Milli Vanilli is an ingenious project by Frank Farian. The German pop group has released several worthy LPs during their long creative career. The duo's debut album sold millions of copies. Thanks to him, the musicians received the first Grammy Award.
This is one of the most popular bands of the late 1980s - early 1990s. The musicians worked in such a musical genre as pop music, and they made the right choice. The duet's tracks were heard by millions of music lovers around the world.
The popularity of the German team has decreased due to a scandal. As it turned out, the vocal parts that sounded in the compositions of the Milli Vanilli group did not belong to the singers.
As a result, the musicians, along with the executive producer, were forced to leave the stage forever. But still, before leaving forever, they made several attempts to rehabilitate themselves and return their listener.
The history of the creation and composition of the Milli Vanilli group
According to some sources, the team was created in 1988. The history of the birth of the mysterious group is covered with many mysteries and mysteries. The understatement allowed the producer of the group to increase the attention of music lovers and music critics to the duet.
In the late 1980s, dancer Rob Pilatus met Fabrice Morvan. The guys had common interests, and they set to work. The debut of talented black guys took place in Munich. The duo made themselves known as showmen and backing vocalists.
Soon they created their own musical project Milli Vanilli. Almost immediately after that, the guys started recording their debut LP. The duo decided their working moments at a small recording studio.
The talented guys were noticed by producer Frank Farian. He immediately noted for himself that the duet does not have vocal abilities, but it ignites the audience. Frank made sure that the debut record was recorded by experienced vocalists. After completing work on the LP, Rob and Fabrice began to sing in nightclubs, venues to the soundtrack.
There is another opinion about the history of the birth of the team. Initially, professional vocalists appeared at the recording studio, who made “candy” out of the debut album. Already for the filming of clips for some tracks, dancers Rob and Fabrice were invited. The guys were invited exclusively for filming videos, because they moved well.
The duo appeared on stage, and other artists recorded songs for black guys. The recording of the debut LP was worked on by:
- Jody and Linda Rocco;
- John Davis;
- Charles Shaw;
- Brad Howell.
Music by Milli Vanilli
The producer of the new band started to promote the band Milli Vanilli. After the presentation of the debut album, the duo went on a big European tour. The musicians lit up the stage to the soundtrack, but the audience was not interested. A significant number of music lovers were interested in the group's work. The duo's popularity increased.
In the same period of time, the first single and video clip were recorded in a recording studio. They made a successful debut on German television. Subsequently, the major American label Arista Records drew attention to the work of the Milli Vanilli group.
Longplay Allor Nothing, which consisted of driving pop songs, was presented to American music lovers under the name Girl You Know It's True. In the late 1980s, the record went on sale and caused a real "boom" among the public. The number of sales exceeded. The album was eventually certified multi-platinum.
On the wave of popularity, the duet presented a number of singles. We are talking about the compositions: Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Blame It on the Rain and Baby Don't Forget My Number. The team was not at the top of the musical Olympus.
Receiving a Grammy Award
In the same period of time, the duet ended up at the prestigious Grammy Awards ceremony. At the same time, the producer of the band was photographed with a diamond disc in his hands. Deception reigned in the air and almost no one guessed that the Milli Vanilli group would soon be severely exposed.
After the group received the Grammy Award, she went on a massive tour. Then the duo re-recorded several discs. During a performance in Bristol, Connecticut, a phonogram malfunction occurred. The audience heard the true voices of idols. The live performance of the singers gave rise to many rumors and speculation. By the way, they were quite reasonable.
Charles Shaw complained to the producer and claimed his copyright. His name was mentioned on the back of the debut album. A real scandal erupted around the team.
In the early 1990s, the duo's producer "took off all the masks". He admitted that the guys sang to the soundtrack. Frank Farian introduced to the public those who have been recording tracks for albums all this time. The producer was forced to return the awards.
Some time later, John Davis and Brad Howell, with the support of Gina Mohammed and Ray Horton, presented a studio album. We are talking about the album The Moment of Truth.
Decay of the group
After the "failure" of the second studio album, the producer again relied on Morvan and Pilatus. But when the musicians had problems with addiction, the further development of the group was a big question. A fat point in this story was put by the unexpected death of Rob. The singer died as a result of taking antidepressants.
In 2007, it became known that Universal Pictures had begun work on the film. The film was based on the story of the rise, fall and exposure of the band Milli Vanilli. The author and screenwriter of the project was Jeff Nathanson.
Some time later, it turned out that Oliver Shwem had started working on the project. The film appeared on the screens under the name Milli Vanilli: From Fame to Shame.
Milli Vanilli in 2021
John Davis, who participated in the recording of the band's debut LP Milli Vanilli, died on May 27, 2021. The death of the performer was reported by a relative. John died from the coronavirus infection.
