Randy Jones (born September 13, 1952) is an American disco and pop singer and best known as the cowboy from

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the releas ...

from 1977 to 1980, and again from 1987 until 1990.

Early life

Jones attended

William G. Enloe High School William G. Enloe High School, also known as Enloe Magnet High School or Enloe High School, is a public magnet high school offering Gifted & Talented and International Baccalaureate programs located in eastern Raleigh, North Carolina, United Stat ...

in Raleigh, North Carolina and graduated in 1970. While there, he was a founder of Enloe's Drama Club, which was then called Amicus Scaena, Latin for "friend of scene" or "friend of theatre". He then studied at

North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

before moving to New York.

Personal life and career

Jones had a marriage ceremony with his boyfriend of 20 years, Will Grega, at a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

club on May 7, 2004. Although the marriage was not legally binding at the time, as

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constitutin ...

was not yet recognized in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

, Jones commented, "It's only a matter of time before the courts rule in favor of what's morally right and humanly decent." The pair had published a book together in 1996, titled ''Out Sounds: The Gay and Lesbian Music Alternative''. In 2007, he released a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

solo album ''Ticket to the World''. In 2009, he appeared on '' Flight of the Conchords'' in their music video for "Too Many Dicks". Jones appears as himself in the 2011 video game '' Postal III''. In 2014, Jones appears as Tiberius in the Off-Broadway musical, ''The Anthem''. The production was directed and choreographed by Rachel Klein, with a book by Gary Morgenstein, lyrics by Erik Ransom, and music by Jonnie Rockwell. The production performed at the Lynn Redgrave Theatre in New York City. In 2017, he released "Hard Times", the first single from the album, ''Still Makin' Noise''. The single reached number 42 on the Billboard

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart, and was the first chart placement from any member of the Village People as a solo artist.

References

Other sources

* Menconi, David (August 7, 2005). "The cowboy way". ''Raleigh News and Observer'', p. G1.

External links

*
Official website

The Gentleman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Randy 1952 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people American disco musicians American male pop singers American gay musicians LGBT male actors LGBT people from North Carolina American LGBT singers Musicians from Raleigh, North Carolina University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni Village People members William G. Enloe High School alumni United Service Organizations entertainers