{"id":184346,"date":"2026-07-01T13:21:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nuevaonda.com\/victor-willis-lead-singer-of-the-legendary-band-village-people-has-died\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T13:21:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:21:00","slug":"victor-willis-lead-singer-of-the-legendary-band-village-people-has-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nuevaonda.com\/en\/victor-willis-lead-singer-of-the-legendary-band-village-people-has-died\/","title":{"rendered":"Victor Willis, lead singer of the legendary band Village People, has died"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victor Willis, lead singer of the original Village People lineup and co-writer of hits such as “YMCA” and “In the Navy,” has died at the age of 74 following a “short but aggressive illness.”<\/p>\n

The group announced this on Wednesday on its official Facebook page, where they expressed their “deep sadness” over Willis’s death on Monday, June 30.<\/p>\n

The singer<\/a>, who would have turned 75 today, was the police officer of the group, which was formed in 1977 and in which each member took on a different character\u2014the others were a cowboy, a soldier, a biker, a laborer, and a Native American.<\/p>\n

Willis was the first to join the Village People, a project by producer Jacques Morali, who convinced him with the following words: “I have four songs. I can’t pay you much right now, but if you accept, I’ll make you a star,” according to the group’s website.<\/p>\n

Born in Texas in 1951, the son of a preacher, Willis began singing in his father’s church choir and trained in New York, where he appeared in plays and musicals.<\/p>\n

In fact, he was discovered in the musical *The Wiz* by the arranger Horace Ott, who was the one who suggested his name to Morali.<\/p>\n

Those first four songs\u2014\u201cSan Francisco (You\u2019ve Got Me),\u201d \u201cIn Hollywood (Everyone\u2019s a Star),\u201d \u201cFire Island,\u201d and \u201cVillage People\u201d\u2014were recorded by Willis alongside professional backup singers and released on the album *Village People* in 1977.<\/p>\n

\"Victor
PHOTO: Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a huge success and led to the creation of a group to accompany Willis. Mark Mussler (laborer), David Forrest (cowboy), Lee Mouton (biker), and Peter Whitehead (no specific role) were hastily chosen for that first lineup. <\/p>\n

After their first appearance on a television show, an ad was published to replace the original members. The text simply read: “Wanted: Very masculine men for a world-famous disco band. Must know how to dance and have a mustache.” <\/p>\n

Randy Jones (cowboy), Glenn Hughes (biker), and David Hodo (laborer) joined the group, and they were later joined by Felipe Rose (Native American) and Alex Briley (soldier).<\/p>\n

Willis remained with the group for just over two years, during which time he co-wrote global hits such as “YMCA,” “In the Navy,” “Macho Man,” and “Go West.”<\/p>\n

In late 1979, he decided to launch a solo career, which didn’t have much impact, and he returned to the Village People in 2017 as the lead singer.<\/p>\n

The band has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and continues to enjoy great success. In 2025, the Village People performed at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. <\/p>\n

Willis, who struggled with serious drug problems for years, was married from 1978 to 1982 to actress Phylicia Ayers-Allen, who was very popular in the 1980s for her role as Clais Huxtable on “The Bill Cosby Show,” and in 2007 he married attorney Karen Huff, according to Agencia EFE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victor Willis, lead singer of the original Village People lineup and co-writer of hits such as “YMCA” and “In the Navy,” has died at the age of 74 following a “short but aggressive illness.” The group announced this on Wednesday on its official Facebook page, where they expressed their “deep sadness” over Willis’s death on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":184345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,73],"tags":[798,784,787],"class_list":["post-184346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-famous","tag-entretenimiento-en","tag-famosos-en","tag-musica-en"],"yoast_head":"\nVictor Willis, lead singer of the legendary band Village People, has died<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Victor Willis, lead singer of the legendary band Village People, has died at 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