President Donald Trump paid tribute to Victor Willis, the lead singer of the Village People, after Willis died on Tuesday at the age of 74. Willis’s wife announced his passing in a Facebook post early Wednesday, attributing it to “a short, but aggressive illness.”
Born in 1951 in Dallas, Willis 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, where he appeared in several musicals and plays. In the late 1970s, Willis collaborated with French disco producer Jacques Morali to release the Village People album and form the iconic band.
Trump, who frequently used the band’s signature hit “Y.M.C.A.” at his presidential campaign rallies, credited these events with reviving the song’s popularity. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, he wrote, “They loved the action, and we loved them and their great and uplifting song. We will think of Victor every time YMCA is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week.”
Willis and the Village People also performed at an event for Trump’s second inauguration last year. Trump extended his condolences to Willis’s family and bandmates, saying, “Victor Willis will be sorely missed, God Bless Him!!!”
Willis had also successfully pursued legal action to secure royalties for songs he helped produce during his time with the group.
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