Burning The Ground Exclusive 1978
I could not close PRIDE month without showcasing one of the greatest PRIDE Anthems ever recorded Y.M.C.A. recorded by Village People.
Village People reign supreme as gay-anthem chart toppers. Songs like ‘Macho Man’, ‘Go West’ (covered brilliantly by the Pet Shop Boys), ‘Cruisin’’ and ‘In the Navy’ are full of double entendres, and 1978’s ‘Y.M.C.A.’— which became one of the most popular singles of the 1970s — is no different. The Young Men’s Christian Association was so appalled at the song’s implications that it threatened to sue until it noticed that membership had significantly increased in the wake of the tune’s success. Turns out any press is good press — eh, boys?
In 1978 Casablanca Records released a double A-side 12″ which included the Diso Mixes of “Y.M.C.A.” along with “Macho Man”. Both tracks appear only on one side of the record.
“Y.M.C.A.” is a song by American disco group Village People, written by Jacques Morali (also the record’s producer) and singer Victor Willis and released in October 1978 by Casablanca Records as the only single from their third studio album, Cruisin’ (1978). A medley with “Hot Cop” reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, while the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1979, placing behind both “Le Freak” by Chic and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” by Rod Stewart. Outside the US, “Y.M.C.A.” reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart around the same time, becoming the group’s biggest hit. It has sold 12 million copies worldwide.
“Macho Man” was released as the second single and title song of their album of the same name (1978). The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 on June 24, 1978 (when the album had already been charting since March) before picking up more airplay that August. It became the Village People’s first charting hit in the United States, peaking on the Hot 100 at number 25 on the week of September 2.
A medley with “I Am What I Am” and “Key West” reached number four on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart. On the survey of Chicago radio superstation WLS-AM, “Macho Man” spent two weeks at number three.
SIDE A1:
Y.M.C.A. (Disco Mix) 6:47
Written-By – Henri Belolo, Jacques Morali, Victor Willis
SIDE A2:
Macho Man (Disco Mix) 5:15
Written-By – Henri Belolo, Jacques Morali, P. Whitehead*, Victor Willis
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Casablanca – NBD 20144
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single Sided, Single, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Disco
CREDITS:
- Arranged By [Strings & Horns], Conductor – Horace Ott
- Executive-Producer – Henri Belolo
- Mixed By [Disco Mix] – Michael Hutchinson
- Producer – Jacques Morali
NOTES:
Produced for Can’t Stop Productions, Inc.
Manufactured and Distributed by Casablanca Record and FilmWorks, Inc.
Made in U.S.A.
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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The Harlem drag ball scene — described by the social activist and writer Langston Hughes as “the strangest and gaudiest of all Harlem’s spectacles in the 1920s” — fragmented along racial lines in the early 1960s when Black queens became tired of having to “whiten up” if they wanted to have a chance of winning any in-house beauty contest. By the early 1970s, Black drag houses started to multiply and soon outstripped their white counterparts in terms of glamour, style and popularity. As contests expanded, categories multiplied and competition intensified, with prizes awarded to entrants whose drag was the most believable, the most real. Released in 1978, Cheryl Lynn’s feisty, upbeat disco track “Got to Be Real” became an instant ballroom classic.