Village People Singer Denies "Y.M.C.A." Is a "Gay Anthem" As He Defends Trump's Use of Song (Consequence Sound)

[ificandream]

By Scoop Harrison
December 2, 2024 | 10:08pm ET

Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” has served as Donald Trump’s go-to theme song for the last several years, to the point where the president-elect even has his own choreographed dance to accompany it. In a new Facebook post, Village People founding member and songwriter Victor Willis defended Trump’s use of the song while also firmly denying any gay connotations that you may come come to associate with the anthem over the years.

Willis said he initially asked Trump to cease playing “Y.M.C.A.” at his events as the the complaints he received from fans became a “nuisance to me.” However, “the Trump campaign knew they had obtained a political use license from BMI and absent that license being terminated, they had every right to continue using ‘Y.M.C.A.’ And they did.”

Besides, Willis explained, Trump “seems to genuinely like ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and he’s having a lot of fun with it,” and “I simply didn’t have the heart to prevent his continued use of my song in the face of so many artists withdrawing his use of their material. So I told my wife to inform BMI to not withdraw the Trump campaign political use license.”

Willis also acknowledged the financial benefit, noting that he stands to make “several million dollars” due to Trump’s continued use of the song.

Read more: https://consequence.net/2024/12/village-people-ymca-trump/

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Noted: Willis also acknowledged the financial benefit, noting that he stands to make “several million dollars” due to Trump’s continued use of the song.

Assuming Trump pays you ....

[DesertRain]

1. Village People Songwriter Threatens to Sue Anyone That Calls "Y.M.C.A." a Gay Anthem

Willis clearly has his own agenda...

Village People Songwriter Threatens to Sue Anyone That Calls “Y.M.C.A.” a Gay Anthem

Village People member Victor Willis recently took to Facebook to defend Donald Trump’s use of the band’s iconic song “Y.M.C.A.” and in a stunning assertion, denies that the track was ever meant to be a “gay anthem.”

In a lengthy December 2 post, Willis shared that, since 2020, he has received over a thousand complaints about Trump using “Y.M.C.A.” For context, the president-elect often ends campaign rallies by dancing to the song. But in stark contrast to the song’s widely-accepted association with gay culture, Willis stated that such an association “is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay life.”

People should get their “minds out of the gutter,” he said.
{snip}

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/village-people-songwriter-threatens-sue-170826866.html

[lame54]

2. At most the lyrics hint at it...

But reading through I see a way for a young man to get back on track

[JCMach1]

6. Are you serious?

It's a song about the most stereotypical gay cruising spot of the 1960's and 70's...

[lame54]

8. That may be but...

The lyrics themselves don't point to that

[Wiz Imp]

10. The band's frontman claimed the hit dance song isn't gay, but his gay bandmates remember things differently.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/04/is-it-actually-gay-heres-the-true-meaning-of-the-song-ymca/

-----(snip)-----
The catchy song quickly became a hit — arguably ranking it among the 100 greatest dance songs of all time. The gay community also quickly adopted it as an anthem, especially since the song proclaims that a “young man” can find “everything for you men to enjoy” and “many ways to have a good time” as they “hang out with all the boys.” Some gay men interpreted the lyrics as an allusion to cruising for sex at the YMCA’s facilities.

Despite his crankiness, he (Willis) has also said, “I’m happy the gay community adopted it as their anthem. I have no qualms with that.” But while Willis claims the song isn’t gay, some of his gay bandmates remember things differently. Randy Jones, who performed as Village People’s cowboy, told Spin magazine in 2008 that he helped inspire Morali to create the song by taking the producer to a New York City YMCA gym in the late 1970s and having him meet gay porn models who worked out there.

“[Morali] was fascinated by a place where a person could work out with weights, play basketball, swim, take classes, and get a room,” Jones said. “Plus, with Jacques being gay, I had a lot of friends I worked out with who were in the adult film industry, and he was impressed by meeting people he had seen in the videos and magazines. Those visits with me planted a seed in him, and that’s how he got the idea for ‘YMCA.'”

David Hodo, who performed as the band’s construction worker, told Spin, “‘YMCA’ certainly has a gay origin.” “I mean, look at us. We were a gay group,” he said, noting that his band’s music was often played in Black, Latin, and gay underground clubs. “Was the song written to celebrate gay men at the YMCA? Yes. Absolutely. And gay people love it.”

-----(snip)-----

[lame54]

17. I always thought it was a gay anthem...

Along with Macho Man and In the Navy until I recently read the lyrics
You highlighted the few lines that "some gay men interpreted"
But more of the lines point to a lost soul getting help from the organization

The gay lyrics had to be "interpreted" while the help lyrics are more clear

The writer was glad it became a gay anthem for the same reason he's glad it's a Trump anthem - Cha-Ching

[Wiz Imp]

20. You apparently missed where the gay members of the group said 'YMCA' certainly has a gay origin."

and “Was the song written to celebrate gay men at the YMCA? Yes. Absolutely.”

