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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 and Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the release of the debut album '' Village People'', which targeted disco's large gay audience. The group's name refers to Manhattan's Greenwich Village, with its reputation as a gayborhood. The characters were a symbolic group of American masculinity and macho gay-fantasy personas. , Willis is the only original member of the group. The group quickly became popular and moved into the mainstream, scoring several disco and dance hits internationally, including the hit singles " Macho Man", " In the Navy", " Go West", and " Y.M.C.A.", which was their biggest hit. In March 2020, the Library of Congress described "Y.M.C.A." as "an American phenomenon", and added the song to the National Recording Registry, which preserves audio recordings considere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Briley
Alexander Briley is an American singer who was the original "G.I." in the disco recording act Village People. Early life and education Briley was the son of a Christianity, Christian minister. Raised in Harlem and later Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Vernon, New York, Briley sang in church from an early age and studied voice at the University of Hartford. Briley had two brothers, Timothy and Jonathan. Career Briley was introduced to producer/composer Jacques Morali by Village People member Victor Willis. He originally performed in jeans and a T-shirt, but he took the role of a soldier for the album ''Cruisin' (Village People album), Cruisin''' in 1978, and appeared as a sailor when the group recorded ''In the Navy'' in 1979. He retired from Village People at 70, after 40 years' service with a few interruptions. Personal life Jonathan Briley Briley's younger brother, Jonathan (1958–2001), worked as an audio engineer at Windows on the World on the 106th floor of the 1 World ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randy Jones (singer)
Randolph Edward Jones (born September 13, 1952) is an American disco and pop singer and best known as the cowboy from Village People from 1977 to 1980, and again from 1987 until 1990. Early life Jones attended William G. Enloe High School 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 before moving to New York, joining The Village People. Personal life and career Jones had a marriage ceremony with his boyfriend of 20 years, Will Grega, at a New York City club on May 7, 2004. Although the marriage was not legally binding at the time, as gay marriage was not yet recognized in New York State, 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polydor
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. In turn, Polydor distributes Interscope releases in the United Kingdom. Polydor Records Ltd. was established in London in 1954 as a British subsidiary of German company Deutsche Grammophon, Deutsche Grammophon/Schallplatte Grammophon GmbH. It was renamed Polydor Ltd. in 1972. The company is usually mentioned as "Polydor Ltd. (UK)", or a similar form, for holding copyrights. Notable current and past artists signed to the label include Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, the Cure, James Brown, Ray, Goodman & Brown, Atlanta Rhythm Section, John Mayall, Deep Purple, Cream (band), Cream, the Moody Blues, the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Bee Gees, Lana Del Rey, Stephen Fretwell, the Jam, Style C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ community, Gay and Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino communities. Its sound features four-on-the-floor (music), four-on-the-floor beats, syncopation, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass instrument, brass and horn (musical instrument), horns, electric pianos, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars. Discothèques, mostly a French invention, were imported to the United States with the opening of Le Club, a members-only restaurant and nightclub at 416 East 55th Street in Manhattan, by French expatriate Olivier Coquelin, on New Year's Eve 1960. Disco music originated from music popular with African-American culture, African Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans#Cultural matters, Latino Americans, and Italian Americans#Influe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Anzalone
James Eric Anzalone (born October 6, 1965) is an American singer who was the Leatherman/Biker of the disco supergroup Village People from 1995 to 2017, replacing original member Glenn Hughes. Early life and education Anzalone was born in Dayton, Ohio, but grew up in Watertown, New York, and Santa Barbara, California, graduating from San Marcos High School in 1983. He studied theater and music at the University of Miami and graduated ''summa cum laude'' in May 2012 from Arizona State University with a Bachelor's degree in Film and Media, and in 2018 he received a Master's degree in American Media and Popular Culture also from Arizona State. Career Anzalone has performed in various stage productions around the world, including Berger in the European tour of ''HAIR'' and as a singer for Princess Cruises. He starred as Donatello in the world tour of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' ''Coming Out of Our Shells'' and later as Raphael in the films ''A Turtles' Christmas'' and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Simpson
