For his inauguration as American president, on January 20, Donald Trump has chosen to bring the Village People and their unbeatable hit YMCA. What is the link with the Vence region? A discreet plaque, sealed on the Bosco-Danusso family vault, in the Center cemetery, explains it (a little): “Here rests[nt] with the mother the ashes of Jacques Morali, composer and producer of the group Village People, who died on November 15, 1992 at the age of 47. We are in the central aisle, the one that leads to the war memorial.
What would the man have thought of the fact that the legendary group – which had also supported Kamala Harris during the campaign – intended to sing for its winning opponent? We won’t know. But what we do know is that a veil of mystery hangs around the “presence” of Jacques Morali on a tomb in Vence.
A mysterious plaque
Already, this plaque in the cemetery is quite astonishing: according to all the biographies consulted on the internet, he died on November 15, 1991. That is to say a year before the date mentioned. And since he was born on July 4, 1947 (according to the majority sources), he died at 44, not 47.
Who had this plaque sealed? The City’s civil status service is unable to respond. “Anything that is placed on tombs such as plaques is not subject to authorization. And [la dépouille de] Jacques Morali is not there.” The identity of the person who had the one sealed in the name of the producer remains an enigma. But the investigation continues.
Then there is this typo. It would be wrong for us to judge, we all do it. But “here rest with the mother the ashes” (sic): it should have been written “rest” and, above all, the wording is strange. One would expect to read “to his mother”. In reality, there is no mistake because it is not the mother of the deceased.
Close links with Vence
Marc Bosco helped us solve the riddle. “It’s not about my family because I’m from Villeneuve-Loubet but I’ve lived in Vence for a long time. I do know, however, that the Bosco family who rests in the cemetery owned a business in which Jacques Morali’s parents were managers. They must have been related.”
We have not been able to contact the descendants of the Bosco-Danusso. On the other hand, a key witness confirms the hypothesis. Raymond Ardisson is a specialist in the history of the city, host of the Vence Canal historique page on Facebook and knew the protagonists. “I knew Jacques because we were in scouts together. His parents took care of The Marseillaisethe Bosco store, located on the corner, on the Place du Grand-Jardin, where there is today a bank. I believe they died while Jacques was living in the United States but I don’t know where they are buried because they weren’t from here. On the other hand, after death [du cofondateur des Village People]the Bosco family probably wanted to pay homage to her by placing this plaque in the cemetery because she was close to the Moralis and their son.”
-Jacques Morali, an American career in disco
Jacques Morali was born in Paris and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine. The file dedicated to him at Sacem describes him as an author-composer; his membership (allowing him to receive royalties) dates back to 1969.
The 70s arrived with disco but his career did not take off in France and he left for New York, where he wrote for others. He and his partner, Henri Belolo, decided to create a group as producers and composers.
“Flashes” on a stroll in Greenwich Village
The acolyte explained in a report by Antenne 2 in 1979 (visible on the Ina website) that “the idea of the Village People had appeared [à Jacques Morali] while walking around Greenwich Village [le quartier gay]: he noticed an Indian, a cowboy… Finally he had flashes, it gave him the idea of creating a group which would be called the people of the village, Village People in English. Quite simply. Like that.”
And to explain that “the Americans were amused at first that it was the French who had thought of that… They perhaps regretted a little not having thought of it themselves.”
Jacques Morali, in the same video, summarized the concept: “The Village People are a group, a visual act: they give of themselves, they dance, they sing, they lose two liters of sweat per show each.”
The duo stopped in the 1990s, Jacques Morali having contracted HIV a few years earlier. He then returned to France where he died. Some say that he could have been hospitalized in a Vence clinic.
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