Y.M.C.A. (song)

"Y.M.C.A."
Single by Village People
from the album Cruisin'
B-side	"The Women"
Released	November 13, 1978
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	1978 Sigma Sound Studios (New York City, New York)
Genre	Disco
Length	4:47
Label	Casablanca
Writer(s)	Jacques Morali Victor Willis
Producer(s)	Jacques Morali
Certification	Platinum (RIAA, BPI, Canada)
Village People singles chronology
"Macho Man" (1978) "Y.M.C.A." (1978) "Go West" (1979)
Music video "Y.M.C.A." (Official) on YouTube

"Y.M.C.A." is a song by the American disco group Village People. It was released in 1978 as the only single from their third studio album Cruisin' (1978). The song reached number two on the US charts in early 1979 and reached number one in the UK around the same time, becoming the group's biggest hit. It is one of fewer than forty singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide. A medley with "Hot Cop" reached number 2 on Billboard's Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart.^[1]

The song remains popular and is played at many sporting events in the U.S. and Europe, with crowds using the dance in which the arms are used to spell out the four letters of the song's title as an opportunity to stretch. Moreover, the song also remains particularly popular due to its status as a disco classic. "Y.M.C.A." appeared as Space Shuttle Wakeup call on mission STS-106, on day 11.^[2]

In 2009, "Y.M.C.A." was entered into the Guinness World Book of Records when over 44,000 people danced to the song with Village People singing live at the 2008 Sun Bowl game in El Paso, Texas.^[3] "Y.M.C.A." is number 7 on VH1's list of The 100 Greatest Dance Songs of the 20th Century.^[4]

History

The Village People was an American Disco group created by Jacques Morali and Henry Belolo in 1977.^[5] According to Marjorie Burgess, it all began when Morali went to a New York gay bar one night and noticed dancer Felipe Rose dressed as an Indian. Morali then spotted Rose again one week later dressed in Indian garb. Rose happened to be dancing near one man dressed as a cowboy and another wearing a construction hat. “And after that I say to myself,” Morali told Rolling Stone’s Emerson, “‘You know, this is fantastic’—to see the cowboy, the Indian, the construction worker with other men around. And also, I think in myself that the gay people have no group, nobody to personalize the gay people, you know? And I say to Felipe, ‘One of these days I’m going to employ you.’” Morali began to produce disco records with masculine stereotypes in mind that same week.^[5]Victor Willis, lead singer and lyricist, recalls that while in the studio, Morali asked him, "What exactly is the YMCA?" After Willis explained it to him, he saw the expression on Morali's face and said, "Don't tell me Jacques, you want to write a song about it?" and they quickly wrote the track for the album Cruisin'.^[6]

Upon its release, the YMCA threatened to sue the band over trademark infringement. The organization ultimately settled with the composers out of court^[7] and later expressed pride regarding the song saluting the organization.^[8]

The song became a number one hit throughout the world (although not in the United States where it was kept out of the top spot by Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"). It has remained popular at parties, sporting events, weddings and functions ever since.

In 2011, Willis filed a notice of copyright termination to the song as lyricist under the Copyright Act of 1976 which allows recording artists and writers to reclaim their master recordings and publishing. In a landmark ruling in 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that Willis can terminate his copyrights granted to the publishers Can't Stop Productions and Scorpio Music because "a joint author who separately transfers his copyright interest may unilaterally terminate the grant."^[9] YMCA and other hits written by Willis (for Village People and other Can't Stop acts) began to revert to him on September 13, 2013.^[10] On March 4, 2015, it was determined that the sole writers of the song are Morali and Willis and the name Belolo has been removed. Willis now owns 50% of the song previously credited to Belolo.^[11]

Content

Taken at face value, the song's lyrics extol the virtues of the Young Men's Christian Association. In the gay culture from which the Village People sprang, the song was implicitly understood as celebrating the YMCA's reputation as a popular cruising and hookup spot, particularly for the younger men to whom it was addressed.^[12] Willis, the group's lead singer and lyricist, said through his publicist that he did not write "Y.M.C.A." as a gay anthem^[13] but as a reflection of young urban black youth fun at the YMCA such as basketball and swimming. That said, he has often acknowledged his fondness for double entendre. Willis says that he wrote the song in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[14] The initial goal of Morali and Belolo was to attract disco’s gay audience by featuring popular gay fantasy.^[15] Although the two creators of the group were gay and initially intended to target gay men, the other group members were straight men, who simply enjoyed disco culture. Therefore, the group became more popular and more mainstream over time.

