Village People - San Francisco/Hollywood (1977)

Don't shoot me for this post on the best dance records of all time. This release was BEFORE the tedius yawn inducing releases Macho Man or YMCA.....this was actually one of my first dance records I bought. it had a driving carefree innocent pre-AIDS , pre Reagan era pre house music vibe about it. It was disco's fun era, before people felt the need to jump on the 'I hate disco' bandwagon  for fear their friends would call them 'soft'...or worse...'gay'. This was just fun music. At the time this was released i was really into the corporate rock thing, buying Journey and REO Speedwagon and Bob Seger records, or even dabbling in southern rock with fantastic releases by Marshall Tucker band and Charlie Daniels Band. Disco enthralled me, but as much as I did love (hate to say it) Shalamar and the BeeGees that was so mainstream, at the forefront of the impending disco backlash. This Village People release signified a different sound than that mainstream music (to me anyway,despite the fact that it was on Casablanca Records after all).  Living in Missouri (which i called misery...) and itching to move to the coast ---any coast---preferably either NYC or LA....I figured those more progressive regions of the country were more open to my kind of music, and politics etc. And they were. This is the ONLY release by the group I ended up liking, and I still have to admit I still love it. Sure, I still like rock. I love Incubus and Thre Doors Down etc, so I'm not a 'disco freak by any measurement. (ANY!) I on this blog post some disco yes, but a lot of house and trance and techno. So while it sounds like I do, I make no alologies for loving this Village People release. It's pure fun. And music needs to be more fun. I dunno anyone who listened to a Village People record and then went out and killed people. KMFDM ? (ah, can you say Columbine ??)  Typically , the UK has good taste with pop music. This song actuually charted THERE, though it peaked at # 46. The album, however, was a success,  helping propell the band into the mainstream.

video link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7-10JylGZ8