Victor Willis
| Victor Willis | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Victor Edward Willis |
| Born |
July 1, 1951 Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Disco, funk, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, actor |
| Instruments | Keyboards/Piano |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Casablanca Records, Sutra Records |
| Associated acts | Village People |
| Website | http://www.victorwillisworld.com |
Victor Edward Willis (born July 1, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known as the first member of the disco group Village People, for which he was the lead singer and co-songwriter during its most popular period, on all of its most successful singles. In the group he performed costumed as a cop or a naval officer.
The son of a Baptist preacher, Willis developed his singing skills in his father's church. With training in acting and dance, he went to New York and joined the prestigious Negro Ensemble Company. He appeared in many musicals and plays, including the original Broadway production of The Wiz in 1976 and subsequently, the Australian production.
Willis also had written and recorded several albums in the mid-1970s for independent labels and was eventually introduced to French disco producer Jacques Morali. Morali, who dubbed him the "young man with the big voice", approached Willis and said, "I had a dream that you sang lead vocals on my album and it went very, very big".
Willis agreed to sing lead and background vocals under the auspices of Village People, a non-existent concept group which included the hits "San Francisco (You've Got Me)" and "In Hollywood (Everybody is a Star)". The album became a huge hit in the burgeoning disco market. After an offer from Dick Clark for the group to perform on American Bandstand, Morali and Willis were pressed to develop a "real" group around Willis to perform live. They did so by placing an ad in music trade papers for "macho" singers who "could also dance" and "must have a mustache". When performing with the group from 1977 to early 1978, Willis didn't perform in his cop costume. This is seen in the music videos for San Francisco (You've Got Me), In Hollywood (Everybody is a Star) and Macho Man. In the first music video, Willis is seen wearing jeans, a vest, and a hat. In the latter two music videos, he's seen wearing a tank top and shorts. This is also shown on the cover of the album Macho Man where he is wearing a sparkling jumpsuit.
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