Alex Briley
Template:Short description Template:BLP sources Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person
Alexander Briley (April 12, 1947) is an American singer who was the original "G.I." in the disco recording act Village People.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Early life and education
Briley is the son of a Christian minister.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Raised in Harlem and later Mount Vernon, New York, Briley sang in church from an early age and studied voice at the University of Hartford. Briley has two brothers, Timothy and Jonathan.
Career
Briley was introduced to producer/composer Jacques Morali by Village People member Victor Willis. He originally performed in jeans and a T-shirt, but he took the role of a soldier for the album Cruisin' in 1978, and appeared as a sailor when the group recorded In the Navy in 1979. He retired from Village People at 70, after 40 years' service with a few interruptions.
Personal life
Jonathan Briley
Briley's younger brother, Jonathan (1958–2001), worked as an audio engineer at Windows on the World on the 106th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center and died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In 2005, Jonathan was speculated by several people to be The Falling Man – the figure depicted in an iconic photo of a man falling to his death from the North Tower.<ref name=JunodEsquire>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was one of an estimated 100–200 people who died on 9/11 either by jumping from, falling from, or being pushed out of the upper stories of the Twin Towers.
References
- Living people
- African-American male singers
- American male pop singers
- Singers from New York (state)
- Musicians from Manhattan
- People from Harlem
- Musicians from Mount Vernon, New York
- University of Hartford alumni
- Village People members
- 20th-century American singers
- 21st-century American singers
- Year of birth missing (living people)