Farmers Feud: 'YMCA' parody strikes chord with Village People
Remember “YMCA” — the hit song featuring a construction worker, cowboy, Native American chief, leatherman, military man and policeman harmonizing together?
Well, the iconic jam, which embodied late 1970s pop-disco music culture, is back in the spotlight more than 40 years later -- and now, the band that created it is upset that someone else is singing it.
In a new viral video posted on YouTube, a group of five Missouri farmers spoofs The Village People’s mega-hit, apparently without getting the group’s express consent.
The video is part of an effort to push Congress to pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the Trump administration's proposed plan to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, a three-way trade deal with the United States, Canada and Mexico, which the president has long pledged to overhaul.
“Trump man, we have crops on our land. I said, Trump man, trade would give us a hand,” the song goes. But despite the clever lyrics, Village People frontman Victor Willis was not impressed. In an interview with TMZ Wednesday, he said because the Missouri Farm Bureau didn’t obtain licensing to use the song, “in addition to intertwining my original lyrics with new lyrics, I must decline this specific use” in conjunction with the USMCA.
The Village People reported the video for copyright violation and it has since been taken down. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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