Ray Simpson (born January 15, 1954) is an American singer best known as a former lead singer and "Cop" of the disco super-group Village People, having been in that role for over 30 years. In August 1979, he replaced original lead singer, Victor Willis as the Cop, a role he would fill until 1982, and again from 1987 until Willis' return in 2017. Simpson had been performing backup singing for Village People in its first years, which is why he was recruited (on very short notice) to join the group when Willis left. Simpson was featured in the Village People film, ''Can't Stop the Music'', released in 1980. Born and raised in The Bronx, he is a graduate of City College of New York, majoring in English and minoring in music. His sister, Valerie Simpson, was part of the husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording artists Ashford & Simpson. The duo worked with many Motown artists, most successfully with Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and then Diana Ross, and with sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Stephens (singer)
Ray Stephens (December 14, 1954 – October 4, 1990) was an American singer and actor best known for starring in the 1980s TV series, '' The Great Space Coaster'', as Roy. In 1985, Stephens became the lead singer of Village People and toured England with the group that year. His sole recording with the group was their album, '' Sex Over the Phone''. Stephens is heard singing the tune "Cat's Eye" during the closing credits of the 1985 Stephen King film of the same title; however, he is incorrectly listed in the closing credits as "Ray Stevens." Death He died at age 35 on October 4, 1990, from AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr .... References *"Ray Stephens"The Encyclopedia of Rock Obituaries Omnibus. 1999. p 402. *(19917Show Music 90 *Stephen J SpignesiThe Sha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miles Jaye
Miles Jaye Davis (born November 12, 1957), known professionally as Miles Jaye, is an American R&B and jazz singer, jazz violinist, songwriter, and record producer. He had several hits on the US R&B chart in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the biggest of which was "Let's Start Love Over" in 1987. He was for a time the lead singer of Village People. Life and career He was born in Yonkers, New York, and studied music theory and classical violin for more than a decade at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Saratoga School of Orchestral Studies, Indian Hill and Brooklyn College (now Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music). He also played flute, keyboards and bass while in the US Air Force, and launched his singing career while at Clarke Air Force Base in the Philippines. Jaye toured Europe with jazz guitarist Eric Gale and singers Phyllis Hyman and Jon Lucien before taking over as "Cop" in the Village People in 1982. He stayed with the band for two years before launching his solo c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the publishing division, Sony Music Publishing. Founded in 1929 as American Record Corporation, it was acquired by the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1938 and renamed Columbia Recording Corporation. In 1966, the company was reorganized to become CBS Records. Sony bought the company in 1988 and renamed it SME in 1991. In 2004, Sony and Bertelsmann established a 50–50 joint venture known as Sony BMG to handle the operations of Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), but Sony bought out Bertelsmann's stake four years later and reverted to using the 1991 company name. This buyout led to labels formerly under BMG ownership, including Arista, Jive, LaFace and J Records into former BMG and currently Sony's co-flagship record lab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Music
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands, and its operational headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California. The biggest music company in the world, it is one of the " Big Three" record labels, along with Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. Tencent acquired ten percent of Universal Music Group in March 2020 for €3 billion and acquired an additional ten percent stake in January 2021. Pershing Square Holdings later acquired ten percent of UMG prior to its IPO on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. The French Bolloré family still owns 28 percent of UMG (18 percent directly, and ten percent through Vivendi, the Bolloré family's investment company). The company went public on 21 September 2021, at a valuation of €46 billion. As of April ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BMG Music
Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music company was formed as RCA/Ariola International in 1985 as a joint venture to combine the music label activities of RCA's RCA Records division and Bertelsmann's Ariola Records and its associated labels which include Arista Records. It consisted of the BMG Music Publishing company, the world's third largest music publisher and the world's largest independent music publisher and (since August 2004) the 50% share of the joint venture with Sony Music, which established the German American Sony BMG from 2004 to 2008. History In 1994, BMG acquired Italian publisher Casa Ricordi, which had been founded in 1808. In March 1998, BMG sold its video game publisher BMG Interactive to Take-Two Interactive, with Bertelsmann taking a 16 percent stake in T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BMG Ariola
Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerate Sony Music Entertainment. Profile Ariola Eurodisc GmbH was founded in 1958 as a music outlet of Bertelsmann. It set up several foreign subsidiaries. Leveraging acquisitions by its parent company, Ariola positioned itself to become a strong contender in the German record industry in the mid-1960s. Ariola America was founded in 1975 in Los Angeles, and achieved ''Billboard'' magazine number one singles with Mary MacGregor's "Torn Between Two Lovers" (1976) and Amii Stewart's cover version of the 1966 Eddie Floyd hit " Knock on Wood" (1979). Other artists on the Ariola America roster during the late 1970s included Gene Cotton, The Three Degrees, Chanson, and the Canadian band Prism among others. After its pop success d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
