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The real talents remained unsuccessful

In fact, Milli Vanilli’s hit “Girl You Know It’s True” was sung by studio musicians including Charles Shaw, John Davis, Brad Howell and twin sisters Jodie and Linda Rocco. But none of the actual voices behind the successful duo were fairly compensated for their achievements. They were only paid for their time in the studio, but they never saw any of the proceeds from the song, which sold more than 7 million copies.

All of the singers who created Milli Vanilli’s sound later attempted to launch solo careers, but all without significant success. So it wasn’t just singing that made the disco pop duo global stars.

Their biggest hit is a cover version

Interestingly, the single “Girl You Know It’s True” was a cover version of a rap song by the US rap crew Numarx that had been released just a year earlier.

Seized by megalomania

In an edition of the Time Magazine in March 1990, Pilatus described himself as “the new Elvis” and claimed that the duo’s success made them more musically talented than Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger. Fab Morvan stated in 2017 that Pilate never used these words and that the quote was taken out of context, probably because Pilate was not a complete master of the English language.

Comeback attempt

The really fascinating thing about the story of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus is perhaps not even their scandal, but rather the fact that they still continued to believe in their abilities as serious artists: in 1990 they joined forces as Rob & Fab and sang a “debut” of the same name ” album, which never made it into the charts and only sold 2,000 copies. The duo broke up again in 1993 and is said to have finally broken off contact. However, Milli Vanilli’s story only ended with Pilatus’ death in April 1998 from an overdose of alcohol and drugs. He was 33 years old. (Also read: Harry Styles: These 10 songs shaped his career – and should be familiar to you too)

No consequences for the record company

No less interesting is the fact that the scandal broke the necks of the two would-be artists, who were dropped by their record company after it became known and sued by fans for fraud. The producers and record company executives involved in the affair, however, got off scot-free, as Luke Korem, director of the documentary “Milli Vanilli” (seen on Paramount+), recently told radio station KCRW: “There was no hoax once your idea. It was Frank Farian’s idea. They agreed and are therefore of course to blame,” he admits. “But the machine and the people who enriched themselves from it — because most of the money Milli Vanilli made went to others — were never held accountable. And Clive Davis and Arista Records did nothing to catch them.” (Also: The best music documentaries and where to stream them)

2023-12-29 00:02:33
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