YMCA
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YMCA is a 1978 pop song by Village People . It was written by Victor Willis , Henri Belolo and Jacques Morali and was released on the album Cruisin ' , recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in New York . The song became a number one hit in many countries.
The song is a hymn to the Young Men's Christian Association , or YMCA for short, some of which are also known as the cruising zone of the gay subculture . The song made it onto VH1's List of the 100 Greatest Dance Song of the 20th Century .
Background and content
The song addresses a young man who feels depressed because he is in a new, unknown city. He is told that there is a place to go even if he has little money. There are many opportunities there to spend time comfortably, "It's fun to stay at the YMCA" (German: "It's fun to live at the YMCA.") There is everything that a young man can do with joy hanging out with the boys, washing up, eating well, doing whatever he wants. No one can do everything himself, he should give up his pride and go to the YMCA. The protagonist was once in this position too, thinking that nobody cares whether he is still alive. But then a man came and showed him the YMCA where he could come to.
Leah Pouw, press officer for the YMCA says: “ We at the YMCA celebrate the song. It's a positive statement about the YMCA and what we offer to people all around the world. "(, German:" We at the YMCA celebrate this song. It is a positive statement about the YMCA and what we make possible for people all over the world. ")
Musical
All stanzas are sung by Victor Willis, the chorus is sung by the band together. In addition to “YMCA” there is another distinctive feature, the exclamation “ Young man! ”(German:“ Young man! ”). The rest of the song line is sung by Willis alone again. The song is played in the key of F sharp major , at the beginning you can hear brass instruments supported by the disco beat. Horace Ott arranged the winds and strings based on Morali's idea.
history
There are three stories of how the idea for this song came about, all of which may have played back one another:
- In the version of David Hodo, the band came from photography in 1977. Morali saw the pink YMCA on 23rd Street and asked what it was. After laughing at his accent, they explained to him that it was a place to go when you first come to New York and have no money. You can stay there for little money. Someone in the group then joked, "But don't bend over in the shower." And Morali said he would write a song about it.
- When Randy Jones moved to New York, he joined the McBurney YMCA on 23rd Street. In 1977 he took Morali three or four times. He was fascinated by the place where you can train with weights, play basketball, swim, take classes and get a room. Jones also trained there with many friends who worked in the porn film industry. And the gay Morali was impressed to meet people he knew from videos or magazines. “ Those visits with me planted a seed in him, and that's how he got the idea for 'YMCA' ” (German: “These visits with me planted a seed in him, and that's how he came up with the idea for YMCA”)
- After Henri Belolo he went through the streets with Morali, saw the YMCA and asked him what it was. Morali replied, “This is a place where a lot of people go when they are in town. They become good friends and go out together. "
The third album was almost finished, but one more song was needed. Morali wrote the melody in 20 minutes with the chorus and a text concept. He then gave this to Willis, who completed the text on the tour in Vancouver based on the concept. Horace Ott arranged the winds and strings based on Morali's idea. However, Victor Willis has been taking legal action against the music publisher since 2012 to prove that he is entitled to higher royalties, as Belolo is said not to have been involved in the songs.
The song can also be heard in various television programs and films, and often the village people with their masculine costumes are imitated or the dance is performed. There are numerous cover versions and parodies of the song.
Hand movements
At YMCA there is also a group dance with a cheerleader-like choreography in which the letters are represented by the body. In the original music video, the group only lifts their hands over their heads to clap at “Y”. Dick Clark claims for his television show American Bandstand that the dance was performed there for the first time. In the episode of January 6, 1979, in which the Village People were present as studio guests throughout the show and had an appearance, the dance is seen being danced by members of the audience during the YMCA lecture, and Victor Willis does it Figures even at the beginning of the standard interview sequence.
- Y - The arms are stretched diagonally upwards.
- M - From the Y position, the arms are bent at the elbows so that the fingertips meet over the chest.
- C - Both arms are stretched out on the left side
- A - The arms form a triangle above the head
At Yankee Stadium , the Grounds Crew traditionally takes a break from cleaning the infield after the fifth inning of a baseball game to encourage the crowd to dance. A similar thing happens in the Sapporo Dome in Japan during the games of the Hokkaidō Nippon Ham Fighters .
