Willis co-wrote “Macho Man,” “In the Navy,” “Go West,” and “Y.M.C.A.” for the Village People, then won a series of copyright rulings between 2012 and 2015 that handed him substantial ownership of those hits. “Y.M.C.A.” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart and “In the Navy” hit No. 3.
He was the guy in the police uniform (helmet and all), the “young man with the big voice” that producer Jacques Morali built the group around in 1977. A minister’s son who sang gospel in church, he’d done Broadway in the original run of “The Wiz” before disco made him famous.
The “Y.M.C.A.” lyric came from his own life in New York. He lived at the Empire Hotel and frequented a Y.M.C.A. on West 63rd Street, and he later said he pictured someone new in town who’d blown all their money and was “just sitting there not knowing which way to go with their life.” The Library of Congress added the song to the National Recording Registry in 2020.
All six members of the Village People — Chad Freeman, James Kwong, J.J. Lippold, Angel Morales, Victor Willis, and Sonny Earl — pose in full costume on the red carpet at the 7th Annual Streamy Awards in Beverly Hills on Sept. 26, 2017. Photo by Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images.
Fame came with a cost. A 2006 arrest sent him to treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic, and he got sober in 2007, later saying the haze of drugs was gone and he could finally see clearly again.
President Donald Trump dances to “YMCA” as House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Conference Chair Lisa McClain applaud at the Republican Members Issues Conference at Trump National Doral in Miami on March 9, 2026. Photo by Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images.
“Y.M.C.A.” found a second life at Donald Trump’s rallies, and Willis, who first objected to it, came around and called the song a “monster” hit all over again decades on. Trump posted a tribute on Truth Social calling Willis “a great and happy guy who loved that I used his group’s song, YMCA, at my Rallies,” and adding, “We will think of Victor every time YMCA is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week.” Willis rejoined the band for touring and new music in 2017, and last year defended playing a Trump inauguration event, writing that it wasn’t an endorsement of Trump’s policies “no matter what you say to the contrary.” In May, he and the group sang “Happy Birthday” and “Y.M.C.A.” for Secretary of State Marco Rubio at an event in India.
At the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Village People took the stage for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw on Dec. 5, 2025 — frontman Victor Willis in his trademark police uniform singing into the mic with his bandmates beside him. Photo by Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images.
Clad in his trademark police uniform, Village People vocalist Victor Willis takes the stage at Chicago Stadium on June 21, 1979. Photo by Paul Natkin / Archive Photos via Getty Images.
His wife, Karen Huff-Willis, announced his death on July 1 and asked for privacy. He was one day shy of his 75th birthday.
Village People members Nicholas Manelick, James Kwong, Javier Perez, Victor Willis, Jeffrey James Lippold, and James Logan pose on the red carpet at the 91st Hollywood Christmas Parade in Hollywood, California, on November 26, 2023. Photo by Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images.
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All six members of the Village People — Chad Freeman, James Kwong, J.J. Lippold, Angel Morales, Victor Willis, and Sonny Earl — pose in full costume on the red carpet at the 7th Annual Streamy Awards in Beverly Hills on Sept. 26, 2017. Photo by Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images.
President Donald Trump dances to "YMCA" as House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Conference Chair Lisa McClain applaud at the Republican Members Issues Conference at Trump National Doral in Miami on March 9, 2026. Photo by Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images.
At the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Village People took the stage for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw on Dec. 5, 2025 — frontman Victor Willis in his trademark police uniform singing into the mic with his bandmates beside him. Photo by Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images.
Clad in his trademark police uniform, Village People vocalist Victor Willis takes the stage at Chicago Stadium on June 21, 1979. Photo by Paul Natkin / Archive Photos via Getty Images.
Village People members Nicholas Manelick, James Kwong, Javier Perez, Victor Willis, Jeffrey James Lippold, and James Logan pose on the red carpet at the 91st Hollywood Christmas Parade in Hollywood, California, on November 26, 2023. Photo by Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images.
