Skip to content 
Willis was one of the most recognizable voices of the disco era and helped shape some of the genre’s most iconic hits. As the lead singer of Village People, he co-wrote and performed classics such as YMCA, Macho Man, In the Navy and Go West.
Former in the late 1970s, Willis, who at the time was a starin the original Broadway production of The Wiz, and his bandmates became a successful act worldwide. The group’s name is a nod to Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, the historical heart of New York’s LGBTQ+ scene.
Willis alternated between roles as a police officer and a naval officer in the group’s performances. At the peak of their success, the Village People became a global cultural phenomenon, with Willis right at the heart of it all.