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President Trump celebrated the life of Victor Willis, the singer of the band Village People, after he died on Tuesday. Willis was 74.
The president, who often used the band’s signature hit, “Y.M.C.A.,” at his presidential campaign rallies, credited these events with reviving the “‘monster’ hit” in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. Willis and the band performed at an event for the president’s second inauguration last year.
“They loved the action, and we loved them and their great and uplifting song,” Trump wrote. “We will think of Victor every time YMCA is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week. My condolences to his wonderful family and group, Victor Willis will be sorely missed, God Bless Him!!!”
Willis’s wife announced his death in a Facebook post early Wednesday morning and said that he died from “a short, but aggressive illness.”
The late singer was born in 1951 in Dallas, and he grew up singing in his Baptist preacher father’s church in San Francisco. He later moved to New York and joined the Negro Ensemble Company, in which he appeared in several musicals and plays.
Willis put out the “Village People” album in the late 1970s alongside French disco producer Jacques Morali, and the pair later formed the eponymous band. The singer co-wrote “Y.M.C.A.,” which was released in 1978. The song has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the Library of Congress has included the song in its National Recording Registry.
He left the band in 1980 and pursued a solo career. He successfully brought legal proceedings to secure royalties for songs he helped produce during his time with the group.
Willis later struggled with drug addiction and was treated for substance abuse.
The late artist is survived by his wife, Karen Huff-Willis. His family has asked for privacy at this time.
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