Cruisin' (Village People album)

Cruisin'
Studio album by Village People
Released	September 25, 1978
Recorded	1978
Studio	Sigma Sound, New York City
Genre	Disco
Length	35:45
Label	Casablanca
Producer	Jacques Morali
Village People chronology
Macho Man (1978) Cruisin' (1978) Go West (1979)
Singles from Cruisin'
"Y.M.C.A." Released: October 17, 1978

Cruisin' is the third studio album by the American disco group Village People, released on September 25, 1978. Its title is a double entendre, referring to either simply driving around or a subtle nod to gay cruising. The album features the hits "Hot Cop" and "Y.M.C.A.", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2003, the album was rereleased as Y.M.C.A. in continental Europe.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[1]
Smash Hits	7/10 [2]

The Globe and Mail wrote that "Village People make disco music that is pretty much the standard stuff musically, but has some high-spirited vocal stylings and some hilarious tongue-in-cheek lyrics." ^[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Jacques Morali & Victor Willis. ^[4]

1. "Y.M.C.A." – 4:47
2. "The Women" – 5:54
3. "I'm a Cruiser" – 7:03
4. "Hot Cop" – 6:19
5. "My Roommate" – 5:20
6. "Ups and Downs" – 6:21

Personnel

• Victor Willis  – lead vocals and backing vocals
• Felipe Rose  – percussions and backing vocals
• Glenn Hughes  – backing vocals
• Alex Briley  – backing vocals
• David Hodo  – backing vocals
• Randy Jones  – backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Jimmy Lee – lead guitar
• Rodger Lee – rhythm guitar
• Alfonso Carey – bass
• Nathaniel Wilkie – electric piano/ clavinet
• Richard Trifan – synthesizers
• Russell Dabney – drums
• Peter Whitehead – percussion
• Bitter Sweet – hand claps

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1978–1979) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [5] 16 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [6] 1 Belgian Albums (BEA) [7] 2 Canadian Albums (RPM) [8] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [9] 6 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [10] 2 French Albums (SNEP) [11] 1 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [12] 1 Icelandic Albums (Tónlist) [13] 4 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [14] 27 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [15] 6 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [16] 5 Portuguese Albums (Musica & Som) [17] 10 Spanish Albums (AFE) [18] 6 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [19] 3 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [20] 2 UK Albums (OCC) [21] 24 US Billboard 200 [22] 3 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [23] 5 Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA) [24] 9

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [25] 75 Chart (1979) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [26] 14 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [27] 24 US Billboard 200 [28] 12

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [29]	4× Platinum	400,000^
France (SNEP) [30]	Gold	100,000*
Germany (BVMI) [31]	Gold	500,000 [32]
Netherlands (NVPI) [33]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA) [34]	Platinum	3,000,000 [35]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
2. Starr, Red (8–21 February 1979). "Village People: Cruisin'". Smash Hits . No. 5. p. 25. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022– via Smash Hits Remembered.
3. Gilday, Katherine (8 Nov 1978). "Cruisin' Village People". The Globe and Mail. p. F9.
4. Gardner, Eriq (March 5, 2015). "Jury Decides Village People 'Y.M.C.A.' Songwriter Has 50 Percent Song Share". The Hollywood Reporter .
5. 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.
6. "Austriancharts.at – Village People – Cruisin'" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
7. "Hits Of The World, Page 77 February 24 1979". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
8. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 30, No. 21, February 17 1979". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Village People – Cruisin'" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
10. 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.
11. "Tous les Albums de l'Artiste choisi". InfoDisc. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Village People – Cruisin'" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
13. "Tonlist Top 40". DV. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
14. "Oricon Archive - Village People". Oricon. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
15. "Charts.nz – Village People – Cruisin'". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
16. "Norwegiancharts.com – Village People – Cruisin'". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
17. "Hits Of The World, Page 87 April 28 1979". 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 – Village People – Cruisin'". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Village People – Cruisin'". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
21. "Village People Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
22. "The Village People Chart History". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
23. "Village People Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
24. • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
25. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0069". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
26. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6920". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
27. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1979. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
28. "Top US Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 1979". BestSellingAlbums.org. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
29. "Canadian album certifications – Village People – Cruisin". Music Canada.
30. "French album certifications – Village People – Crusin'" (in French). InfoDisc.Select VILLAGE PEOPLE and click OK. 
31. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Village People; 'Cruisin')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
32. Spahr, Wolfgang (July 28, 1979). "Germany's Metronome Label Booming". Billboard . Vol. 91, no. 30. p. 9. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved March 11, 2022.
33. "Dutch album certifications – Village People – Cruisin" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers . Retrieved 16 March 2019.Enter Cruisin in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1979 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
34. "American album certifications – Village People – Cruisin". Recording Industry Association of America.
35. Murrells, Joseph (1985). Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory. Arco Pub. p. 467. ISBN   0668064595. Sales of hits went over the three million in the U.S.A.