Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 330– August 30, 2017

You have been in the
entertainment industry
since 1966. Do you recall
your first gig entertaining
people?
Yes I do. It was in “The Music
Man.” I think I played Tommy
Djilas, the dancing boyfriend
of the mayor’s daughter. I
was 15.
Then you actually began
acting before singing?
I am an actor. I would say that
before singing or anything,
I am an actor. That’s how I
really do approach every
song from the point of view
of an actor. Most pop songs
that I consider a real song
are a verse and the chorus,
verse and the chorus, and tell
a story. It’s kind of like a play
in three or four minutes. You
have a beginning, middle
and an end, with a certain arc
of drama. For me, I choose
songs because in some way
they help illustrate a story I
want to tell. That’s how I’ve
always appreciated songs
and singing from an actor’s
point of view. My mentor,
who totally revitalized my
interest in singing and also
gave me the best perspective
I believe, that helped me
crystallize my thoughts as
a singer and an actor, is
Julie Wilson. She said that
when you are in front of an
audience, whether it be a
big concert hall, a cabaret or
just singing to someone at
the dinner table, the words
are what you use to tell the
story with. You’ve got to be
able to engage that audience
with what the story is that
you’re telling. You’ve got to
get them involved from the
beginning to the end. She
helped me understand that
as an actor the words are
really the most important part
of the song.
Where were you the first
time you heard one of your
songs on the radio?
I had heard “Macho Man”
just a little bit. The first time
I ever got out of the car was
with my sister. I was in North
Carolina seeing my family.
I remember when “YMCA”
came on. It was a local radio
station in Raleigh, North
Carolina. We stopped the
car, and we jumped out and
ran around it three times,
like a Chinese fire drill. It was
just that exciting! “Macho
Man” was the first song that
got radio play, but not to
the extent of “YMCA.” It
was on everybody’s list and
played all the time. It was a
pretty remarkable feeling. If
I were to look at YouTube,
it’s approaching 100 million
views, just “YMCA.” With
all of the stuff I’ve done with
Village People, and all of the
stuff I’ve done as a solo artist,
I have close to 400 million
views on YouTube, which is
approaching half a billion.
That is a remarkable
statistic; however,
considering “YMCA” is
probably still one of the
most popular
songs in the
world, and
with the
fact you are
still making
music that’s
charting,
I’m not too
shocked.
And YouTube
hasn’t been
around that
long. If you
think about
the times on
television,
YouTube and
radio, over 50
years... I don’t
think about it a
lot, only when
I’m asked or
prompting.
There are
millions and
millions and
millions, if not billions of
eyeballs and ears, that I have
had the blessing and the
luxury of performing for. I am
very grateful at this ripe old
age that I am still able to do
that, and enjoy doing that
and have had the balls to
put out a CD last year called
“Mister Right,” where I sat on
a chair on the cover with no
damn pants on.
What is your proudest
career moment?
It’s nice to play for the
Queen of England. It’s nice
to perform for the presidents
at inaugural balls. It’s nice to
do outdoor concerts with a
quarter of a million people.
It’s nice when the helicopter
picks you up on the rooftop
of the hotel and flies over
the crowd, like in the movie
“The Rose.” It’s nice to make
a movie with Bruce Jenner
and Paul Sands and all of
those great people. However,
I think one of the proudest
times I ever had was on a tour
when we did 56 shows in 70
days.