"The Village People may be known for their gay anthems and Halloween style, but their single ""Y.M.C.A"" remains popular with a variety of people at any event that involves dancing.As the brain child of disco producer Jacques Morali, the group's initial explicitly gay-themed dance club hits became so popular that the Village People, literally the stereotypical American men (aka the Cowboy, the Construction Worker, the Sailor, the Indian, the Traffic Cop and the Leather Biker), rose to stardom. Peter Whitehead and Phil Hurtt were brought on to compose songs specifically with gay underpinnings, and what came about was an international revolution that had gays, straights, blacks and whites singing to the music about homosexual adventures.The Village People's first hit was ""San Francisco (You Got Me)"" in 1977, which made big waves in England. As the boys continued to grind against each other via their music and on stage performances, the Village People saw several more hit singles, including ""In Hollywood,"" ""Macho Man,"" and ""In the Navy."" At a time when sexual exploration and disco went hand in hand, the Village People were in the height of their career. Selling more than 65 million records and performing on stages around the world with opening acts that included Madonna and Joan Rivers, the group saw loads of success in a relatively short period. In 1979, the group won the American Music Award for Favorite Musical Group before they stared in their own film, Can't Stop the Music. At this point, disco was on the decline, and after a few fairly unsuccessful singles the group took a hiatus in 1986.The Village People re-banded with the help of Can't Stop Productions, and saw several original members return to the group. They started recording again in 1990 and had more singles as well as guest spots on television shows and live performances worldwide."
