Victor Willis

The original lead singer of the Village People. Victor Willis was the driving force behind the group as well as the group's only straight member. In addition to singing lead, he also wrote such hits as YMCA, Macho Man, In the Navy, and Go West, etc. In fact, Village People initially consisted of only Victor Willis who recorded the group's first album in 1977 with use of professional background singers. Other group members were quickly assembled after Willis' first album, under the auspices of Village People, started climbing the charts. The first album contained the hit "San Francisco." Willis left the group in 1979 and returned in 1984 for the album "Fox on the Box." Willis left the group for good in 1985. He was the original cop and naval officer. In 1978, he married Phylicia Rashad,better known as The Cosby Show (1984)'s Clair Huxtable. They divorced in 1984. An accomplished Broadway actor, Willis was in the original Broadway production of The Wiz, and such other major plays as Ha