^[16]

Song structure

The song, played in the key of G♭ major, begins with a brass riff, backed by the constant pulse that typified disco. Many different instruments are used throughout for an overall orchestral feel, another disco convention, but it is brass that stands out.

As with other Village People hits, the lead vocals are handled by Willis and the background vocals are supplied by Willis and professional background singers. The distinctive vocal line features the repeated "Young man!" ecphonesis followed by Willis singing the verse lines. The background vocals join in throughout the song.

Willis's version of the song is used in the film, Can't Stop the Music, though by that time Ray Simpson had replaced him as the policeman.

Origin of hand movement and dance

The YMCA dance demonstrated in a photomontage. In this rendition, the M (second from left) is done in a popular variant.

Members of the grounds crew of Yankee Stadium pause to do the YMCA dance.

YMCA is also the name of a group dance with cheerleader Y-M-C-A choreography invented to fit the song. One of the phases involves moving arms to form the letters Y-M-C-A as they are sung in the chorus:

Y —arms outstretched and raised upwards

M —made by bending the elbows from the 'Y' pose so the fingertips meet over the head^[17]

C —arms extended to the left

A —hands held together above head

The dance originated on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. During the January 6, 1979 episode, which featured the Village People as guests throughout the hour, the dance was performed by audience members while the group performed "YMCA." Clark then said to Willis that he would like to show him something. Clark again played the song with the audience doing the YMCA hand gestures. Willis immediately picked up on the dance and mimicked the hand movements back at the audience as other Village People members stared at him with puzzled looks. Clark then turned to Willis and said, "Victor, think you can work this dance into your routine?" Willis responded, "I think we're gonna have to."^[18] In a 2008 retrospective article for Spin, Randy Jones has opined that the dance may have originated as a misunderstanding: The group's original choreographed dance had the group clapping above their heads during the chorus and he believes that the audience, believing them to be making the letter "Y", began following suit.^[19]

Following the fifth inning of New York Yankees baseball games at Yankee Stadium, the grounds crew traditionally grooms the infield while leading the crowd in the dance.^[20] In July 2008, Village People performed "Y.M.C.A." with the Yankees grounds crew at the last MLB All-Star Game held at the old Yankee Stadium. Similarly at the Sapporo Dome, during Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters baseball games, "Y.M.C.A." is enthusiastically enjoyed by the crowd and ground staff during the fifth inning stretch.

Charts and certifications

Charts performance Chart (1978–79) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[21][22] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[23] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[24] 1 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[25] 1 Canadian RPM Disco Singles[26] 2 Canadian RPM Top 15 12inch[27] 1 Canadian RPM Top Singles[28] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 1 France (SNEP)[29] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[30] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[31] 1 Italy (FIMI) 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[32] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[34] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[35] 2 South African Chart[36] 3 Spain (AFYVE)[37] 4 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 1 UK (Official Charts Company)[40] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[41] 2 US Billboard Hot Disco Singles[41] 2 US Billboard Hot R&B/Soul Singles[41] 32

Chart (1993–94) (Y.M.C.A. '93) Peak position Australia (ARIA Singles Chart)[42] 76 France (SNEP)[29] 90 Irish Singles Chart[43] 12 New Zealand (RIANZ)[44] 46 UK (Official Charts Company)[40] 12 Chart (1999) Peak position UK (Official Charts Company)[40] 35 Chart (2007) Peak position Italy (FIMI)[45] 76 Sales and certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (Music Canada)[46] 2× Platinum 300,000 France (SNEP)[47] Gold 1,450,000[48] Germany (BVMI)[49] Gold 250,000 Japan (RIAJ) 302,000[50] United Kingdom (BPI)[51] Platinum 1,460,000[52] United States (RIAA)[53] Platinum 2,000,000 Total available sales: 5,762,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Covers and parodies

