Y.M.C.A. (song)

"Y.M.C.A."
One of A-side label variants of U.S. 7-inch vinyl single
Single by Village People
from the album Cruisin'
B-side "The Women"
Released November 13, 1978
Format
Recorded 1978; Sigma Sound Studios (New York City, New York)
Genre Disco
Length 4:47
Label Casablanca
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Jacques Morali
Village People singles chronology
"Macho Man"
(1978)		 "Y.M.C.A."
(1978)		 "Go West"
(1979)

"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 2 on the US charts in early 1979 and reached Number 1 in the UK around the same time, becoming the group's biggest hit. It is one of fewer than 40 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. "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 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

Victor Willis, lead singer and lyricist, recalls that while in the studio, Jacques 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'.[5]

Upon its release, the YMCA threatened to sue the band over trademark infringement. The organization ultimately settled with the composers out of court and later expressed pride regarding the song saluting the organization.[6]

The song became a Number 1 hit throughout the world (although not in the United States where it was kept out of the top spot by Rod Stewart's "Do 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."[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] 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[11] 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.[12][13] 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 co-creator Morali was gay and the group was 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.

Impact and legacy

VH1 placed "Y.M.C.A." at #7 in their list of 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2000.[17]

Paste Magazine ranked the song number 1 in their list of The 60 Best Dancefloor Classics in February 2017.[18]

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 in front of the chest[19]
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."[20] 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.[21]

Following the sixth inning of New York Yankees baseball games at Yankee Stadium, the grounds crew traditionally grooms the infield while leading the crowd in the dance.[22]

Personnel

Chart performance

Sales and certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[57] 2× Platinum 300,000^
France (SNEP)[58] Gold 1,450,000[59]
Germany (BVMI)[60] Gold 250,000^
Japan (RIAJ) 302,000[61]
United Kingdom (BPI)[62] Platinum 1,500,000[63]
United States (RIAA)[64] Platinum 2,000,000
Total available sales: 5,762,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Covers and parodies

  • In 1997 Pepsi released a promotional cover called P.E.P.S.I.[65]
  • 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."[66]
  • 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.[67]
  • 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 the four Village People characters did the arm dance in order after Pharaoh recited the appropriate verse of the song.[68]
  • 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.[69]
  • 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.[70]
  • In June 2017 the YMCA Australia partnered with singer Boy George to release a cover of the song for a campaign on youth issues. This was the first time that any YMCA had embraced the song since its initial release.[71] Boy George's version is part of the #whynot? campaign launched by YMCA Australia that aims to provide a voice to young people to speak out on issues that affect them.[72]

