Fire Island is located just south of Long Island in New York State. The Fire Island Pines section is what longtime resident Andrew Kirtzman called the "spiritual homeland" for gay men. It's famous gay inhabitants have included Calvin Klein and David Geffen.
Those unfamiliar with the Fire Island might not catch the gay references ("pumpin' at the Botel," "Don't go in the bushes), and that was the point - The Village people were designed for gay appeal without alienating heterosexuals.
This was one of four songs on the first Village People album, which found its intended audience and set the stage for their stardom two years later. The songs on this set were all written by the French producers who created the group - Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo - along with the lyricists Peter Whitehead and Phil Hurtt . Morali and Belolo got the idea for the group when they were working with Hurtt on another Disco act:The Ritchie Family. When they recorded this first Village People album, they had Hurtt do the vocal arrangements and sing background, then offered him the job as lead singer. Hurtt, who was a popular songwriter/producer in Philadelphia, declined the offer but suggested one of the other background singers: Victor Willis. He got the job - that he wasn't gay was beside the point.
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