• George Lam's 1979 album "抉擇" (Choice) featured a Cantonese version of the song, entitled "好知己" (Good Friends).
• Billy Connolly's 1979 recording "In the Brownies" is a spoof of both this song and the Village People's "In the Navy".
• The 1993 comedy film Wayne's World 2 features a scene where Wayne, Garth, and two of their show's colleagues (while running away from the main antagonist) accidentally go into a gay club; since they are dressed in different clothing (power line worker, policeman, sailor, and roadie respectively), the DJ puts on the song and the four perform the dance.
• In 1994, the duo of 2 Live Jews did a parody of the song as "What did you say?", which was about a young man, who could not hear what was being said from the older man. It came from the album Disco Jews (1994).
• On July 2, 2004, Colin Powell, then the U.S. Secretary of State, performed a modified version of "YMCA" for his fellow foreign government officials at the ASEAN security meeting in Jakarta. His lyrics includes the lines:

  President Bush, he said to me: 'Colin, I know you will agree. I need you to run the Department of State. We are between a rock and a hard place.' ^[54]

• In 2006, TC Moses covered "YMCA" for iNiS's Elite Beat Agents.
• In 2008, a commercial for the Israeli TV provider yes. had a group of Jews dancing on Wall St., moping about the then-new switchover to HD quality to the tune of "YMCA". It also poked fun at the religion; with references to Sodom and Gomorrah, to lyrics like "It's against the Torah!" and "Now the "shikes" look so well./You will all go to Hell!/Or in Hebrew, "yismor hokel"."^[55][56]
• In September 2012 a Slovenian musical group and stand-up comedians Slon in Sadež released a Slovene parody of the YMCA-song with the title "NNLB". It makes fun of irresponsible financial management of the largest bank in Slovenia Nova Ljubljanska banka (NLB), causing a severe, longlasting financial and economic crisis in Slovenia.^[57]
• On March 2, 2013, during the opening monologue on Saturday Night Live, Jay Pharoah parodied President Barack Obama giving a press conference about the recent budget cuts in Congress, saying that there were going to be cuts on the military, social service workers, federal construction projects, and Native American funding. The representatives of each of four Village People characters did the arm dance in order after Pharaoh recited the appropriate verse of the song.^[58]
• In early 2013, Disney Channel covered the song as "O.W.C.A." for the TV series Phineas and Ferb in one of its music videos shown in commercial breaks. As seen in the music video, it shows Disney Channel stars from shows such as Jesssie, Dog With a Blog, Good Luck Charlie, and Austin & Ally, and showed the secret agents dancing to the song.
• The song was covered in the 2013 animated film Despicable Me 2 by Gru's minions. This version was included on the film's soundtrack.^[59]
• In November 2013, Chris Pennington released a parody of the song directed at Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien, entitled "Why not P.K.?", expressing sentiment that Therrien was not giving star Canadiens defenceman P. K. Subban enough ice time.^[60]
• On the children's show Sesame Street, Oscar the Grouch sings the song "Stretch, Wiggle, Yay!" at his trash can, while his worm, Slimey and his worm friends do their daily workout. "Stretch, Wiggle, Yay!" spoofs "Y.M.C.A.".^[61]
• One commercial for Malaysian Idol - following the theme of the everyday Malaysian singing mundane situations for the sake of a place in the reality TV show - has a scene where security guards order a man to drive his car away from an apartment compound in tune to this song, as the man fails to produce his "visitor pass".^[62]