References

  1. ↑ "The Village People Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Audio Wakeup Call Index". Spaceflight.nasa.gov. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  3. ↑ Peterson, Jan (February 2, 2012). "Dancing Without the Stars: "YMCA" and Other Record-Breaking Dance Events – Yahoo TV". Tv.yahoo.com. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  4. ↑ "the VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs @". Disco-disco.com. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  5. ↑ Victor Willis Interview, SiriusXM Radio, Studio 54 Channel, Marc and Myra Show, September 24, 2013
  6. ↑ "How Did the Real YMCA React to the Disco Song About It?". Mentalfloss.com. February 20, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  7. ↑ Gardner, Eriq (May 8, 2012). "Village People Songwriter Victor Willis Wins Case Over Termination of 'Y.M.C.A.' Rights". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ Larry Rohter (September 10, 2013). "Copyright Victory, 35 Years Later". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  9. ↑ Eriq Gardner (March 5, 2015). "Jury Decides Village People 'Y.M.C.A.' Songwriter Has 50 Percent Song Share". The Hollywood Reporter.
  10. ↑ Neumann, Caryn E. glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture YMCA
  11. ↑ "Village People Cop: Y.M.C.A. Not about Gay Cruising". August 3, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  12. ↑ Boles, Benjamin (February 7, 2014). "Gay Village People Co-Founder Says 'YMCA' Not A Gay Song". The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  13. ↑ Varga, George (August 2, 2015). "Victor Willis on life & music, post-Village People". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  14. ↑ "'Macho Man,' 'Y.M.C.A.' about straight fun: publicist – CTV News". CTV.ca. August 2, 2007. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  15. ↑ "The Village People – FREE The Village People information | Encyclopedia.com: Find The Village People research". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  16. ↑ Juzwiak, Rich. "Village Person Says "Y.M.C.A." Isn't About Gays, Is Probably Lying". Gawker. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Rock On The Net: VH1: 100 Greatest Dance Songs". www.rockonthenet.com.
  18. ↑ "The 60 Best Dancefloor Classics". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Official Village People website, July 4, 2004". Officialvillagepeople.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  20. ↑ American Bandstand 1978
  21. ↑ Pearlman, Jeff. "Y.M.C.A (An Oral History)". Spin. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  22. ↑ "NY- Yankee Stadium- 7th Inning Stretch". I Photo New York.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ "Australia n°1 Hits – 70's". Worldcharts.co.uk. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Village People – Y.M.C.A." (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Village People – Y.M.C.A." (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  27. ↑ "Y.M.C.A. in Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Y.M.C.A. in Canadian Disco Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Y.M.C.A. in Canadian Top 15 12inch Chart (with Macho man)". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Y.M.C.A. in Canadian Top Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  31. 1 2 "Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70" (in French). Infodisc.fr. June 3, 2013. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  33. ↑ "Ireland singles charts". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Village People" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  35. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Village People – Y.M.C.A." (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  36. ↑ "Charts.nz – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". Top 40 Singles.
  37. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". VG-lista.
  38. ↑ John Samson. "Y.M.C.A. in South African Chart". Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  39. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (February 1979). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  40. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". Singles Top 100.
  41. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Village People – Y.M.C.A.". Swiss Singles Chart.
  42. 1 2 3 "Village People". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  43. ↑ "Village People Chart History - Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  44. ↑ "Village People Chart History - Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  45. ↑ "Village People Chart History - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 2/03/79". tropicalglen.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  47. ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 03 Apr 1994". ARIA. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Y.M.C.A. and Y.M.C.A. '93 in Irish Chart". IRMA. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2013. Only results when searching "Y.M.C.A."
  49. ↑ "Y.M.C.A. '93 in New Zealand Chart". IRMA. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  50. ↑ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". officialcharts.com.
  51. ↑ "Indice per Interprete: V". HitParadeItalia (it). Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  52. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "australian-charts.com - Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  53. ↑ Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Collectionscanada.ca. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  54. ↑ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  55. ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  56. ↑ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1979". tropicalglen.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  57. ↑ "Canadian certifications – Village People – YMCA". Music Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  58. ↑ "French certifications – Village People – Y.M.C.A." (in French). InfoDisc. Select VILLAGE PEOPLE and click OK. 
  59. ↑ "Les Singles en Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  60. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Village People; 'Y.M.C.A.')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  61. ↑ "List of best-selling international singles in Japan". JP&KIYO. 2002. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  62. ↑ "British certifications – Village People – Y.M.C.A." British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 29, 2012. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Y.M.C.A. in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  63. ↑ "Pride special: Celebrating the biggest selling singles by LGBT artists". The Official Charts Company. June 25, 2016.
  64. ↑ "American certifications – Village People – Y.M.C.A." Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  65. ↑ Ads "R" Us (October 31, 2016). "Pepsi Commercial (Village People's "YMCA" parody) 1997". YouTube. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  66. ↑ "Powell goes disco for Asean forum". BBC News. July 2, 2004. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  67. ↑ http://www.sloninsadez.com/ Official Slon in Sadež website. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  68. ↑ David Badash (March 4, 2013). "Funny Or Not Funny? SNL's Obama Explains Sequester Using 'Village People'". The New Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  69. ↑ "'Despicable Me 2′ Soundtrack Announced". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  70. ↑ "P.K. Subban Anthem Implores More Ice Time for Defenseman, Catchy Song Inspired by Village People (Audio)". NESN. November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  71. ↑ Delaney, Brigid (June 20, 2017). "YMCA partners with Boy George to embrace eponymous gay anthem for first time". The Guardian. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  72. ↑ "YMCA Why Not". Whynot.org.au. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
External video
Original 1978 music video


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