About Willis by Pietasters. On Willis, The glorious Pietasters blend soulful punk with maddening ska to create one of the bands strongest releases to date. Other Releases. Awesome Mix Tape #6. Released: 8/3/1999. Awesome Mix Tape #6 Pietasters. Willis Pietasters. The Pietasters: Never Souled Out By Andrew Lyons. Formed in 1989, originally as The Slugs, The Pietasters have been a mainstay of the American ska scene. Their raucous blend of ska, soul, reggae, rock is reflected in this playlist.
.Associated actsWebsiteVictor Edward Willis (born July 1, 1951) is an American singer,. He is best known as the founding member of the disco group and also as lead singer and co-songwriter for all of their most successful singles. In the group he performed costumed as a or a.The son of a Baptist preacher, Willis developed his singing skills in his father's church. With training in acting and dance, he went to New York and joined the prestigious.
He appeared in many musicals and plays, including the original Broadway production of in 1976 and subsequently, the Australian production.Willis also had written and recorded several albums in the mid-1970s for independent labels and was eventually introduced to French disco producer. Morali, who dubbed him the 'young man with the big voice', approached Willis and said, 'I had a dream that you sang lead vocals on my album and it went very, very big'. Contents.Village People Willis agreed to sing lead and background vocals under the auspices of, a non-existent concept group which included the hits ' and '. The album became a huge hit in the burgeoning disco market.
After an offer from for the group to perform on, Morali and Willis were pressed to develop a 'real' group around Willis to perform live. They did so by placing an ad in music trade papers for 'macho' singers who 'could also dance' and 'must have a mustache'.Willis was soon writing songs produced by and co-written with Morali for the group and other artists which met with success. The Village People quickly rose to the top of the charts with Willis at the helm scoring numerous chart busters such as ', ', ', and '.In 1980, as preparations for a Village People feature film were under way, Willis left the group. Although he does not appear in the movie, he wrote the lyrics for two of the film's songs, 'Magic Night' and 'Milkshake'.
Can't Stop the Music is listed among Hollywood's bigger movie flops. After Willis departed, Village People never had another hit. In an attempt to 'recapture the magic', Morali convinced him to return to the group in 1982 for the album.
The album was never released in the United States. In 1983, Willis left the group again.In 2013, Willis appeared on the series in their two-hour special retrospective on the disco era. On June 28, 2016, Willis appeared as a contestant on the show, and sang 'Y.M.C.A.' As the credits rolled.Solo career. Willis performing in 2008After leaving Village People, Willis declined offers to record and consistently refused to perform any of his Village People hits. In 2010, he appeared at several Major League Baseball stadiums, performing and leading the crowd for the traditional Y.M.C.A. 7th-inning stretch break.In 1979, Willis recorded a solo album which remained unreleased for over 35 years.
The album, was finally released in August 2015. Copyright terminations In 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that under the provisions of the, Willis could terminate his copyright transfers to Scorpio Music and Can't Stop Productions, because 'a joint author who separately transfers his copyright interest may unilaterally terminate the grant.' Willis subsequently held a 33% share of 'Go West', 'Y.M.C.A.' , 'In the Navy,' and other songs written for Village People and other acts.In 2015, it was determined that the sole writers of 13 songs were Morali and Willis, and the name has been removed.
Willis now owns 50% of those songs, and subsequently resumed performing his old Village People hits. Return to Village People In 2017, Willis and, Morali's business partner and co-owner of the group, reached an out-of-court settlement whereby Willis resumed his role as lead singer of Village People, and they resumed recording and touring internationally. In 2018, Willis announced via social media plans for upcoming Village People projects including a new studio album, a Christmas music video, and a re-issue of the group's 1979 concert originally released as the “live” portion of the album Live & Sleazy, expected to be released in 2019 as Village People Live at the Greek Theatre.Personal life Willis struggled with drugs for numerous years after leaving Village People and had several run-ins with the law. Following an arrest in 2006, he was given probation and ordered into rehab at the.
In 2007, following treatment, Willis made his first statement to the press in more than 25 years, saying, 'The nightmare of drug abuse is being lifted from my life. Now that the haze of drugs are gone, I'm thinking and seeing clearer now than I have in years.
I'm looking forward to living the second part of my life drug-free.' From 1978 until 1982, Willis was married to (now Phylicia Rashad), whom he met during the run of The Wiz, and who later played on. He also wrote the lyrics for her album, Josephine Superstar. On November 17, 2007, Willis married a second time; his wife Karen is a lawyer and an entertainment executive.References.
^ Village People, Rolling Stone Magazine Vol. 289, April 19, 1979. Retrieved 2013-07-12. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
August 2, 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2019. Gardner, Eriq (2012-05-08). Retrieved 2013-07-12. Larry Rohter (2013-09-10). Retrieved 2014-03-28.
Retrieved 7 August 2019. May 31, 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2019. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
Retrieved 7 August 2019.External links.