‘Y.M.C.A.’ co-writer and Village People lead singer Victor Willis passes away at 74
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The singer, songwriter and original frontman helped create some of disco’s biggest hits, including “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man” and “In the Navy.”
Victor Willis, the co-founder and lead singer of the Village People who helped write some of disco’s most recognizable songs, has died at 74. The Associated Press confirmed the news after the group posted a statement on its official Facebook page describing the cause as “a short but aggressive illness.”
Willis was the helmeted, mustachioed police officer of the iconic group, a role he stepped into in 1977 when he teamed up with producer Jacques Morali and his business partner Henri Belolo to form the six member act. The idea for the Village People came together while the founders were at an after-hours gay nightclub in Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood, and the group’s self-titled debut album arrived that same year.
The hits followed quickly. In 1978, the group released “Macho Man,” which peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard chart, and “Y.M.C.A.,” which climbed to No. 2 and went on to become a genuine cultural institution. “In the Navy” arrived a year later and reached No. 3.
According to the AP, Congress recognized “Y.M.C.A.” in 2020 as “an American phenomenon,” adding it to the National Recording Registry, and the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2021.
Willis had a connection to the song’s subject matter that was more personal than many fans realized. He had visited a YMCA on West 63rd Street in Manhattan after moving to New York from San Francisco, an experience that directly inspired the track. He grew up in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco and had appeared on Broadway in “The Wiz” before joining the group.
Beyond the music, the AP also highlighted a legal milestone for Willis, noting that a federal jury ruled in 2015 that he was entitled to 50% copyright ownership in the United States of 13 Village People songs, including “Y.M.C.A.”
Willis remained active right up until the end. Just this past May, he and the Village People, with Willis as the only remaining original member, performed “Happy Birthday” and “Y.M.C.A.” for Secretary of State Marco Rubio during an event in India.
President Donald Trump, whose rallies frequently featured “Y.M.C.A.,” paid tribute on social media following the news, writing, “Victor Willis will be sorely missed.”