YMCA (1979) 10/17/20

Top 10 facts about today's “Great Song of the '70s:”

#1: It's the biggest selling disco song of all time, with more than TEN MILLION copies sold, and counting.

#2: It went to #1 in FIFTEEN countries around the world...and was Top 5 in 3 others.

#3: In the US, it peaked at #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 and Disco Charts. In Canada, it reached #1 on the Top 40 and #2 on the Disco Chart.

#4: VH-1 has it at #7 on their list of the “Greatest Dance Songs of All Time.”

#5: In 1979, the song set a Guinness World Record when 44,000 people danced to it at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

#6: Earlier this year, the Library of Congress selected the song for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being culturally significant.

#7: The song is still used to motivate fans at sporting events, and is also a staple at wedding dances and parties.

#8: It has become an LGBQ anthem around the world.

#9: Almost everyone who has ever been on a dance floor knows what to do with their arms when the chorus begins. In fact, the special movements were created by dancers on Dick Clark's “American Bandstand.”

#10: The Young Men's Christian Association threatened to sue for trademark infringement, but the suit was settled out of court... paving the way for everything that happened in the previous 9 facts listed above.

The song, of course, is “YMCA” by the Village People. When you look up the word “iconic” in the dictionary, you almost expect to see a video of dancers doing this:

Y—Arms outstretched and raised upwards M—Made by bending the elbows from the 'Y' pose, so the fingertips meet in front of the chest. C—Arms extended to the left A—Hands held together above head

It was a “Great Song of 1979,” and it's still Great today. And fun, if nothing else!

The Village People: