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RIP Village People singer Victor Willis: A complacated legacy
He regained control of both his life and his former band
Victor Willis eventually reclaimed his frontman role with the Village People
The Village People announced that their lead singer Victor Willis passed away on June 30. In a statement posted to social media, the cause was cited as “a short but aggressive illness.” He was 74.
Willis co-wrote Village People hits like “In the Navy,” “YMCA,” and “Macho Man,” earning millions each year in royalties. The disco group was essentially founded in 1978 by French music producer Jacques Morali and co-creator and producer Henri Belolo, who cast former Broadway star Willis to front the band as singer and songwriter. He left the group in 1979 in hopes of launching a solo career, just as production was beginning on a feature film starring the band, Can't Stop the Music, with Ray Simpson taking over the singing Cop role.
Willis briefly reunited with the Village People between 1982 and 1984. He spent the next 20-plus years refusing to perform Village People songs or do interviews. The group's co-creating producer Jacques Morali died in 1991. The first of the onstage People performers to pass away was Glenn Hughes, aka The Biker, who died from lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 50. He had performed with the group from 1977 to 1996.
Willis was once married to Cosby Show vet Phylicia Rashad, who later wed (and divorced) sportscaster Ahmad Rashad. He became engaged to a woman named Karen, who he met in the 1990s at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. They shared a home in La Jolla for a time and later married. In March 2007, a New York woman claiming to be a former girlfriend of Willis' allegedly showed up unannounced at his residence. The woman later told police that Willis had assaulted and choked her, but city attorneys declined to press charges.
Over the years, Willis found himself in trouble with the law multiple times. He racked up eight criminal convictions, with four of them being felonies, serving prison time. He was charged at various times with cocaine possession, firearm possession by a convicted felon, and skipping bail after failing to appear at court hearings. He cited drug addiction as contributing to his problems, although he eventually completed drug rehab and reportedly reclaimed his sobriety.
The singer launched a comeback of sorts in 2007 with his first concert performances in over a decade and a planned autobiography. Willis has claimed the Village People fired him in 1980 for being the lone heterosexual member.
“Victor Willis wrote about the YMCA and having fun there,” his publicist said in a 2007 press release, “but the type of fun he was talking about was straight fun. When he says, ‘Hang out with all the boys’…he’s talking about the boys, the fellas, but it’s one of those ambiguous songs that was taken that way because of the gay association with Village People.”
The comeback tour was somewhat derailed in July 2008 after Willis underwent surgery at a local hospital, reportedly to remove nodules from his vocal cords. The surgery caused several dates of his Victor Willis Dance Tour to be canceled in Europe, the U.S., and Canada.
In 2010, Willis was living in La Jolla and turning up frequently at La Mesa’s Guitar Center and downtown’s East Village Tavern and Bowl. That year, he relocated to NYC. His website was reportedly being run by his wife.
In May 2011, Willis filed a lawsuit against the firm representing his former band the Village People for $1.5 million in song royalties he claims are unpaid. The 59 year-old directed the suit against Can't Stop Productions, which handles the rights to those songs. Willis was also reportedly seeking the master recordings of an unreleased solo album he recorded after leaving the Village People.
In early 2012, Willis filed court papers in San Diego to test a 1976 law that lets creators regain U.S. copyrights to their works in what the Songwriters Guild of America predicted will provide a precedent for “many termination claims that will be filed in the coming years.”
A few weeks later, U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz dismissed a lawsuit initiated by the France-based publisher of Village People songs, which was seeking to stop Willis from recovering the copyrights he signed over some 35 years previous.
Willis won his “termination rights” court copyright case in Autumn 2013, with a San Diego judge upholding a 1976 law that lets creators regain U.S. copyrights to works they once signed away, in this case including songs like “YMCA.,” “In the Navy,” and “Go West.”
His unreleased 1979 album Solo Man was finally issued in summer 2015 on his own Harlem West Music Group label.
Willis mended fences in 2017 with Village People co-creator and producer Henri Belolo (who co-wrote "YMCA," "Go West," and "In The Navy") and announced plans to rejoin the group for the first time in 35 years to perform shows celebrating the 40th anniversary of their debut. The reinstatement came after Willis successfully secured his copyright claims to the band's catalog. Belolo died two years later, in 2019. Willis revamped the group with new backing singers, leaving himself as the only remaining member from the classic 1970s lineup.
A November 2022 Village People single called "Magic Christmas," from their Magical Christmas album, entered the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart at number 23, the highest chart entry for any Village People single
He performed "YMCA" with the band at Donald Trump's pre-inauguration rally in January 2025.
Here's something you might be interested in.
