- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Village People is a disco group targeted to the gay community that became popular in mainstream America, with “Y.M.C.A.” being a major hit song.
Village People – Cruisin’ (1978): Village People is a disco group targeted to the gay community that features suggestive lyrics and the use of gay slang like “cruising”. The six bandmembers dress as American masculine icons and fantasy figures: cowboy, Native American, leatherman/biker, G.I., policeman, and construction worker. The infectious hit songs by Village People include “Macho Man”, “In the Navy”, “Go West”, and “Y.M.C.A.”. Amazingly, Village People became popular in mainstream America, and “Y.M.C.A.” is one of the most popular hit songs of the 1970’s. In 1979, the U.S. Navy considered using “In the Navy” in a recruitment ad; Village People agreed but only if they helped the group film a music video for the song. From Wikipedia: “The Navy provided them access to the San Diego Navy base, where the USS Reasoner (FF-1063), several aircraft, and the crew of the ship would be used.”
Also in 1979, Village People were on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and toured with Bob Hope to entertain U.S. troops overseas. Cruisin’ is the band’s third album and includes “Y.M.C.A.” plus another hit song “Hot Cop” and other entertaining numbers like “The Women”, “I’m a Cruiser”, and “My Roommate”. The lead rock critic at The Village Voice, Robert Christgau finally warmed to Village People when Cruisin’ came out; writing in his book Christgau’s Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981): “I give up – I’ve never been capable of resisting music this silly. At least this time they’re not singing the praises of ‘macho’, a term whose backlash resurgence is no laughing matter; and the gay stereotyping – right down to ‘The Women’, every one a camp heroine of screen or disc – is so cartoonish that I can’t imagine anyone taking it seriously. As for all the straights who think ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is about playing basketball, well, that’s pretty funny too.” In March 2020, the Library of Congress described “Y.M.C.A.” as “an American phenomenon” and added the song to the National Recording Registry. This particular album is the picture-disc edition of Cruisin’; I also have the regular black vinyl release.