Can't Stop the Music (album)

Can't Stop the Music
Studio album / soundtrack by Village People
Released	May 1980
Genre	Disco dance-pop
Length	34:56
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
"Can't Stop the Music" Released: 1980 "Magic Night" Released: 1980

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[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.

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. This was also the last album to feature Randy Jones.

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.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"Can't Stop the Music"	Jacques Morali Henri Belolo Phil Hurtt Peter Whitehead	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 People	3:33
5.	"Magic Night"	Morali Belolo Victor Willis	Village People	3:22

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"The Sound of the City"	Morali Belolo Hurtt	David London	4:31
2.	"Milkshake"	Morali Belolo Willis	Village People	2:54
3.	"Y.M.C.A."	Morali Belolo Willis	Village People	3:21
4.	"I Love You to Death"	Morali Belolo Hurtt Whitehead	Village People	3:03
5.	"Sophistication"	Morali Belolo Hurtt Horace Ott	The Ritchie Family	3:52

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [7]	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [8]	20
Belgian Albums (BEA) [9]	6
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [10]	55
Danish Albums (IFPI) [11]	5
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [12]	20
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [13]	2
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [14]	36
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [15]	4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [16]	17
Portuguese Albums (Musica & Som) [17]	8
Spanish Albums (AFE) [18]	1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [19]	35
UK Albums (OCC) [20]	9
US Billboard 200 [21]	47

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [22]	9
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [23]	40

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [24]	Platinum	50,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [25]	Gold	50,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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 . September 19, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 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. "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack / Village People – Can't Stop The Music" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
9. "Hits Of The World, Page 84, November 1, 1980". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0228b". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
11. "Hits Of The World, Page 62, October 18, 1980". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Village People – Can't Stop The Music" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
13. 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.
14. "Oricon Archive - Village People". Oricon. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
15. "Charts.nz – Soundtrack / Village People – Can't Stop The Music". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
16. "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack / Village People – Can't Stop The Music". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
17. "Hits Of The World, Page 88 December 20 1980". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
18. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
19. "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack / Village People – Can't Stop The Music". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
20. "Village People | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
21. "The Village People – Awards". AllMusic . All Media Network. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
22. 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.
23. "Top Selling Albums of 1980 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved January 29, 2022.
24. "Kent Music Report No 341 – 5 January 1981 > Platinum and Gold Albums 1980". Kent Music Report . Retrieved November 12, 2021– via Imgur.com.
25. Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN   8480486392.