In the Navy
Encyclopedia
- For the 1941 Abbott & Costello film, see In the Navy (film)In The Navy (film)-Plot:Popular crooner Russ Raymond abandons his career at its peak and joins the Navy using an alias, Tommy Halstead. However, Dorothy Roberts , a reporter, discovers his identity and follows him in the hopes of photographing him and revealing his identity to the world.Aboard the battleship...
.
"In the Navy" is a song recorded by American disco group Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
released in 1979. It was the last top 10 hit for the group in the United States.
Background and writing
After the enormous commercial success of their 1978 hit "Y.M.C.A." which unexpectedly became the unofficial hymn and powerful advertizing tool for the YMCA, the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
contacted group manager Henri Belolo
Henri Belolo
Henri Belolo is a French music producer active during the disco era. Together with his friend and composer Jacques Morali, he created The Ritchie Family as well as their most successful group, Village People....
for production of a similar song about the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, considering using the song in a recruiting advertising campaign on television and radio. Henri Belolo
Henri Belolo
Henri Belolo is a French music producer active during the disco era. Together with his friend and composer Jacques Morali, he created The Ritchie Family as well as their most successful group, Village People....
gave the rights for free on the condition that the Navy help them shoot the music video. Less than a month later, Village People arrived at the San Diego Naval base. The Navy provided them with a warship (USS Reasoner (FF-1063)
USS Reasoner (FF-1063)
USS Reasoner was a Knox class frigate of the US Navy. Reasoner, originally , was laid down 6 January 1969 by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington and launched 1 August 1970; cosponsored by Mrs. James C. Curry and Mrs. Robert Svinger. Reasoner was commissioned 31 July...
), several aircraft, and the crew of the ship (with the stipulation that the crew wouldn't dance). The Navy later canceled the campaign after protests erupted over using taxpayer money for a music video of a controversial group.
Chart positions
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
3 |
| U.S. Billboard Disco Singles | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles | 30 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 7 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 7 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
2 |
Pop-culture occurrences
- The Spanish group ParchísParchís (group)Parchis was a 1980s children's group from Spain which enjoyed moderate success in Latin American countries around the world.The group's name is a reference to the board game, Parcheesi , where each player represents a different colored pawn...
covered this song in 1979, and became one of their most popular songs. The cover was titled En la armada, sung in Spanish, and covered again by other groups with the same lyrics of Parchís. It is possibly the first cover of the song, and definitely the first in Spanish. - Captain JackCaptain Jack (band)Captain Jack is a musical duo, specializing in Eurodance music, originating from Germany.- History :Its members were Francisco Alejandro Gutierrez , and Sunny...
rerecorded a cover of the song and it was parodied by Billy ConnollyBilly ConnollyWilliam "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
as "In the Brownies". - The song is performed during a sketch on The Muppet ShowThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
, in which Viking Pigs raid an unnamed village whilst singing the song. - Japanese female pop duo Pink LadyPink Lady (band)is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...
had a top 10 hit in Japan in 1979 with a cover of "In the Navy" titled "Pink TyphoonPink Typhoon"Pink Typhoon" is the twelfth single of Pink Lady. It was released in May 1979. It peaked at number six on the Oricon charts...
" (see the Japanese Wikipedia article), which substituted the words "Pink lady" ("Pin-ku re-di") for "In the navy" in the song's chorus and "I want you, you want Mie/I want you, you want Kei" (referring to group members Mie Nemoto and Kei Masuda) for "They want you as a new recruit." - The song is played in The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Simpson TideSimpson Tide"Simpson Tide" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons ninth season and originally aired on the Fox network on March 29, 1998. After being fired from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, Homer decides to join the United States Navy Reserve...
" (where it's identified as an "ancient sea shantySea shantyA shanty is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. Shanties became ubiquitous in the 19th century era of the wind-driven packet and clipper ships...
"!) and it ends as a submarine submerges (taking the Village People, and SmithersWaylon SmithersWaylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open...
, with it). It is also briefly sung by The Sea Captain in the episode "Mr. PlowMr. Plow"Mr. Plow" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 19, 1992. In the episode, Homer buys a snow plow and starts a business plowing driveways. It is a huge success, and inspired by this, Barney Gumble starts a...
". - In the game Grand Theft Auto IIIGrand Theft Auto IIIGrand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
, there is a gay pedestrian who will occasionally say "In the navy!" - The finale of the 20002000 in filmThe year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
Leslie NielsenLeslie NielsenLeslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
comedy 2001: A Space Travesty2001: A Space Travesty2001: A Space Travesty is a 2000 American spoof comedy film starring actor Leslie Nielsen. The film has a few sequences parodying elements of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but is not focused on parodying Odyssey.-Plot:...
features a performance of "In the Navy" sung by impersonators of the Three TenorsThe Three TenorsThe Three Tenors is a name given to the Spanish singers Plácido Domingo and José Carreras and the Italian singer Luciano Pavarotti who sang in concert under this banner during the 1990s and early 2000s. The trio began their collaboration with a performance at the ancient Baths of Caracalla, in...
. - An updated music video version of the song, featuring the cast of the film along with the Village PeopleVillage PeopleVillage People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
is in the end credits of the movie Down PeriscopeDown PeriscopeDown Periscope is a 1996 comedy film starring Kelsey Grammer as the captain of a rust-bucket Navy submarine, the USS Stingray, who is fighting for his career....
. - The Israeli pop-rock band "Tislam" has a very famous line in on of their greatest hits, "Tnu Li Rockn'Roll" (Give me Rock 'n'Roll), that says "Hoshavt oti Ba'cheder etmol ad meuchar, lishmo'a Indeonezi shel Anshei Hakfar" (You sat me down in the room yesterday evening, to hear "Indinezi" by The Village People). This line was written after the songwriter, Yair Nitzani, was a DJ at a club where people kept asking him to put on the song "Indonezi" (meaning "Indonesian") because they misheard the real name of the song. This is an example of a mondegreenMondegreenA mondegreen is the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase as a result of near homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning. It most commonly is applied to a line in a poem or a lyric in a song...
, the mishearing of a phrase such that it acquires a new meaning.