Ex-Village People singer wins lawsuit

FILE - This 2007 file photo released by Victor Willis World shows former Village People lead singer Victor Willis in costume. A judge in Los Angeles osaid Willis can reclaim at least partial ownership of the copyrights to more than two dozen of the group's songs, including "Y.M.C.A.," "Macho Man," and "In the Navy." U.S. District Judge Barry T. Moskowitz on Monday, May 7, 2012 rejected a lawsuit by two music publishers who argued Willis had no right to regain ownership of 33 songs co-wrote for the group under contract. (AP Photo/Victor Willis World, File)

LOS ANGELES — When it comes to compiling a list of the great songwriters of the past 50 years, Victor Willis’ name likely wouldn’t merit more than an asterisk.

Far better known as the police officer in the novelty disco act the Village People, Willis is also remembered for a number of drug-related troubles in the early 2000s that nearly upended his post-Village People days.

Yet there he was this week, being mentioned in the same breath as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, after he won a court battle to claim at least a third of the copyrights for such songs as “Macho Man,” “Y.M.C.A.” and “In the Navy” that he co-wrote for his old group.