References

1. "The Village People Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
2. "Audio Wakeup Call Index". Spaceflight.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
3. Peterson, Jan (2011-02-02). "Dancing Without the Stars: "YMCA" and Other Record-Breaking Dance Events – Yahoo TV". Tv.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
4. "the VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs @". Disco-disco.com. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
5. "The Village People – FREE The Village People information | Encyclopedia.com: Find The Village People research". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
6. Victor Willis Interview, SiriusXM Radio, Studio 54 Channel, Marc and Myra Show, September 24, 2013
7. "Today in Oldies Music History: January 13". Oldies.about.com. 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
8. http://mentalfloss.com/article/61754/how-did-real-ymca-react-disco-song-about-it
9. Gardner, Eriq (2012-05-08). "Village People Songwriter Victor Willis Wins Case Over Termination of 'Y.M.C.A.' Rights". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
10. Larry Rohter (2013-09-10). "Copyright Victory, 35 Years Later". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
11. Eriq Gardner (5 March 2015). "Jury Decides Village People 'Y.M.C.A.' Songwriter Has 50 Percent Song Share". The Hollywood Reporter.
12. Neumann, Caryn E. glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture YMCA
13. "Village People Cop: Y.M.C.A. Not about Gay Crusing". 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
14. "'Macho Man,' 'Y.M.C.A.' about straight fun: publicist – CTV News". CTV.ca. 2007-08-02. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
15. "The Village People – FREE The Village People information | Encyclopedia.com: Find The Village People research". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
16. Juzwiak, Rich. "Village Person Says "Y.M.C.A." Isn't About Gays, Is Probably Lying". Gawker. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
17. "Official Village People website, July 4, 2004". Officialvillagepeople.com. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
18. American Bandstand 1978
19. Pearlman, Jeff. "Y.M.C.A (An Oral History)". Spin. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
20. "NY- Yankee Stadium- 7th Inning Stretch". I Photo New York.
21. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 329. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
22. "Australia n°1 Hits – 70's". Worldcharts.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
23. "Austriancharts.at – Village People – Y.M.C.A." (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
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25. "Y.M.C.A. in Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
26. "Y.M.C.A. in Canadian Disco Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
27. "Y.M.C.A. in Canadian Top 15 12inch Chart (with Macho man)". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
28. "Y.M.C.A. in Canadian Top Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
29. "Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70" (in French). Infodisc.fr. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
30. "Offiziellecharts.de – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". GfK Entertainment Charts.
31. "Ireland singles charts". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
32. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Village People search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
33. "Dutchcharts.nl – Village People – Y.M.C.A." (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
34. "Charts.org.nz – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". Top 40 Singles.
35. "Norwegiancharts.com – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". VG-lista.
36. John Samson. "Y.M.C.A. in South African Chart". Retrieved 3 June 2013.
37. Salaverri, Fernando (February 1979). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
38. "Swedishcharts.com – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". Singles Top 100.
39. "Swisscharts.com – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". Swiss Singles Chart.
40. "Village People". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
41. "Cruisin' awards on Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
42. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 03 Apr 1994". ARIA. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
43. "Y.M.C.A. and Y.M.C.A. '93 in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 3 June 2013. Only results when searching "Y.M.C.A."
44. "Y.M.C.A. '93 in New Zealand Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
45. "Indice per Interprete: V". HitParadeItalia (it). Retrieved 6 July 2013.
46. "Canadian certifications – Village People – YMCA". Music Canada. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
47. "French certifications – Village People – Y.M.C.A." (in French). InfoDisc. Select VILLAGE PEOPLE and click OK
48. "Les Singles en Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
49. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Village People; 'Y.M.C.A.')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
50. "List of best-selling international singles in Japan". JP&KIYO. 2002.
51. "British certifications – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Enter Y.M.C.A. in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
52. Ami Sedghi (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
53. "American certifications – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
54. "Asia-Pacific | Powell goes disco for Asean forum". BBC News. 2004-07-02. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
55. YES HDTV - Chassidic commercial. 4 December 2007 – via YouTube.
56. YES HD Commercial in Israel. 26 August 2008 – via YouTube.
57. http://www.sloninsadez.com/ Official Slon in Sadež website. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
58. David Badash (2013-03-04). "Funny Or Not Funny? SNL’s Obama Explains Sequester Using ‘Village People’". The New Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
59. "‘Despicable Me 2′ Soundtrack Announced". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
60. "P.K. Subban Anthem Implores More Ice Time for Defenseman, Catchy Song Inspired by Village People (Audio)". NESN. 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
61. Sesame Street: Trash Gordon's Worm Workout. 15 January 2010 – via YouTube.
62. Malaysian Idol Ad - Visitor Pass YMCA. Mar 21, 2006 – via YouTube.

External links

• http://www.facebook.com/officialvictorwillis

External video

Original 1978 music video