At last weekend’s joyous Calgary Pride parade, we heard The Village People’s famous song, YMCA, multiple times as the floats with thumping music went by. The gathered onlookers spontaneously and dutifully made YMCA arm gestures during the famous chorus. But who knew the song—practically a Pride anthem—was written in Vancouver?
Our friend and former Calgarian, Melody Jacobson, recently produced a CBC Radio piece exploring YMCA’s origins. Historian Glenn Tkach explains that the Village People were recording an album in 1970s Vancouver, and when talking about the YMCA, the idea for the song was born. Tkach also does queer history walking tours in Vancouver and includes the YMCA at 955 Burrard Street as one of his stops. It was this location which inspired the song.
YMCA is seen by many as overtly gay and sexually provocative, an interpretation which The Village People’s lead singer and lyricist Victor Willis has denied. However it sounds to you, the song first appeared on The Village People’s 1978 album Cruisin’ and eventually reached number two on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart before becoming the international staple of weddings and Pride Parades.
So the next time you hear YMCA, spare a thought for the song’s provenance, and when you are next in Vancouver, consider joining Tkach’s Really Gay History Tour.
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Calgary Gay History 