Village People (a lipsync group?)

[Huffstutler]

Before I get blasted, I know there are a lot of Village People followers but this is something that stuck in my mind ever since I heard it.

Many years ago, during one of Casey Kasem's American Top40 radio lists (could have been a special disco broadcast?), when he got to the Village People, he said something that nearly floored me! Could have been around the time of or just after the Millie Vanilli scandal?

He said that there were a lot of disco groups who were only fronts or studio acts never meant to go on tour. That The Village People had a unaccredited backup group singing behind them back stage while they lip-synched and it wasn't their voices in the studio either. That there was only one legitimate singer which was Willis. But he cited a song that is most convincing when you listen and compare the vocals....

Todd Rundgren's Utopia band and their 1983 song "Bang The Drum All Day". Take a listen and let me know. It was the song he lowered the boom on the group with.

Eric

[SandraDee]

there were a lot of disco groups who were only fronts or studio acts never meant to go on tour.

Now there's a novel idea. I'm shocked. :-? :lol:

[buckaroo]

Many years ago, during one of Casey Kasem's American Top40 radio lists (could have been a special disco broadcast?), when he got to the Village People, he said something that nearly floored me!
...He said that there were a lot of disco groups who were only fronts or studio acts never meant to go on tour. That The Village People had a unaccredited backup group singing behind them back stage while they lip-synched and it wasn't their voices in the studio either...

:-?
Hardly earth shattering news. Many disco groups were hurredly put together after having surprisingly lucrative hits: Shalamar, Boney M...Need I go on?

[markydefad]

Add the Ritchie Family to the list...on the first LP, it's just the studio singers Sweethearts of Sigma Sound singing (same as on Salsoul Orchestra's "Tangerine")...listen to "Brazil" & "Tangerine" back to back and you'd swear they were from the same LP!!! No-- just all the same players and singers and COVER IDEA!!!

Later Morali found some singers to be the Ritchie Family ('Arabian Nights"/"African Queens") (baby, those girls on the cover weren't models!!!) :P ...but they were later deemed too fat or unattractive and new improved girls were hired to act as The Ritchie Family...see the cover of "Bad Repuation" for proof they were gettin' cuter thinner and cuter.

It's the group's name that is the attraction; the producer is the mastermind--the personnel change constantly in a lot of these groups.

[Discovery]

...but they were later deemed too fat or unattractive and new improved girls were hired to act as The Ritchie Family.

Other than their looks, is there any more to the story as to why the three Ritchie Family girls were replaced between African Queens and American Generation?

[K-Bee]

Hardly earth shattering news. Many disco groups were hurredly put together after having surprisingly lucrative hits: Shalamar, Boney M...Need I go on?

Shalamar, a lip sync group?? :o
Maybe back in the "Uptown Festival" days (I've never even seen the cover for that) but definetely not later on. I can't imagine anyone doubting the vocal talents of Howard Hewett.

[dvdjamm]

i heard that was from the 1st album...after jacques moreli realized that he could make more money from a actual group he went to find people that fit his image of what the group should look like...actually i think that felipe rose(the indian) did some background singing on the 1st lp as well......