If Milli Vanilli were fakes, then who made their music and why doesn't he get money off sales?

Question

They had so many hits and if it was not relaly them, then somone was the real deal so why doesn' he just make the money and put his name on the record etc?

Answer 1

Beginning
Farian chose Pilatus and Morvan to front a studio project featuring the vocal talents of Charles Shaw, John Davis, and Brad Howell. Farian felt that those musicians were talented but unmarketable. The first Milli Vanilli album was All or Nothing (see 1988 in music). Despite critical pans, Milli Vanilli's fame continued to grow worldwide. All Or Nothing was repackaged, remixed and retitled Girl You Know It's True for its U.S. release, and spun four hit singles: the title track, and the group's three #1 hits, "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You," "Baby Don't Forget My Number" and "Blame It On The Rain." Milli Vanilli won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist on February 22, 1990 for Girl You Know It's True (1990 in music).

The duo were a frequent target of jokes by late-night television host Arsenio Hall, whose lambasting of the group only increased as rumors and allegations of on-stage lip-synching and studio trickery circulated amongst the music media. Charles Shaw told a reporter the truth about Milli Vanilli, but he later retracted his statement after Farian paid him off.[citation needed] Pilatus was ridiculed in the press for comparing himself to Paul McCartney, Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, and Bob Dylan; he also developed a cocaine problem.


[edit] Public backlash
In July 1989, during a live performance recorded by MTV at the Lake Compounce theme park in Connecticut, the recording of the song "Girl You Know It's True" jammed and began to skip, repeating the line "Girl, you know it's-" over and over. This was not unusual, as many popular artists used the same technique.

Unlike the international release of All or Nothing, the inserts for the American version clearly attributed the voices on the album to Morvan and Pilatus, "brothers of soul". Due to rising public questions regarding the source of talent in the group, Farian confirmed to reporters on November 15, 1990, that Morvan and Pilatus did not sing on the records. As a result of American media pressure, Milli Vanilli's Grammy was withdrawn four days later (however, their three American Music Awards were never withdrawn due to the fact the organizers felt the awards were given to them by music consumers[1]), and Arista Records dropped the act from its roster and deleted their album and its masters from their catalog, making Girl You Know It's True the largest-selling album to ever be taken out of print.

After the details emerged, at least 26 different lawsuits[2] were filed under various U.S. consumer fraud protection laws against Pilatus, Morvan and Arista Records. One such filing occurred on November 22, 1990 in Ohio, where lawyers there filed a class action lawsuit asking for refunds for at least 1,000 local citizens who had bought Girl You Know It's True.[3] On August 12, 1991, a proposed settlement to a refund lawsuit in Chicago, Illinois was rejected. This settlement would have refunded buyers of a Milli Vanilli CD $3.00 (USD), a cassette or L.P. $2.00 (USD), and a single $1.00 (USD). However, the refunds would only be given for a future Arista release.[2] On August 28, a new settlement was approved. The same pricing structure was approved, along with a $2.50 (USD) refund to be given for concerts. A proof of purchase or ticket stub was required to take advantage of the refunds. An estimated 10 million buyers were eligible to claim a refund.[4] A deadline to claim refunds expired on March 8, 1992.[5] To this day, some refunds were never claimed by owners of Milli Vanilli products.[6]

Ironically, the immediate backlash may have validated Frank Farian's original marketing premise: that the public would reject the actual music of Shaw, Davis, and Howell without the image of Pilatus and Morvan.

Answer 2

Milli Vanilli Fake

Answer 3

Milli Vanilli was the brain-child of German producer Frank Farian. He assembled a number of musicians, including Charles Shaw, Johnny Davis and Brad Howell to sing the Milli Vanilli songs. He then used Rob and Fab as the pretty boy cover for the band.

The real vocalists were likely paid a set amount for their contribution and excluded from any future royalties from record sales.

Answer 4

In Hell, Milli Vanilli sings like twin Celine Dions.

Answer 5

I don't know who was the brains, but I do know that he will have made huge money out of them. It makes sense to have a couple of guys on wages doing all the hard work -- while you just make the records and buy the Ferrari's.

Answer 6

session singers. they get whatever they were contractually paid during those sessions. Royalties usually go to whoever wrote the songs, however. the session singers weren't the young, pretty faces that sell, thus 'Milli Vanilli', played that part.

Answer 7

Charles Shaw, John Davis, and Brad Howell ....I always thought that they should have gotten MilliVanilli's grammy since they did all the work.