Download Ever been to a wedding where the band didn’t play Y.M.C.A.? Neither have I. But I ran into a couple musicians the other day who weren’t familiar with the song or how much fun it can be for their audience. Of course, I had to educate these “youngsters without a clue”. The great “crazy” dance tunes are going by the wayside in favor of rap and hip-hop… and I just hate that. So I’m on a mission.
The Village People released this gem in 1978 and it quickly became a worldwide number one hit…. except in the United States. Rod Stewart kept YMCA out of the top slot with “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”. There’s an irony there you might have to think about. And then there’s the YMCA dance. When Village People performed the song onstage, their original choreographed dance had the group clapping above their heads during the chorus. Well, audiences thought they were making the letter “Y” and followed suit with the other three letters. And so, a cultural craze is born…. out of a misunderstanding (more irony). Personally, I could never get the “M” quite right…. still working on it.
This is the arrangement we’ve used for years. I tried to get as close to the original as possible and it’s withstood the test of time. Really should update this one…. but I know I won’t. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it – right? You know, I’ll bet the YMCA dance would be really hard in Chinese…
Stageworthy Backing Tracks by Dave Zobrist 