[2] Briley was born in Harlem, New York City, in 1947,[3] the son of a Christian minister.

[4] 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 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.

[5] 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.