Village People lead singer Victor Willis dies aged 75 after short illness
Victor Willis of Village People has died after a ‘short but aggressive’ illness (Picture: LightRocket/Getty Images) Victor Willis, the frontman of disco group Village People, has died aged 75. The iconic singer and unmistakable voice behind the song YMCA died on Tuesday, his family and band confirmed.
In a brief statement on Facebook, the performer’s death was announced by Village people. ‘We are profoundly sad to announce the death of VICTOR WILLIS, lead singer of Village People,’ the band said. ‘Victor passed on Monday June 30, 2026 of a short but aggressive illness. Privacy is requested.’
His wife, Karen Huff-Willis, also confirmed the news, saying: ‘It is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of my husband, Victor Willis. The 75-year-old was the iconic voice behind the song YMCA (Picture: Andrew Chin/Getty Images) His band, Village People, was a disco group that shot to fame in the 1970s (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Victor passed away on Tuesday June 30, 2026 as a result of a short, but aggressive illness. ‘The family request privacy at this time of great loss.’ Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in San Francisco, Willis first began singing in his father’s Baptist church before pursuing acting and performing on Broadway.
However, after teaming up with French producer Jacques Morali in the mid-1970s, his life was changed forever when they created Village People. After creating an album in 1977, their smash hit YMCA the following year launched them into global fame, As well as co-writing and singing YMCA, Willis’ credits also include Macho Man, In The Navy and Go West.
In 1980 he left the group before later returning to the line-up. Eventually he became the only remaining original member of the band and continued to tour the globe. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page
In recent years, YMCA has become hugely popular after regularly being played at President Donald Trump’s rallies. During Trump’s first term, Willis said the band had asked the President to stop playing their music. However, later he welcomed the renewed attention and financial boost that it brought.
In 2024 Willis defended Trump’s use of the song in a post on Facebook and denied that the disco tune was intended as a ‘gay anthem’, saying he ‘knew nothing about the Y being a hang out for gays’ when he wrote the lyrics. At the height of Village People’s success, Willis was a millionaire and he once revealed that he carried up to $40,000 in cash in his pocket.
In 2007 he married Karen Huff-Willis and the couple lived together in San Diego, California. Village People had recently completed the first leg of a European tour back in May and had several more shows planned in Italy and France later this summer.