Jacques morali village people songs

I spend all my time on this Substack spotlighting the untold queer history of rock & roll. The response from readers is often, “Oh, that’s interesting. I didn’t know so-and-so was queer.” Or, “Wow! I’ve gained a new perspective on this artist.” Comments like these are to be expected about, let’s say, Sister Rosetta Tharpe or Dusty Springfield. Music journalists rarely even mention the queer side of their stories. But today’s featured band? C’mon. Everybody knows the Village People were specifically engineered to cater to queer audiences. Everybody knows that, right?

The Village People are famous for gay innuendo, barely masked by a facade of hyper-masculine characters. Yet, their pop culture status as both a gay icon and mainstream staple says a lot about how disco—and the queer culture in which it’s rooted—was admired, appropriated, and ultimately admonished by the masses.

Disco was born in queer spaces. The term is an abbreviation of the French word “discothèque,” which were European upscale dance venues that featured jazz, funk, and soul. The music genre emerged in the U.S. from underground house parties and bathhouses in New York City. In the book Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco, author Peter Shapiro points out that disco rose from the ashes of the Stonewall Riots in “Disco was the embodiment of the pleasure-is-politics ethos of a new generation of gay culture, a generation fed up with police raids, draconian laws and the darkness of the closet. That this new movement was born on the night of Judy Garland’s funeral couldn’t have been more appropriate.” 

With disco, the DJ became a rock star, and all the biggest names were queer. DJs like David Mancuso, Nicky Siano, Larry Levan, and Frankie Knuckles were at the helm of disco’s most popular underground queer venues, like the Continental Baths, The Loft, and Paradise Garage. These sanctuaries for marginalized people, particularly gay men, played musi

French musician (–)

Musical artist

Jacques Morali (4&#;July – 15&#;November ) was a French disco and dance music record producer and songwriter, known for collaborating with Henri Belolo to create acts such as The Ritchie Family and Village People.

Early life

Morali was born in Casablanca, French Morocco.

Career

Beginning in France

Morali made his start in the music business at the end of the s, writing music for orchestras in Paris, for the Crazy Horse, for himself as a solo artist (he played in show "Elle aime, elle n'aime pas" and released a single of the same title) but also for performers like Peter Fersen. Viva Zapata (Venus VS), one of his first French productions, was sung by "Clint Farwood" - a pseudonym for a member of King Harvest. In the early s, Morali met French music producer Henri Belolo. But he thought quickly that his success in France was not as great as expected and decided to try his luck in North America. Through meeting José Eber, Elizabeth Taylor and Cher's hairdresser, he became familiar with Philadelphia International Records. At the time, Morali proposed several projects to Belolo without convincing him.

International

In , Morali told Belolo about his intention to adapt the Brazilian song "Brazil" from a musical starring Carmen Miranda. The idea was to make an epic record for the clubs, sung by larger-than-life female singers. Seduced by the idea, Belolo agreed to finance a long-lasting Morali residency at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. That was the start of their collaboration. They cast three girls (Cheryl Jacks, Cassandra Wooten and Gwendolyn Oliver) and named the band The Ritchie Family. "Brazil" was a solid success, the first of many that made them long-term partners ("The Best Disco In Town" (), "Life Is Music" (), "African Queens" (), "Quiet Village" () & "American Generation" ()), both as creator and author, on top of also being writer and editor (Black

Have you got a copy of every record you've been involved in?
"Oh yes, I think so. We re-released the back catalogue of the Village People on CD's, because it was never available on CD. We have released 'the Best of'. We are going to release the Ritchie Family on CD's. Yes, I have got pieces of everything I did. Because, of course, I have the masters and I'm still licensing for lots of compilations and remixing of my stuff."
Do you know how many songs you've been involved in? And I mean songs, not records.
"Roughly I think I have in my catalogue as a writer - around "
And as a producer?
"As a producer It should be near of songs. It's a lot of time you know. And remember at that time there were no home studios, no synthesizers, no drum machines. It was arrangement writing, big bands - my God."
Which is your favorite piece of work out of the ones you've been involved in? Have you got a favorite song?
"Definitely "Y.M.C.A". That was really a big song. And I have to say also it became a big song because the arranger, Horace Ott, created that arrangement that started with the horns. That famous 'Ta-ta-ta' And the Village People created the choreography with the 'Y', 'M', 'C' and 'A'. So, in life you discover that an invention is not always one man or two men. It's a combination of people putting their love together. And I said love because you can not create a song that out pass the years, because "Y.M.C.A" became a standard that will stay forever.
Just let me tell you something about this The New York Times lately called me because they put in a capsule that will be sent in the space, some items that will represent our century. And one of the items was a recording of the Village People's "Y.M.C.A" - it's amazing!"
Yes, that's amazing!
"It's an amazing story. So, yes, definitely "Y.M.C.A". Because of, obviously, my work as a co-writer and producer was rewarded by so many people enjoying it."
Lately "Y.M.C.A" has been u