Founded over a century and a half ago as the Young Men’s Christian Association, the YMCA is dropping the last three letters of its name and will heretofore be known simply as “the Y.” This will come as a mild disappointment to wedding singers and bar mitzvah DJs everywhere.
what's in a name
YMCA’s Rebranding Makes Theme Song Irrelevant
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dvlaries
Whatever schlocky mantle has settled on the song in the years since, or rolling eyes it causes, in the late 70s for gay men of that generation, it was a treasured, optimistic ode. Everything seems possible at that moment, and not very far away.
One of the group’s last significant songs was “Ready For The 80s.” It contained the same optimism but would be shadowed and seem unimaginatively naive before long, once we came to know what was waiting around that corner. I can readily name half a dozen friends I enjoyed those songs with who were gone before the age of reading glasses.
ron
I moved to NYC right out of college in 1978. My God, whenever a Village People song came on people went nuts. I think YMCA was their first big hit, and of course, Disco was all the rage. I agree about “Ready For the 80’s” being a great song and it being full of excitement and optimism about the coming decade. And yes, sadly, what came next was horrific. I have to cry now for the great guys who didn’t make it……