Victor Willis, the lead vocalist of the disco-era group Village People, whose anthem “Y.M.C.A.” became a familiar soundtrack at President Trump’s rallies, has died at 74, according to Facebook posts shared Wednesday by his wife and the band.
“It is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of my husband, VICTOR WILLIS,” Karen-Huff Willis wrote in a statement posted to the musician’s Facebook page. “Victor passed away on Tuesday June 30, 2026 as a result of a short, but aggressive illness.”
Village People also posted a similar statement on the group’s Facebook page.
Born in Texas, Willis helped found Village People and co-wrote several of the group’s biggest songs, including “Y.M.C.A.,” “In the Navy” and “Macho Man,” tracks that dominated dance floors around the world in the late 1970s.
Known for their theatrical costumes and tightly staged routines, the group became a defining pop culture act of the disco boom, embracing campy fantasy personas such as construction workers, bikers, cowboys and soldiers while appealing strongly to disco’s large gay audience.
Willis departed the group in 1980 and later returned in 2017.
Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Redferns/Getty
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He also faced personal struggles, including drug addiction, and accepted a plea deal in a cocaine possession case in 2006.
“I got very depressed over the years and decided to just drop off the map. So I got into drugs,” he told the San Diego Union Tribune in 2015.
“Y.M.C.A.,” whose lyrics urge “young men” to head to the Young Men’s Christian Association in New York, became an anthem for the LGBTQ community and beyond.
But some say the song has been co-opted by the American right wing movement following its use at rallies and events supporting Mr. Trump.
“I don’t endorse Trump, I’ve never endorsed Trump, nor has the Village People,” Willis told the BBC in 2020. “But because of the copyright laws in the United States, he’s able to play our music any time he wants to.”
The band performed “Y.M.C.A.” at a Trump rally in January 2025, before the Republican was inaugurated for his second term as president.
“Let’s give President Trump a chance, regardless of what you may have thought about him in the past,” Willis said at the time. “Let’s see what he’s going to do moving forward, and if he does things to restrict LGBTQ rights, Village People will be the first to speak out.”
In 2012, when Willis was away from the group, a judge ruled the singer could reclaim at least partial ownership of the copyrights to more than two dozen of the their songs, including “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man” and “In the Navy.” The resolution paved the way for his return to the group in 2017, BBC News reported.