RIP Village People singer Victor Willis: A complacated legacy
He regained control of both his life and his former band
RIP Village People singer Victor Willis: A complacated legacy
He regained control of both his life and his former band
Victor Willis eventually reclaimed his frontman role with the Village People
The Village People announced that their lead singer Victor Willis passed away on June 30. In a statement posted to social media, the cause was cited as “a short but aggressive illness.” He was 74.
Willis co-wrote Village People hits like “In the Navy,” “YMCA,” and “Macho Man,” earning millions each year in royalties. The disco group was essentially founded in 1978 by French music producer Jacques Morali and co-creator and producer Henri Belolo, who cast former Broadway star Willis to front the band as singer and songwriter. He left the group in 1979 in hopes of launching a solo career, just as production was beginning on a feature film starring the band, Can't Stop the Music, with Ray Simpson taking over the singing Cop role.
Willis briefly reunited with the Village People between 1982 and 1984. He spent the next 20-plus years refusing to perform Village People songs or do interviews. The group's co-creating producer Jacques Morali died in 1991. The first of the onstage People performers to pass away was Glenn Hughes, aka The Biker, who died from lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 50. He had performed with the group from 1977 to 1996.
Willis was once married to Cosby Show vet Phylicia Rashad, who later wed (and divorced) sportscaster Ahmad Rashad. He became engaged to a woman named Karen, who he met in the 1990s at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. They shared a home in La Jolla for a time and later married. In March 2007, a New York woman claiming to be a former girlfriend of Willis' allegedly showed up unannounced at his residence. The woman later told police that Willis had assaulted and choked her, but city attorneys declined to press charges.
Over the years, Willis found himself in trouble with the law multiple times. He racked up eight criminal convictions, with four of them being felonies, serving prison time. He was charged at various times with cocaine possession, firearm possession by a convicted felon, and skipping bail after failing to appear at court hearings. He cited drug addiction as contributing to his problems, although he eventually completed drug rehab and reportedly reclaimed his sobriety.
The singer launched a comeback of sorts in 2007 with his first concert performances in over a decade and a planned autobiography. Willis has claimed the Village People fired him in 1980 for being the lone heterosexual member.
“Victor Willis wrote about the YMCA and having fun there,” his publicist said in a 2007 press release, “but the type of fun he was talking about was straight fun. When he says, ‘Hang out with all the boys’…he’s talking about the boys, the fellas, but it’s one of those ambiguous songs that was taken that way because of the gay association with Village People.”
The comeback tour was somewhat derailed in July 2008 after Willis underwent surgery at a local hospital, reportedly to remove nodules from his vocal cords. The surgery caused several dates of his Victor Willis Dance Tour to be canceled in Europe, the U.S., and Canada.
In 2010, Willis was living in La Jolla and turning up frequently at La Mesa’s Guitar Center and downtown’s East Village Tavern and Bowl. That year, he relocated to NYC. His website was reportedly being run by his wife.
In May 2011, Willis filed a lawsuit against the firm representing his former band the Village People for $1.5 million in song royalties he claims are unpaid. The 59 year-old directed the suit against Can't Stop Productions, which handles the rights to those songs. Willis was also reportedly seeking the master recordings of an unreleased solo album he recorded after leaving the Village People.
In early 2012, Willis filed court papers in San Diego to test a 1976 law that lets creators regain U.S. copyrights to their works in what the Songwriters Guild of America predicted will provide a precedent for “many termination claims that will be filed in the coming years.”
A few weeks later, U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz dismissed a lawsuit initiated by the France-based publisher of Village People songs, which was seeking to stop Willis from recovering the copyrights he signed over some 35 years previous.
Willis won his “termination rights” court copyright case in Autumn 2013, with a San Diego judge upholding a 1976 law that lets creators regain U.S. copyrights to works they once signed away, in this case including songs like “YMCA.,” “In the Navy,” and “Go West.”
His unreleased 1979 album Solo Man was finally issued in summer 2015 on his own Harlem West Music Group label.
Willis mended fences in 2017 with Village People co-creator and producer Henri Belolo (who co-wrote "YMCA," "Go West," and "In The Navy") and announced plans to rejoin the group for the first time in 35 years to perform shows celebrating the 40th anniversary of their debut. The reinstatement came after Willis successfully secured his copyright claims to the band's catalog. Belolo died two years later, in 2019. Willis revamped the group with new backing singers, leaving himself as the only remaining member from the classic 1970s lineup.
A November 2022 Village People single called "Magic Christmas," from their Magical Christmas album, entered the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart at number 23, the highest chart entry for any Village People single
He performed "YMCA" with the band at Donald Trump's pre-inauguration rally in January 2025.