Can't Stop the Music (album)

Last updated
Can't Stop the Music
CantStoptheMusic-VillagePeople.jpg
Studio album / soundtrack by
Village People
ReleasedMay 1980
Genre
Length34:56
Label Casablanca
Producer Jacques Morali
Village People chronology
Live and Sleazy
(1979)		Can't Stop the Music
(1980)		 Renaissance
(1981)
Singles from Can't Stop the Music
  1. "Can't Stop the Music"
    Released: 1980
  2. "Magic Night"
    Released: 1980
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Can't Stop the Music is the sixth studio album and first soundtrack by American disco group Village People, for their film Can't Stop the Music , released in 1980. Though the film was a commercial failure, the album was more well received, reaching number nine on the UK Albums Chart, [2] number 47 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, and number one in Australia. The album was reissued on CD in 1999.

Contents

In addition to songs by Village People, the album also contains songs performed by David London and The Ritchie Family. Also included is a re-make of "Y.M.C.A.", which was actually the original 1978 recording with lead singer Victor Willis' voice removed and replaced by lead vocals from new singer Ray Simpson. Simpson's version was not released as a single and, hence, never charted. This is the first Village People album that was not certified Gold by the RIAA.

The album was Village People's last official album for Casablanca Records. They would leave the label for RCA Records shortly after its release.

Publishing controversy

On May 7, 2012, music publishers Can't Stop Productions and Scorpio Music failed in their attempts to prevent the rights for three songs written by Willis ("Y.M.C.A.", "Milkshake", and "Magic Night") from reverting to Willis as scheduled, starting in 2013. In a historic ruling, Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that Willis could in fact terminate his copyrights granted to the publishers because "a joint author who separately transfers his copyright interest may unilaterally terminate the grant." [3] In response to the ruling, Willis stated, "I am just looking forward to having control of the songs." [4]

As a result, Victor Willis, per the court order, recaptured 33% of the copyright for "Y.M.C.A.", "Milkshake", "Magic Night", and other Village People hits. A year later, Willis' copyright share increased to 50% on 13 Village People titles, as the jury found that producer Henri Belolo was not a joint author of the lyrics. [5] [6]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Can't Stop the Music"
 Village People 3:35
2."Samantha"
  • Morali
  • Belolo
  • Hurtt
 David London 3:15
3."Give Me a Break"
  • Morali
  • Belolo
  • The Ritchie Family
 The Ritchie Family 3:30
4."Liberation"
  • Morali
  • Belolo
  • Hurtt
  • Whitehead
Village People3:33
5."Magic Night"
  • Morali
  • Belolo
  • Victor Willis
Village People3:22
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."The Sound of the City"
  • Morali
  • Belolo
  • Hurtt
David London4:31
2."Milkshake"
  • Morali
  • Belolo
  • Willis
Village People2:54
3."Y.M.C.A."
  • Morali
  • Belolo
  • Willis
Village People3:21
4."I Love You to Death"
  • Morali
  • Belolo
  • Hurtt
  • Whitehead
Village People3:03
5."Sophistication"
The Ritchie Family3:52

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1980)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [7] 1
Belgian Albums (BEA) [8] 6
Danish Albums (IFPI) [9] 5
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [10] 20
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [11] 2
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [12] 36
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [13] 4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [14] 17
Portuguese Albums (Musica & Som) [15] 8
Spanish Albums (AFE) [16] 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [17] 35
UK Albums (OCC) [18] 9
US Billboard 200 [19] 47

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [20] 9
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [21] 40

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [22] Platinum50,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [23] Gold50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. ↑ AllMusic Can't Stop the Music - The Village People, Amy Hanson, October 21, 2015
  2. ↑ Village People UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  3. ↑ Gardner, Eriq (May 8, 2012). "Village People Songwriter Victor Willis Wins Case Over Termination of 'Y.M.C.A.' Rights". The Hollywood Reporter.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Ted (May 5, 2012). "Can't stop the music rights reclamation". Variety. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012.
  5. ↑ ""YMCA" writer wins court battle". San Diego Union-Tribune . 19 September 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  6. ↑ Pettersson, Edvard (May 8, 2012). "Village People Motorcycle Cop Wins 'YMCA' Copyright Case". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012.
  7. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 330. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  8. ↑ "Hits Of The World, Page 84, November 1, 1980". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Hits Of The World, Page 62, October 18, 1980". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Village People – Can't Stop The Music" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  11. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. ↑ "Oricon Archive - Village People". Oricon. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack / Village People – Can't Stop The Music". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack / Village People – Can't Stop The Music". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Hits Of The World, Page 88 December 20 1980". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  16. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack / Village People – Can't Stop The Music". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Village People | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  19. ↑ "The Village People – Awards". AllMusic . All Media Network. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  20. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 432. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  21. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1980 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  22. ↑ "Kent Music Report No 341 – 5 January 1981 > Platinum and Gold Albums 1980". Kent Music Report . Retrieved 12 November 2021– via Imgur.com.
  23. ↑ Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN   8480486392.
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