''Village People'' is the debut studio album by

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 ...

, released on July 18, 1977. Its hit song "

San Francisco (You've Got Me) "San Francisco (You've Got Me)" is the debut single by the American disco group Village People. It was released in 1977 as the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album. The song reached number fifteen on the Australian Kent Music ...

" reached the top 50 in the UK, peaking at #45.

History

Village People was the creation of

Jacques Morali Jacques Morali (4 July 1947 – 15 November 1991) was a French disco and dance music record producer and songwriter, known for creating acts like The Ritchie Family and Village People. Early life Morali was born in Casablanca, Morocco ...

, a French composer. He had written a few dance tunes when he was given a demo tape recorded by singer/actor Victor Willis. Morali approached Willis and told him, "I had a dream that you sang lead on my album and it went very, very big". Willis agreed."Village People", ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' Vol. 289, April 19, 1979. The album was a success, and demand for live appearances soon followed. Morali, his business partner

Henri Belolo Henri Belolo (; 27 November 1936 – 3 August 2019) was a French music producer and songwriter active during the disco era. Born in Morocco, he started his career as a club DJ and A&R man. In the 1970s, with his friend, composer Jacques Moral ...

(under the collaboration Can't Stop Productions) and Willis hastily built a group of dancers to perform with Willis in clubs and on

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

's American Bandstand. As Village People's popularity grew, Morali, Belolo and Willis saw the need for a permanent 'group.' They took out an ad in a music trade magazine which read: "Macho Types Wanted: Must Dance And Have A Moustache." Although the composers were French, the lyrics were all in English as Morali and Belolo used American lyricists. On the first album, they brought in songwriters Phil Hurtt and the aforementioned Peter Whitehead. The band's name references New York City's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

neighborhood, at the time known for having a substantial gay population. Morali and Belolo got the inspiration for creating an assembly of ''American man'' archetypes based on the gay men of The Village who frequently dressed in various fantasy attire.

Track listing

*All songs written by

, Peter Whitehead and

Phil Hurtt Phil Hurtt is a musician, singer, songwriter and arranger who has written hits for The Detroit Spinners, The Ritchie Family and many others. His compositions have been recorded by many artists and he has worked as an arranger on recordings by w ...

, except track 2 (Morali, Belolo, Hurtt).

Production

*Executive Producer: Henri Belolo *Produced by Jacques Morali for Can't Stop Production Inc. *Recorded and mixed by Gerald Block; assistant engineer: J.D. Stewart *All songs published by Can't Stop Music.

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Village People (Album) 1977 debut albums Village People albums Casablanca Records albums Albums produced by Jacques Morali