"Y.M.C.A" scene in Wayne's World 2
Village People singer Victor Willis has died at 74 (read the obit from EW here). The NYC disco group had a few hits in the 70s, the biggest being "Y.M.C.A." Willis is the one who was a cop and naval officer. The group had their controversies, notably that the song was used frequently by Trump and that Willis and the group took part in some of his rallies and the 2025 inauguration. Whatever you think about the Orange Menace, we can all agree "Y.M.C.A." was a pop standard. It is worth noting that in 1981 they released the album Renaissance, which was more punk and new wave leaning than their disco sound. A music geek friend I worked with at Fuse was blown away by it and said to me "what's crazier that Village People did a punk album or that Kiss did a disco album?", the answer is both!
But back to "Y.M.C.A.", which Willis co-wrote, it has had more than a few pop culture moments. But my favorite is the scene in 1993's Wayne's World 2 when Wayne, Garth, Terry and Neil are in disguise spying on record exec Bobby and they get caught so they run, in disguise, into a gay nightclub and take the stage to do an impromptu "Y.M.C.A." as everyone thinks they are the Village People. Comedy Gold!
