Victor Willis, the co-founder and lead singer of Village Folks, has died on the age of 74.
The Dallas-born musician died on Tuesday “because of a brief, however aggressive sickness,” his spouse, Karen Huff-Willis, introduced on his Fb web page on Wednesday, which might have been his seventy fifth birthday.
“The household request privateness presently of nice loss,” she wrote.
The group achieved worldwide fame within the Seventies with hits together with “Y.M.C.A.,” “Go West” and “In The Navy,” which Willis co-wrote.
Willis carried out on stage with the band dressed as a cop or as a naval officer.
He left the group twice within the Eighties and rejoined in 2017, simply earlier than “Y.M.C.A.” turned one among Donald Trump’s favourite songs to bounce to throughout his 2020 presidential election marketing campaign rallies.
Willis initially requested Trump to cease utilizing the hit tune however later carried out an about-face, and the group went on to carry out for the returning president in Jan. 2025 as a part of his second inauguration festivities.
The group launched its newest single, “DISCO STAR,” final month.