Victor Willis, the Village Individuals lead singer who co-wrote hits together with “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man,” has died. He was 74.
The group introduced Willis’s dying in a brief assertion on Fb. “Victor handed on Monday June 30, 2026 of a brief however aggressive sickness,” it mentioned. “Privateness is requested.” A spokesperson for the group didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The Village Individuals grew to become international stars within the Nineteen Seventies by singing within the garb of sexualized male stereotypes, with Willis usually sporting the helmet and outfit of a police officer.
John Rockwell, reviewing one of many group’s performances for The New York Instances in 1979, mentioned that Willis was the group’s one “overt musician” and that he introduced “a husky gospel fervor” to the band’s high-camp disco songs.
Though the Village Individuals had widespread widespread success within the late Nineteen Seventies, with “Y.M.C.A.” reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Scorching 100 and “Within the Navy” hitting No. 3, Willis lately turn out to be extra of a divisive determine due to his affiliation with President Trump, who repeatedly performs the group’s music and has appeared onstage dancing with the band.
Final yr, Willis wrote at size on Fb to clarify why the band would carry out at an occasion for President Trump’s second inauguration. The group’s efficiency was not an endorsement of Trump’s insurance policies, “it doesn’t matter what you say on the contrary,” Willis wrote. However, he mentioned, the group’s members believed that music must be shared throughout the political spectrum “and never preserved for one political aspect.”
On the time, Willis was the one unique member of the Village Individuals nonetheless performing with the group.
In 2024, Willis additionally made headlines when he threatened to sue media retailers who described “Y.M.C.A.” as a homosexual anthem. Willis wrote on Fb that he didn’t thoughts homosexual folks adopting the music, the lyrics of which embody a name to “hang around with all of the boys.” Nonetheless, he mentioned, he held the information media to a better customary. When he wrote the music, Willis added, he had no data of gay exercise at Y.M.C.A. institutions.
No matter its use at political rallies, “Y.M.C.A.” has lengthy been a cultural touchstone — broadly performed at marriage ceremony receptions and sung in karaoke bars. In 2020, it was added to the Nationwide Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.
This can be a creating story. Please verify again for updates.