Add in song titles from their first several albums: “Fire Island” (the East Coast’s gay summer retreat); “San Francisco (You’ve Got Me)” (the West coast’s premier gay destination); “Village People” (a look at the inhabitants of New York City’s largely gay Greenwich Village); “Key West” (a gay resort destination), “Just a Gigolo,” “I Am What I Am” (a gay declaration), and “Sodom and Gomorrah”. Also Nineteen year-old Felipe Rose, who was Lakota Sioux/Puerto Rican, presented as the “Indian,” a bespangled, war bonnet and loin cloth-wearing Native American, Only Willis and Rose participated on the “Village People” LP–with Rose indecorously credited as “Felipe ‘Indian From the Anvil’“ (the Anvil was a gay NYC sex club).

In the gay culture from which the image and music of the Village People came, the song was implicitly understood as celebrating YMCA's reputation as a popular cruising and hookup spot, particularly for the younger men to whom it was addressed. The initial goal of Village People producers Morali and Belolo was to attract disco's gay audience by featuring popular gay fantasy in their music. Conversely, Willis had said that he wrote the song in Vancouver, British Columbia and, through his publicist, that he did not write "Y.M.C.A." as a gay anthem, but rather as a reflection of the fun activities that young urban black youth experienced at YMCA, such as basketball and swimming. However, Willis has often acknowledged his fondness for double entendre.

Even Willis didn't try to claim that it was about "a way for a young man to get back on track" as you claim. And notice that thing about his fondness for double entendre? He made the gay subtext more subtle in order to appeal to a wider mainstream audience. But make no mistake, he put that gay subtext in there purposely when he wrote the song because the group was targeting their music at a gay audience.

Deny it all you like, but the song was a gay anthem and celebrated by the gay community from day one.

[lame54]

21. Obviously, it's a gay anthem...

It's been one for over 40 years

It took me that long to finally read the lyrics

There's not a lot of gay there

But, it does promote a place to get your shit together

[JCMach1]

34. "you can do whatever you feel"

[LeftInTX]

18. A gay bar would be a better cruising spot!

The YMCA was also a bit of a temporary homeless shelter.

[eShirl]

9. To be honest he sounds homophobic.

Associating gayness with being in the gutter.

[electric_blue68]

24. THAT comment caught my attention.

[MustLoveBeagles]

25. I noticed that too

[Ex Lurker]

16. He makes money every time it's played

Trump using it is to his material benefit.

[Fullduplexxx]

3. I what? I stand to get millions of dollars. Well hell No y m c a is not a gay anthem

I got mine....

[GusBob]

4. Most annoying song ever

From most annoying "band"

[Duncan Grant]

5. Gay man here, if you need me to explain the gay part of YMCA, just ask.

I mean, it even rhymes with gay. (It’s fun to stay at the Y-M-C-GAY.)

The authoritarian cultural reset is now complete. Unbelievable.

[TheProle]

7. Breaking: "It's Raining Men" songwriter

reminds everyone that it's merely a song about strange weather occurrences.

[Duncan Grant]

12. It's a religious song, too.

All those “amens” and “hallelujahs”, don’t ya know?

[Paladin]

11. Here's hoping Victor Willis suffers the same fate as other trump suck-ups.

Failure to ever see a dime of that "several million dollars" will just be the start...

[LudwigPastorius]

13. Not a gay anthem, but they shot part of the video outside of the Ramrod club, a gay leather bar in the West Village.

[Wiz Imp]

14. From "The Library of Congress" blog: HAPPY PRIDE! How "Y.M.C.A." Became a Gay Anthem!

https://blogs.loc.gov/now-see-hear/2021/06/happy-pride-how-y-m-c-a-became-a-gay-anthem/

-----(snip)-----
Nineteen seventy-seven’s eponymous “Village People” album was a collection of just four songs–a slim 22 minutes, recorded by a group of studio musicians and an unknown singer. The songs targeted a niche record buying audience: gay discotheques and their patrons. The titles were self-explanatory: “Fire Island” (the East Coast’s gay summer retreat); “San Francisco (You’ve Got Me)” (the West coast’s premier gay destination); “Village People” (a look at the inhabitants of New York City’s largely gay Greenwich Village); and “In Hollywood (Everybody is a Star),” the promise of artistic accomplishment in the word’s entertainment capital.

