Village People’s Victor Willis Dies One Day Before His 75th Birthday
on Jul 01, 2026
Victor Willis, the lead singer of the Village People, has passed away.
Victor Willis Was An Original Member Of The Village People
The Village People first formed in the late 1970s, as a concept group and they had two disco hits right off the bat with Willis singing lead and background vocals. After the group was invited to perform on American Bandstand, they decided to create a “real” group with other members who could also sing.
After finding “macho” members who could sing, dance, and had mustaches, they went on to release songs like “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man,” “In the Navy,” and “Go West.”
They also each dressed in costumes as a cowboy, construction worker, biker, army man, police officer, and more.
Willis is the powerful lead singing voice in all their hits and even co-wrote many of them. He was usually dressed as a policeman or a naval officer.
After leaving the group in 1980 to pursue a solo career, he later regained rights to several of his songs through landmark copyright rulings and returned to the Village People in 2017, resuming his role as lead singer and continuing to tour with the group.
He is also known as one of the original Broadway performers in The Wiz.
In recent years, the Village People’s songs have been used by President Donald Trump and while Willis asked him not to in June 2020, a few months later, he said it was okay.
He even thanked Trump for using his music because he was set to make several million dollars in royalties. The band went on to perform at Turning Point USA’s inauguration ball in January 2025, and performed “Y.M.C.A.” at the “Make America Great Again Victory Rally.”
RELATED: Kid Rock Tries Learning “YMCA” Dance On Stage With The Village People
Victor Passed Away On June 30, 2026
In the last hours of Tuesday, June 30, the Village People announced of their official Facebook page that Victor had passed away earlier in the day.
“We are profoundly sad to announce the death of VICTOR WILLIS, lead singer of Village People. Victor passed on Tuesday June 30, 2026 of a short but aggressive illness. Privacy is requested,” the band wrote alongside a photo of Willis.
Willis’ wife, Karen Huff Willis, shared a similar statement on her husband’s Facebook page.
Sadly, he passed away one day before his July 1st birthday, where he would have turned 75.
President Trump took to Truth Social to mourn the loss of Willis, calling him “a great and happy guy who loved that I used his groups song, YMCA, at my Rallies.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and all who loved Victor.
