Village People Lead Singer Victor Willis Dies at 74

Victor Willis, lead singer of Village People, died Monday of a short but aggressive illness, the band announced Wednesday on Facebook. Willis, who would have turned 75 on Tuesday, performed as the group's police officer or naval officer character and served as lead vocalist on its major hits.

" He formed Village People in the mid-1970s with French producer Jacques Morali, left the group in 1980, and rejoined in 2017 as its only remaining original member. Willis won a 2012 legal victory that restored some songwriting credits and later prevailed in a jury ruling naming him and Morali sole writers of 13 Village People tracks.

Use "YMCA," released in 1978, later became a staple at President Trump's campaign rallies. Willis and the band sent a cease-and-desist letter in 2023 after "Macho Man" played at an event at Mar-a-Lago. The group supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 election cycle yet performed at Trump's 2025 inauguration "MAGA Victory" rally in Washington, D.C. >"Our song 'YMCA' is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost," Willis wrote on Facebook at the time.

Willis married Karen Huff-Willis in 2007; the couple lived in San Diego.

People completed the first leg of a European tour in May, with further dates scheduled for Italy and France this summer.