Village People consisted of six members, each of whom personified a popular gay archetype. Twenty-one year-old Victor Willis, who was African American and heterosexual, was the soulful voice of the group. Costumed, as he eventually would be, as a Police Officer/Naval officer (he started out as a well-dressed “disco man”), Willis would go on to co-write several of the group’s hits. Twenty-six year-old Alexander Briley, who was also African American (and heterosexual), took the role of enlisted GI/Sailor (he started out as a suspenders-wearing, boom box-toting “street kid”). Nineteen year-old Felipe Rose, who was Lakota Sioux/Puerto Rican, presented as the “Indian,” a bespangled, war bonnet and loin cloth-wearing Native American, and 31-year old David Hodo was the helmeted, mirror sunglass-wearing Construction Worker. Rounding things out were 27-year old Glenn Hughes as the heavily-mustached Biker/Leather Man, and 25-year old Randy Jones as the ten-gallon hat and chaps wearing Cowboy. Only Willis and Rose participated on the “Village People” LP–with Rose indecorously credited as “Felipe ‘Indian From the Anvil’“ (the Anvil was a gay NYC sex club). Willis had brought Briley onboard, while Hodo, Hughes and Jones came by way of a no-nonsense trade ad: “Macho Types Wanted: Must Dance and Have a Mustache.” They did.

“We looked out at the audience and every guy had on that white polyester John Travolta suit, and every girl had Farrah Fawcett’s feathered hairdo,” remembered Randy Jones later. Regardless, they were a hit. The gay messaging in their songs, the gay fantasy stripper-costumes, the gay dancing and faux macho posturing seemed to go over the heads of the audience–or they just didn’t care. It took just a single live performance for everyone; Casablanca Records, producers Morali and Belolo, and the Village People themselves, to realize that they were in possession of a winning formula.

The album “Macho Man” was a calculated continuation of the inroads made by the “Village People” album. This time a little longer, six songs rather than four, the song titles continued to appeal to a targeted demographic. “Key West” (a gay resort destination), “Just a Gigolo,” “I Am What I Am” (a gay declaration), and “Sodom and Gomorrah” reached their core audience–but the single “Macho Man” reached further. An energetic chant song whose lyrics extoled the male form, exercise and gym culture, “Macho Man” was heard by straight audiences as less gay and more sports/athletics/cool-dude fun music. The result was dance floor dynamite and a #25 showing on the “Billboard” pop charts.
-----(snip)-----

[Oneironaut]

15. This is hilarious!

It's almost like he's trolling. No one has this lack of awareness.

[skypilot]

19. he stands to make "several million dollars"

Should have just started and ended with that.

[tishaLA]

22. I guess "It's Raining Men" isn't either

FFS

[stillcool]

30. I loved when the Pointer sisters did that...

but what could be considered gay about that song?

[tishaLA]

31. It was actually the Weather Girls

(formerly Two Tons of Fun -- seriously!) and its composer Paul Jabara (Paul Shaffer did the music) wrote it with that in mind. Also the Weather Girls had been background singers for Sylvester, a disco-era gay icon who unfortunately died far too young from AIDS.

[stillcool]

35. the Pointer sisters did the song...

and while this is not my favorite version, they did one that was really stunning.
 

[tishaLA]

36. That's "I'm So Excited," not

"It's Raining Men."

[stillcool]

38. oops...okay

[tishaLA]

39. So they did a cover of it then

Because it was written for the Weather Girls and they had a hit with it. Wikipedia has lots of information about it if you're interested.

[stillcool]

40. Yes...I thought I was clearer...

when I said the version that the Pointer sisters did was stunning. My brother saw them live in Vegas, and said it was like seeing God. He turned me on to that one song. Its just a memory.

[Emrys]

23. Lessee ...

"my writing partner was gay, and some ... of Village People were gay, and ... the first Village People album was totally about gay life"

That's a whole lot of gay to back up the insistence that the song is in no way a gay anthem.

Yeah, he's trolling. And we're talking about him. So ...

[Dem4life1234]

26. Just because some gays have been using it doesn't make it a gay anthem

This is such a non issue.

It's just a campy damn song.

[Blue Owl]

27. With all that makeup and hairspray, Donny tRump is looking FABULOUS!!!

Let's glitterbomb this motherfucker!!!!

[Think. Again.]

28. It's a gay anthem.

[jls4561]

29. And in breaking news:

Donald J Trump announced on Truth Social, his ironically named social media site, that Victor Willis will be appointed his administration’s new ambassador to Grindr.

[Mike Nelson]

32. Sure, Jan...

... The Village People were often confused with Z.Z. Top.

[keithbvadu2]

33. Are the Village people gay or faux gay?

Are the Village people gay or faux gay?

https://www.bing.com/search?q=are+the+village+people+gay&form=ANNTH1&refig=43b2b560eba0486d823166f170a8dc9c&pc=U531&pqlth=0&assgl=26&sgcn=are+the+village+people+gay&qs=HS&smvpcn=0&swbcn=10&sc=10-0&sp=1&ghc=0&cvid=43b2b560eba0486d823166f170a8dc9c&clckatsg=1&hsmssg=0

The group's name refers to Manhattan's Greenwich Village, with its reputation as a gay village. [2] The characters were a symbolic group of American masculinity [ 3 ] and macho gay-fantasy personas. [ 4 ] See more

[kwolf68]

37. Artists fall in line

Fascists will go after media (as if they dont already have that), intelligentsia and the arts. Either acquiesce to the master or expect heavy handed retribution.