Thread: "Y.M.C.A." (An Oral History)

http://www.spin.com/articles/ymca-oral-history

[size=12pt]"Y.M.C.A." (An Oral History) [/size]
America's favorite ballpark sing-along is actually (gasp!) a disco anthem about gay sex. Or is it? On the 30th anniversary of the Village People smash, we get the full story from the folks who know best: the cowboy, the construction worker...
By Jeff Pearlman 05.27.08 3:22 PM

Great article.
Love this bit:

David Rinetti (vice president of stadium operations, Oakland A's): We wanted to do something cool to make the most of a terrible time. So we dressed two guys up as construction workers and sent them out to the construction site. Then we'd have two of our security guards go out there and pretend to tell them to stop making so much noise. Everyone [in the crowd] believed it -- then "Y.M.C.A." would come on and the four of them would break out into dance. One of our security guards was a guy named Icebox who played in the local roller-derby league. He was a huge man, and when he danced...

Robert "Icebox" Smith (Oakland Coliseum security guard): I tore that place up. The A's weren't so hot that year, but we brought that house down every single night. It was magical. We were on ESPN for weeks. It was a gay song?

=Z=

For some reason it's easy for me to picture Z doing the YMCA dance at his wedding party.

"Prophet" wrote:

For some reason it's easy for me to picture Z doing the YMCA dance at his wedding party.

I only had one rule for the DJ, no Macarena.
We did the Chicken Dance, YMCA, the Electric Slide (which goes on FOREVER) and a couple other standards.
No dollar dance.


Open bar made for good dancing.

=Z=

"Zeus" wrote:

"Prophet" wrote:

For some reason it's easy for me to picture Z doing the YMCA dance at his wedding party.

I only had one rule for the DJ, no Macarena.
We did the Chicken Dance, YMCA, the Electric Slide (which goes on FOREVER) and a couple other standards.
No dollar dance.


Open bar made for good dancing.

=Z=

Zeus saved the Macarena for his honeymoon!
LOL

How MUCH do you like Village People ,Zeus?
:P

This line cracked me up. REO Speedwagon?!

Hodo: Bar mitzvahs used to be our bread and butter, everywhere from the Pierre Hotel to backyards. But we haven't played one in five or six years, because now the parents grew up in the '80s, not the '70s. REO Speedwagon does bar mitzvahs instead of us.

everyone loves the ymca

I HATE the Electric Slide!!!

young man, there's no need to feel down.
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town
there's no need to be unhappy.

young man, there's a place you can go.
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough.
you can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
many ways to have a good time.

it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.

they have everything for you men to enjoy,
you can hang out with all the boys ...

it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.

you can get yourself cleaned, you can have a good meal,
you can do whatever you feel ...

young man, are you listening to me?
I said, young man, what do you want to be?
I said, young man, you can make real your dreams.
but you got to know this one thing!

no man does it all by himself.
I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf,
and just go there, to the y.m.c.a.
I'm sure they can help you today.

it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.

they have everything for you men to enjoy,
you can hang out with all the boys ...

it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.

you can get yourself cleaned, you can have a good meal,
you can do whatever you feel ...

young man, I was once in your shoes.
I said, I was down and out with the blues.
I felt no man cared if I were alive.
I felt the whole world was so tight ...

that's when someone came up to me,
and said, young man, take a walk up the street.
there's a place there called the y.m.c.a.
they can start you back on your way.

it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
it's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.

they have everything for you men to enjoy,
you can hang out with all the boys ...

y-m-c-a ... you'll find it at the y-m-c-a.

young man, young man, there's no need to feel down.
young man, young man, get yourself off the ground.

y-m-c-a ... you'll find it at the y-m-c-a.

young man, young man, there's no need to feel down.
young man, young man, get yourself off the ground.

y-m-c-a ... just go to the y-m-c-a.

young man, young man, are you listening to me?
young man, young man, what do you wanna be?

good time doing what?


and why can't you hang out with any girls?

What about the two step, crip walk, or just straight grinding? That is so much better than those old school dances.