Felipe Rose (born 12 January 1954) is an American musician who was an original member of the disco group the

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the releas ...

. While in the group, he performed as a Native American character - usually wearing a costume consisting of an imitation

war bonnet A modern-day dog soldier wearing a feathered headdress during a pow wow">Dog_Soldiers.html" ;"title="Cheyenne Dog Soldiers">dog soldier wearing a feathered headdress during a pow wow at the Indian Summer festival in Henry Maier Festival Park, M ...

loincloth A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or ...

and theatrical face paint. Rose was a member of the group from 1977 until 2017, when the name of the group was turned over to original lead singer

Victor Willis Victor Edward Willis (born July 1, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the founding member of the disco group Village People. He performed as their lead singer and was co-songwriter for all of their most successful singles ...

. Rose subsequently launched a solo career and released the single "Going Back to My Roots" in 2018.

Early years

Felipe Ortiz Rose was born in Manhattan to a Puerto Rican mother. He currently claims

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

/ Taino descent, but at other times has said he is Apache. He was raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, where he displayed an interest in the arts during his childhood. His mother was his main inspiration as she herself had been a dancer for the Copacabana during the 1940s and 1950s.

Village People

Rose began as a nightclub dancer. He describes being encouraged by an aunt to begin dancing "in his father's tribal regalia", which he says led to his costume in the

. Rose was working as a dancer and a bartender in the gay New York discotheque The Anvil, dressed "as an

merican ''Merican'' is an EP by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released February 10, 2004. It was the band's first release for Fat Wreck Chords and served as a pre-release to their sixth studio album ''Cool to Be You'', released the follow ...

Indian" when he was discovered by French producer

Jacques Morali Jacques Morali (4 July 1947 – 15 November 1991) was a French disco and dance music record producer and songwriter, known for creating acts like The Ritchie Family and Village People. Early life Morali was born in Casablanca, Morocco ...

and executive producer

Henri Belolo Henri Belolo (; 27 November 1936 – 3 August 2019) was a French music producer and songwriter active during the disco era. Born in Morocco, he started his career as a club DJ and A&R man. In the 1970s, with his friend, composer Jacques Moral ...

and so became the first recruit for Village People. In 1977, Village People had their first hit with "San Francisco", although this song became a hit only in the United Kingdom. Then in 1978 they had their first hits in the U.S. with " Macho Man" followed by "

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

" He is a member of the band's board of directors, called Sixuvus Ltd ("six of us" - named for the six members of the Village People).

Solo career

In 2000, Rose began to work on his solo career. His single "Trails of Tears" won a NAMMY (

Native American Music Awards The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profi ...

) for Best Historical Recording. In 2002, Rose was the opening act of the fifth Annual Native American Music Awards celebrated at the Marcus Amphitheatre in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. His media company is the "Tomahawk Group". Rose has appeared in the movies ''

Can't Stop the Music ''Can't Stop the Music'' is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Nancy Walker. Written by Allan Carr and Bronté Woodard, the film is a pseudo-biography of the 1970s disco group the Village People loosely based on the actual story ...

'' (1980), ''The Best of Village People'' (1993), and ''Feathers and Leathers: The Story of the Village People'' (1999). He also participated in the 2000 documentary, ''Village People:

The E! True Hollywood Story ''E! True Hollywood Story'' is an American television documentary series on E! that pulls back the curtain and highlights some of pop culture's most fascinating people, moments and trends. The series offers exclusive interviews with new insigh ...

''.

Personal life

For a time Rose lived in Richmond, Virginia, and briefly in Jersey City, New Jersey, though he found it to be too crowded. In a 2008 interview, he stated that approximately four or five years prior, he moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey on the advice of several friends who lived there, saying, "So I came down and I just fell in love with the shore... I love the diversity of Asbury because it brings everyone together. There is a very large gay and lesbian community here, but the diversity of artists is amazing; it’s become very bohemian."

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Felipe American dance musicians American disco musicians American LGBT singers Living people Musicians from Brooklyn American musicians of Puerto Rican descent Village People members People from Asbury Park, New Jersey People from Monmouth County, New Jersey American gay musicians LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 1954 births