Life is good for
Village People

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

When he was young and unsure of what to do with the rest of his life, Jeff Olson bounced back and forth between jobs. That is, until he found the one job that he really grew to love — becoming the “Cowboy” in the highly successful and long-lasting rock band The Village People.
On Saturday, the group will stop at Resorts Atlantic City.
Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Olson showed an interest in music and acting early on, participating in school plays and regularly singing with the school chorus. He even developed a reputation for organizing his school bus buddies to sing along to pop songs on the way to grammar school.
By the time he reached high school, his involvement with music continued, even through his college years in South Dakota. Once again, he found himself involved with bands, especially one known as Stepchild. But after three years, the band folded and Olson decided to relocate to California to pursue a music career.
While in California, Olson was chosen to co-star in the film LA Crackdown, and was later recruited by a fashion agent as a model, eventually going to New York and soon on to Paris.
“I had just come back to the U.S. from Europe for the holidays when I read an ad about an audition being held to replace a member of an existing musical group. I had no idea that group was the Village People, but I decided to try out,” Olson recalled.
The group was formed by music producer Jacques Morali, who, Olson explained, wanted to do something with characters that were typical of America. The concept was based on icons Morali saw on the streets of New York City’s Greenwich Village, where costumed men could be seen strolling the sidewalks. The legendary disco group made costumes a part of their act as they recorded hit after hit.
Soon, the Native American, cowboy, construction worker, biker, military man and policeman were born, and they’re still as popular as they were when they first presented themselves to adoring audiences worldwide.
In 1980, Olson formally signed on as one of the Village People, and nearly 30 years later he’s quite content with the way his life has worked out. “When you begin with a group like this, with any group, you have no idea it’s going to become such a phenomenon,” he said. “We know lots of people who began performing in the same era, doing the same type of music, but today they aren’t working at all and haven’t worked for years, or they’re working just sporadically. But we’ve been very fortunate. We’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of our songs and have been working consistently since the beginning.
“Admittedly, we are a novelty act and most novelty acts end quickly. They just come and go. But ours has been around all this time and, for that, we are very, very grateful,” he added.
As far as their No. 1 hit, Y.M.C.A., Olson explained that it was “originally just a filler on an album. In fact, when Morali passed a street sign advertising YMCA, we had to explain to him what it meant. Then he came up with the song, which became a big hit and probably the one most associated with our group. Go figure!”
And today, for Olson and the rest of the group, life’s been pretty good — financially and every other way.
“We all get along very well and we have a lot of fun doing what we do. When I’m out of costume, I’m never recognized, so I continue to have a life of my own,” he said. “If I didn’t, I might have a rougher time.” ••
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