January 21.20Q5 ’ jUSt OUt37
MUSIC
It takes men. a village
Macho
by
eddings, bar mitzvahs, even water aero
bics classes—at each, you see legions of
straight people jumping about, waving
their arms and shouting, “Y-M-C-A.”
How in the world did an homage to gay life
become de rigueur for heteros? And whatever
happened to The Village People, anyway?
You can find out Jan. 25 when the aging
group rolls into town as Cher’s opening act for
the continuation of her farewell tour, now aptly
renamed “Never Can Say Goodbye."
In the 1970s, gay subculture came bursting
out of the closet. Defiantly gay men paraded the
streets of New York and San Francisco display
ing their masculinity and wearing their sexuali
ty proudly on their hip pockets.
Enter French music producers Jacques
Morali and Henri Belolo, who spotted a young
Native American named Felipe Rose wearing a
Lakota headdress on the streets of Greenwich
Village. The pair followed him into a gay bar
where Rose, the bartender, twirled and danced
as he poured drinks, occasionally even climbing
on top of the bar. Morali noticed a cowboy also
watching and suddenly had an idea: Why not
put together a recording group of gay fantasy
figures? And why not name the group after the
place where the brainstorm occurred?
For lead vcxrals, they hired Victor Willis,
who performed in Broadway musicals such as
The Wiz and was married to actress Phylicia
Rashad. The Village People’s eponymous debut
LP was released in 1977. Aimed squarely at the
gay market, it featured four songs, each a tribute
to a gay mecca: “Hollywood,” “Key West,” “San
Francisco” and “Fire Island.”
Disco was still in its infancy, so only one
station spun the record regularly: WBLS-FM in
New York. The legendary DJ Frankie Crocker
(who inspired the character Venus Flytrap on
TV’s WKRP in Cincinnati) started playing “San
Francisco,” and suddenly the album became an
underground success, selling more than 100,000
copies.
With their unexpected hit, Morali and Belolo
realized they needed a group of real characters to
perform live. So, they approached Rose to re-cre
ate his bar-twirling shtick onstage, and Willis was
reoutfitted as a cop. (Rose continues to perform
with the group today. Willis, heavily addicted to
drugs, left the group in 1980.)
Next, they hired a minister’s son as the uni
formed military man (Alex Briley, who contin
ues to perform today), an aspiring television
go west!
F loyd S klaver
actor as the cowboy (Randy Jones, who married
his boyfriend of 20 years last May) and a
Battery Tunnel toll collector from Brooklyn as
the leather biker, a role he relished in real life as
well. (Glen Hughes died in 2001, buried in his
leatherman outfit.)
Finally, 28-year-old aspiring actor David
Hodo (the third original member still perform
ing) answered an ad in a trade paper and
became the muscular construction worker in
mirrored shades.
With all six now on board, the second
album, Macho Man, included the stirring title
anthem to muscular masculinity. The album
went platinum, and a phenomenon was bom.
“We were traveling constantly,” Hodo says.
“Our national tour was 48 cities in 54 days.”
Evasive about their sexuality (reportedly on
orders from producer Morali, who was himself
gay), The Village People nonetheless embodied
Christopher Street’s fantasies while courting
mainstream audiences. They took a risk
unprecedented in music history by allowing
themselves to be perceived as gay (even though
some members weren’t), and their songs were
open to interpretation. (It doesn’t take a sleuth
to discern the hidden meanings behind “It’s the
place you will find me.. .the place where love is
free” from “Fire Island.”)
In the fall of 1978, The Village People
released their third album, Cruisin’, which
included their biggest single, “Y.M.C.A.” At
first, officials at the Young Men’s Christian
Association balked. They had never heard of
were criticized for not pounding our chests
and coining out in every concert and interview,
but the fact is we wanted a career”
‘We
—David Hodo
The Village People and didn’t know if the tune
represented a tribute, a rip-off or a slap in the
face. They filed a legal challenge, but by the
time a court sided with the Y, millions of copies
had been sold, and the organization recognized
the song as free advertising.
The Village People had one other major hit,
“In the Navy,” which the U.S.'military used for
a television and radio recruitment campaign.
Belolo offered the rights to the song for free
provided the Navy helped shoot the music
video. A month later, the group arrived at San
Diego Naval Base, where the military provided
a warship, several airplanes and hundreds of
uniformed men. However, when the video
started airing, The New York Post ran a front-—
page article protesting the use of taxpayer
money to fund music videos (especially by such
a “morally dubious" group). Amid the contro
versy, the Navy canceled the campaign. The
scandal, of course, hxisted the popularity of the
song tremendously.
After riding the disco wave, The Village
People’s popularity crested, and they split up in
1986 to pursue solo careers. Unsuccessful, they
reunited two years later and have been touring
together ever since. Their hits have been heard
in dozens of major motion pictures, including
Wayne’s World and Addams Family Values, and
their albums and singles have collectively sold
more than 85 million copies worldwide.
Remarkably, The Village People managed to
exploit gay images without offending a straight
audience. Yet, after finding mainstream success,
the group received criticism for not embracing
gay issues and for neglecting to hold themselves
up as role models, representatives and crusaders
for social justice.
“We were criticized for not pounding our
chests and coming out in every concert and
interview,” Hodo says, “but the fact is we want
ed a career.”
Still, their music persists and has taken on a
life of its own outside the group.
“As long as there’s a party,” Hodo says,
“there’s going to be Village People music.” JM
T he V illage P eople open for Cher 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 25 at the Rose Garden, 1 Center Court.
Tickets are $55.50'$77.50 from Ticketmaster.
used to dance to The Village
People’s music at Studio 54 and longs for the day
when disco comes back.
FLOYD S klaver
Even though some members were straight, The Village People took an unprecedented risk by
allowing themselves to be perceived as gay
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