adrian varnam

This post was originally published in encore magazine on June 2nd, 2010.

Most would think that being forever associated with a single, campy role in an artist’s career would frustrate a serious performer.  Not so for Randy Jones.  His three years as the original cowboy from the Village People has been a springboard for a four-decade-long career that goes well beyond a character role in one of disco’s most famous acts.  It’s an association that Jones embraces as much now as he did a young performer in 1977 and has provided him an extraordinary life in a notoriously unforgiving industry.

“From the beginning, with my contribution to Village People being the Cowboy, I realized it was an image that was the closest to the American psyche,” he says.  “The American cowboy is the most representative, most reassuring and most iconic image of what it means to be an American, not only to those of us who are American, but to everyone around the world.  So for me, from the beginning, the heavy lifting had been done.  It has been a role that is an integral part of me and second nature and it fits my personality and sensibility to a 'T.'”

Jones says his ease in the role and his preparation for not only his tenure in the band, but the career after, was a direct result of the upbringing in his native North Carolina.  Born and raised in Raleigh, Jones was well-prepared for a career in show business after years of children’s and repertory theater, as well as educational training at the N.C. Governor’s School, UNC-Chapel Hill, and the N.C. School of the Arts.  With an intense background in theater, film, music, and dance, Jones seemed almost destined for a role in a multi-faceted outfit like Village People when he moved to New York City as a young man in the ‘70s.

“I would never have had the career and the opportunities that I have had in this great life without the magnificent education system of the state of North Carolina,” he says.  “Nothing prepared me more for New York City in the '70s than my education.  It was a solid, liberal arts education combined with a very strong conservatory arts education.  I would recommend it to everyone, but one has to have the drive to make the most of all the opportunities.”

It was that drive that in 1977 would help him fill a role in a new and burgeoning concept group from producer/composer Jacques Morali and partner Henri Belolo.  Featuring a core of performers who could not only sing but act and dance as well, Village People presented a multi-talented core of men whose costumes and macho personas represented a cross-section of iconic and traditional American male gender roles.  Although the concept of creating an inorganic and calculated male pop group wasn’t unchartered territory at the time, doing it with such camp, pizzazz, and irony most certainly was.

“I think that from the beginning I realized that we were embarking on something rather unique in show business,” he said.  “It was perhaps an early version of a ‘boy band,’ although I'm not sure I would accept the responsibility of being a ‘fairy godfather’ to the Backstreet Boys, ’N Sync, etc.  From the beginning I viewed what we were attempting as essentially a comedy act with some very well-crafted and deceptively simple pop songs, [so] how could we go wrong?  Nobody else gave us an ounce of credit, nor did any of the critics ever think we'd succeed.  But we did – far beyond anyone's expectations – to the point where we have surpassed selling more than 100 million units world-wide to date.”

All of those sales, of course, didn’t occur solely during Jones’ tenure with the group – they continue to perform and sell records today, over 30 years later.  But his stint with Village People was during perhaps their most memorable and creatively-iconic years, providing some of the hit singles, videos, and television appearances for which they’re most known.  While it may be easy to dismiss the group today as little more than a disco caricature, for a young Randy Jones it was something very different during the group’s first few years in show business.

“Although it may have seemed like the Village People experience was a glib, pop, rock ‘n’ roll trip, I was deadly serious about it,” he says.  “I was a fully prepared and experienced  professional actor/singer/dancer who realized that the opportunity to get up onstage and sing 'Macho Man,' 'In the Navy,' and 'Y.M.C.A.' with a wink, a wiggle and wave was yet another chance to practice my craft.  It just so happens that it was akin to winning the lottery when it comes to a big chance in show business.”

And like the option to choose to have the lottery winnings pay out over the years instead of one lump sum, Jones continues to reap the benefits of the role he originated over 30 years ago.  It’s a title that he’s carried proudly while paying him handsomely over the years and allowing him the freedom to explore the performance skills and interests he learned to master growing up a young artist in North Carolina.  As such, life for Randy Jones goes well beyond being a cowboy.  Today, a Broadway and off-Broadway performer, a television and film actor, a touring performer, and something of an American icon, he is today, still living the dream of a lifetime.

“I think that [the] very best life any human being [can live], whether they be a performer, a teacher, a nurse or a plumber – no matter what one does to make a living – is a life best led in the light,” he says.  “My life has been and continues to be a blessing and phenomenal experience, and that has always been my desire, to live in an open and honest way.  I always dream, even when I'm awake.”

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