On New Years Eve 2008, the Village People played on the show at halftime of the 75th Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas . More than 49,000 people took part in the mass dance. This broke the previous July 4, 2001 record of 13,588 people at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha .
background
Willis, who is responsible for most of the text, asserted in 2008 that he had not written anything about homosexuality . What was meant was " heterosexual fun" / "joy among guys". For him it is one of those ambivalent songs that is interpreted in this sense by the gay associations with the Village People.
The “cowboy” Randy Jones says: “ It was not intended as a gay anthem. Do you have the lyrics in front of you? There's nothing gay about them. I think Victor wrote the words, but it's all a big fucking mystery. "(German:" It wasn't planned as a gay anthem. Do you have the lyrics in front of you? There's nothing gay in it. I think Viktor wrote the lyrics, but it's a big damn mystery. ")
Arranger Orace Ott is of the opinion: “ Now, was it a gay song? I do not know. It certainly appealed to a lot of people who embraced that lifestyle. "(German:" Well, was it a gay song? I don't know. It certainly spoke to many people who have adopted this lifestyle. ")
And “construction worker” David Hodo says: “ 'YMCA' certainly has a gay origin. That's what Jacques was thinking when he wrote it, because our first album [1977's Village People] was possibly the gayest album ever. I mean, look at us. We were a gay group. So what the song written to celebrate gay men at the YMCA? Yes. Absolutely. And gay people love it. "(German:" 'YMCA' certainly has a gay origin. That's what Jacques was thinking when he wrote it because our first album [ Village People from 1977] was probably the gayest album of all time. I mean, look at us . We're a gay group. Was the song written to celebrate gay men at the YMCA? Yes. Absolutely. And gay people love it. ")
Cover versions (selection)
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Awards for music sales
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
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 Belgium (BEA)
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- | 300,000 |
 Germany (BVMI)
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 gold
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250,000 |
 France (SNEP)
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gold
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1,450,000 |
 Japan (RIAJ)
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- | 302,000 |
 Canada (MC)
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 2 × platinum
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300,000 |
 Netherlands (NVPI)
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platinum
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150,000 |
 United States (RIAA)
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platinum
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2,000,000 |
 United Kingdom (BPI)
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platinum
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1,500,000 |
| All in all |
2 × gold 5 × platinum |
6,252,000 |
Main article: Village People / Discography # Awards for music sales
Web links
- Music video on Dailymotion
- LyricWiki lyrics
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sources chart placements:
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Jeff Pearlman: "YMCA" (An Oral History). In: spin.com. May 27, 2008, accessed January 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Discoguy: Henri Belolo & Jacques Morali. Interview with Henri Belolo. In: disco-disco.com. 2002, accessed January 18, 2015 .
- ↑ a b 'Macho Man', 'YMCA' about straight un: publicist. In: Canadian Press / ctvnews.ca. August 2, 2007, accessed January 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Eriq Gardner: Village People Trial Begins: Who Wrote 'YMCA'? In: The Hollywood Reporter. February 9, 2015, accessed January 31, 2017 .
- ^ Village People: YMCA on WhoSampled.com
- ↑ Photo series on the official website of the Village People from a live performance on July 4, 2004 ( Memento of February 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Ben Swann: World Record Set During Sun Bowl. In: KTSM News. December 31, 2008, archived from the original on January 27, 2013 ; accessed on January 31, 2017 .
- ^ Village People To Perform At Halftime - Helen of Troy Halftime Show. In: sunbowl.org. October 10, 2008, archived from the original on January 26, 2009 ; accessed on January 18, 2015 .
- ^ From the Music Capitals of the World. In: Billboard Magazine . American Radio History Archive, May 12, 1979, accessed January 10, 2020 (PDF file, page 69).
- ↑ Gold / platinum database. Federal Association of the Music Industry , accessed on January 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Les Singles en Or ( Memento from August 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ Sales figures for YMCA in Japan ( Memento from July 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Gold / Platinum. Music Canada , accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ^ Goud / Platina. Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers , accessed on 10 January 2020 (Dutch).
- ↑ Gold & Platinum. Recording Industry Association of America , accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ^ BRIT Certified. British Phonographic Industry , accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Sales for YMCA in the UK ( January 10, 2020 memento on the Internet Archive )