There aren't many groups or musicians that have been so celebrated and have such a tremendous and rapid fall from grace. There have been many that were immensely popular only to be relegated to near nothingness years later, sure, just look at every single glam rock band that ever existed. However, it is another thing entirely to have duped the entire planet and then get found out in such an embarrassing fashion.
The year was 1990
I think it is fairly well known today that the duo consisting of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus' fame was based on one tiny little lie - it wasn't actually them singing on their 6 times platinum album Girl you know it's True. On the other hand though, many people are not aware that this was not Rob and Fab's choice. They were a duo already when they were discovered by German music producer Frank Farian and it was his idea to not use their voices on the album.
The reasoning behind this was pretty sound though; While "Milli Vanilli" definitely had the look the world was looking for in the late 80's the duo didn't have good voices - which I don't know if you are aware of this, but it is a pretty important part of making it as a singer.
It's easy enough to point the finger at Rob and Fab and say how terrible they are but think about this for as second: At the time of their discovery they were basically living in squalor and near homelessness. They were approached by Frank and brought into the studio and asked if they could perform what was then just a demo of Girl you know it's True. They said that they could and the contract was signed.
All of a sudden Rob and Fab no longer had to worry about money. They were treated to a lavish lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams. They didn't actually know that none of their recordings were even being used on the albums until much later. Now ask yourself if you would blow the whistle on this situation knowing that doing so would result in you returning to your previous life of wondering how you were going to be able to afford food.
Milli Vanilli became an overnight sensation; i mean they were everywhere. The songs were in heavy rotation and the merchandising had even extended to Trapper Keepers (if you remember what that is.)
It did kind of rouse a little bit of suspicion when the duo would do an interview, which was extremely rare. When they did so, they struggled to understand questions asked of them, and sometimes would answer in a convoluted way with very poor English grammar and word choices. It was relatively evident that neither one of them really spoke English. However, the world loved their songs so much that everyone just kind of let it slide.
Then in 1989, disaster struck for the duo.
video source
The funny thing about this is that even though it was evident from then on that Milli Vanilli was lip syncing, the fans didn't seem to care. There is a good reason for this. There are many popular singers that have big dance numbers in their performances that also don't actually sing live including Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, 50 cent and Cher, just to name a few.
The world didn't yet know that the duo didn't actually perform any of the vocals on the album recordings either, which is an entirely different "crime" altogether.
It wasn't until the credits in the album sleeve failed to credit singer Charles Shaw for his work on the album (instead crediting it to Rob and Fab) that the jig was well and truly up. Shaw went public and even though Frank Farian paid him a bunch of money to shut up and retract his statements, the damage was already done.
The duo probably still could have continued but upon insisting that their follow-up album contain their own singing, Farian refused. Farian, frustrated with Rob and Fabian decided to throw them under the bus and admit to the public that "I have fired them and it is true, they did not sing on the records" This Farian fella sounds like a real piece of trash.
The following week, the National Academy of Recording Arts (the group behind the Grammy's) revoked Milli Vanilli's award and Rob and Fab held a massive press conference where they willingly handed back their awards.
The duo attempted to "plead their case" about how they were victims in the situation as well. They also attempted to display that they are in fact talented artists by singing and rapping during the gathering. This actually did more harm than good as it simply opened the floodgates of new mockery.
soure
This one was from In Living Color and they didn't hold back!
Just a few days ago I was at a bar that plays music videos on random play and the video for Girl I'm Gonna Miss You came on. I have to admit, that even though we know that this was all staged and fake, that's a pretty good song as were the other hits on the album (from a pop perspective anyway.) I suppose those songs could have been released without using Rob and Fab, but the real singers looked like normal people and it is easy to understand that a couple of slightly overweight middle-aged dudes wouldn't exactly have the same appeal to teenagers as Rob and Fab did.
There was a series of lawsuits and the duo became (rightfully so) outcasts in the music scene. They did attempt to make a comeback in the late 90's, with many of the members of the original gang, including Frank Farian, working together on a new release. However, at that point Rob Pilatus had turned to drugs, booze, and even robbery and he was found dead of an overdose in Frankfurt on April 2, 1998, at the age of 32. The promotional tour for the new album was meant to have started the following day.
Is it tragic? I mean death is always tragic, but as evident as it is that they were lured into this trap by their producer, they weren't exactly innocent in all this. While there are other artists who have had prestigious awards later stripped for various reasons (Miley Cyrus and Rihanna have had this happen) Milli Vanilli are the only artists to ever have a Grammy taken back. It all happened today, nearly 30 years ago.