story of the first gay superstar group, still touring after 30 years, with a trail of drugs, death and recriminations in their wake.

Under the Hard Hat: An Interview with Village People’s David Hodo: From Broadway to Casablanca, David Hodo reflects on 40 years in show business.

The Village People’s YMCA is preserved for posterity: The disco hit is deemed historically important enough to enter the US National Recording Registry.

National Recording Registry Class Produces Ultimate ‘Stay at Home’ Playlist: The gentle sounds of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”; Russ Hodges’ thrilling play-by-play of the National League tiebreaker between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951; the Village People’s international dance anthem, “Y.M.C.A.”; “Cheap Trick at Budokan”; and the original 1964 Broadway cast recording of “Fiddler on the Roof” are among the newest recordings inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden today named these and 20 other recordings as aural treasures worthy of preservation because of their cultural, historical and aesthetic importance to the nation’s recorded sound heritage.“The National Recording Registry is the evolving playlist of the American soundscape. It reflects moments in history captured through the voices and sounds of the time,” said Hayden. “We received over 800

My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: Village People are an american disco group best known for their on-stage costumes, catchy tunes, and suggestive lyrics . the group was originally formed by french producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo in 1977, they moved to new york to get into the american market . they hired singer/actor Victor Willis to sing lead vocals on their debut album . the album became an international hit, and demand for live appearances Morali and Willis recruited dancers to perform in clubs and videos . the group’s first hit, “San Francisco (You Got Me)”, was a hit . with record sales soaring, Morali the group did a photo-shoot for the cover of the already-recorded Macho Man album . the 1978 hit single “Macho Man” catapulted the group into the mainstream . in the band’s fame peaked in 1979 with a three-month north american tour . they were also featured on the cover of Rolling Stone, Vol. the end of 1979 saw the release of Live and Sleazy, a double album . the film was directed by Nancy Walker and written by Allan Carr . disco’s popularity had waned by the time it was released . at the 1981 golden raspberry awards disco was named Worst Picture and Worse Screenplay . the soundtrack also featured the talents of David London the group appeared in the November 22, 1980, episode of Love Boat . at the end of 1980, Jeff Olson joined the group as the cowboy . in 1981, with new wave music becoming more popular than disco, Morali David Hodo and Ray Simpson both left the group in 1982 with Mark Lee and Miles Jaye replacing them respectively . their next album, the 1985 dance/Hi-NRG release Sex Over the Phone, was not a it was the group’s last album of new material until A Village People Christmas in 2018 . in 1985 the group took a hiatus, but returned in 1987 with the lineup of Randy Jones, David Hodo, Felipe Founder Jacques Morali died of complications related to AIDS in Paris, France on November 15, 1991 . three years later, the Village People recorded with the german national football team on its official World Cup ’94 song Far Away in 1995, Eric Anzalone replaced Glenn Hughes as the Leatherman/Biker . he made his music video debut during the end-credits of the film down periscope . at the beginning of the 21 former cowboy Randy Jones married Will Grega, his boyfriend of 20 years. Village People continued to make appearances worldwide. the original lead singer and “cop”, Victor Willis, was arrested over drug and weapon related charges. Willis won a landmark ruling in the first case heard regarding the Copyright Act of 1976 . he recaptured copyrights including “Y.M.C.A. “, “Go West”, “Magic Night victor willis released solo man, an album he recorded in 1979 featuring the Village People band . willis appeared as himself on the game show “To Tell The Truth” and performed “Y.M.C.A.” the following year, Village People continued to make television appearances . they also made several commercials including LetGo commercial debuts during the Rio Olympics . in 2017, after years of legal battles over royalties and songwriting credits, Will the trademark “Village People” then became the subject of litigation . in 2018, the U.S. district court denied Sixuvus’ preliminary injunction . the court ruled that only one group was entitled to use the Village people release their first studio album in 33 years, A Village People Christmas. August 3, 2019, Village people co-creator Henri Belolo died aged 82. November 4, 2019: the group’s Christmas album is this list is based off verified setlists to give a broad view of songs performed by Village People . Numerous covers and homages of their songs have been recorded . in the Navy I am what I am y “y.m.c.a.” has become something of an anthem of the LGBT community . the leather-clad biker character with a horseshoe mustache is widespread pop culture icons . homages critic Robert Christgau initially found the group to be a humorous annoyance . but warmed to their music after listening to the 1978 album Cruisin’ . he wrote: “i’ve never been capable of Richard Montoya, also replaced David Hodo on some 2008 dates . Ray Rodriguez, stand-in for Felipe Rose in 2011–2013 . Stephen Hewitt, stood in for a.j. perrell perrelli died on October 16, 2013 from a head injury . pacho Andrews, stand-in for Felipe Rose in 2013 . James Lee, stand in for Sonny Earl in 2017–2018 . eventually replacing S