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Victor Willis, the founding lead singer of Village People and co-writer of “YMCA,” “Macho Man” and “In the Navy,” died on Tuesday. He was 74.
“We are profoundly sad to announce the death of Victor Willis, lead singer
of Village People. Victor passed on Monday June 30, 2026 of a short but aggressive illness. Privacy is requested,” it was posted on the Village People official Facebook page.
The son of a Baptist preacher, Willis grew up in San Francisco, where he developed his voice singing in his father’s church. With training in acting and dance, he relocated to New York and joined the Negro Ensemble Company, appearing in numerous musicals and plays, including the original Broadway production of “The Wiz” in 1976.
His career changed course after he was introduced to French disco producer Jacques Morali, who approached him with an audacious pitch: that Willis would front his new album and make it a massive hit. Willis agreed, and the debut Village People album was released in July 1977. After an appearance on “American Bandstand” prompted demand for a live act, Willis and Morali assembled a full group of performers around him – the archetypal costumed characters who would become one of the most recognizable ensembles in pop history.
Willis went on to co-write all of the group’s biggest singles. “YMCA,” released in 1978, became their signature hit, followed by “In the Navy” and “Go West.” Village People’s theatrical blend of disco rhythms and outsized masculine archetypes – cop, cowboy, construction worker – propelled them to mainstream ubiquity.
In March 2020, the Library of Congress described “YMCA” as “an American phenomenon” and added the song to the National Recording Registry. The following year, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Willis departed Village People in 1980 as the group prepared for the musical film “Can’t Stop the Music,” though he contributed lyrics to two of its songs. He left again in 1983 after a brief return. In the years that followed, he struggled with substance abuse before entering the Betty Ford Clinic in 2007.
In May 2012, Willis won a landmark ruling in the first case heard regarding the Copyright Act of 1976, which allows recording artists and writers to reclaim their work. In 2017, Willis reached an out-of-court settlement with Henri Belolo, Morali’s business partner, and returned as the group’s lead singer, ushering in a new chapter that included the release of “A Village People Christmas” in 2018.
