Morali was born in Morocco. He may have had Jewish ancestry.
Career
Beginning in France
He made his start in the music business at the end of the 1960s, writing music for orchestras in Paris, for the Crazy Horse, for himself as a solo artist but also for performers like Peter Fersen. Viva Zapata, one of his first French productions, was sung by "Clint Farwood" - a pseudonym for a member of King Harvest. In the early 1970s, he met French music producerHenri Belolo. But he thought quickly that his success in France was not as high as expected and started to try his luck in North America. Through meeting José Eber, Elizabeth Taylor and Cher's hairdresser, he became familiar with Philadelphia International Records. At the time, Morali proposed several projects to Belolo without convincing him.
International
In 1975, Morali told Belolo about his intention to adapt the Brazilian song "Brazil" from a musical starring Carmen Miranda. The idea was to make an epic record for the clubs, sung by larger-than-life female singers. Seduced by the idea, Belolo agreed to finance a long-lasting Morali residency at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. That was the start of their collaboration. They cast three girls and named the bandThe Ritchie Family. "Brazil" was a solid success, the first of many that made them long-term partners, "Life Is Music", "African Queens", "Quiet Village" & "American Generation" ), both as creator and author, on top of also being writer and editor.
Mainstream
While in New York, Morali attended a costume ball at "Les Mouches", a gay disco in Greenwich Village. As he gazed around the room, he was impressed by all the "macho male stereotypes" portrayed by the party guests. The idea came to him to put together a group of singers and dancers, each one playing a different gay fantasy figure. At first, Belolo was not involved in this project, but when he saw that Morali had succeeded in signing a licensing deal with Casablanca Records, Belolo decided to become his close sidekick on the project. The Village People's songs include "San Francisco ", "YMCA", "Macho Man", "In the Navy", "Go West" and "Sex Over the Phone" and they became one of the more successful acts of the disco era with their flamboyant concept albums. Jacques Morali's music was characterized by simple arrangements, a unique sense of camp, simplistic lyrics and simple catchy melodies that could be remembered easily. Between 1974 and 1982, he recorded over 65 albums. He co-wrote songs for many artists including Patrick Juvet, Régine, Dalida, Eric Russell, Cher, Patricia Norton, Julius Brown, Starlight, Diva, Dennis Parker, David London, Wayne Scott, Lova Moor and Pia Zadora. After the post-1970s disco backlash, he began collaborating with Fred Zarr, precipitating work with Break Machine and 1984's Eartha Kitt album I Love Men. In the late 1970s, he had a sexual relationship with singer/actor/adult film starWade Nichols/Dennis Parker.
Death
Morali contracted HIV in the mid-1980s. On 15 November 1991, he died of AIDS-related causes in Paris at the age of 44. Morali was buried in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
