Alexandra Billings shames The Village People: “The revolutionaries who made queer cool are now making cool dangerous”
A post shared by Alexandra Billings (@therealalexandrabillings)The Village People was the creation of French music producer Jacques Morali, business partner Henri Belolo and singer Victor Willis.
Morali, who was gay, came across Willis and asked him to sing lead vocals on a 1977 dance album he was writing called Village People.The album proved a hit and Morali realized he needed to assemble a group to accompany Willis for live appearances. “Village People” was a nod toward New York City’s Greenwich Village, which enjoyed a sizeable gay population.
Morali came across Felipe Rose in the iconic cruise bar, The Anvil. He was wearing a Native American headdress. It gave Morali and idea to dress the band in typical macho outfits, such as leatherman, construction worker, etc.
He invited Rose to join the band and placed an advert to find more members. It stated, “Macho Types Wanted: Must Dance And Have A Moustache.”Once assembled, the group went on to enjoy stellar success with tracks such as “Y.M.C.A”, “Macho Man” and “In The Navy”.
