What kind of a stupid name is “Milli Vanilli” anyway?
I brought this up before, and I don’t think it’s been mentioned nearly enough. Was anyone the slightest bit bothered by the fact that the actual singers got screwed?
It wasn’t their decision to work in complete anonymity. They had nothing to do with a couple of poseurs hogging the limelight. When the huge, huge scandal broke and Rob and Fab were exposed and they were deprived of their wrongful Emmy and justice was gloriously served blah blah blah etc., the real singers didn’t benefit in the slightest. Hell, we don’t even know their names. They were thrown into the shadows at the whim of a recording company, got no exposure whatsoever, and once the secret came out, they were UTTERLY IGNORED FOREVER. Exactly what part of this am I supposed to be happy about?
Then again, buried potential is hardly unusual in this industry. (Still bewildered at how Sarina Paris, Len, and Mobile Estates went nowhere.)
I’m just gonna BLAME IT ON THE RAAAAAAAAAAAIN.
The real tragedy is that Rob and Fab were essentially co-opted into doing what they did, and when Frank Farian dropped the dime on them Rob turned to drugs and came apart so completely that he killed himself before the decade was out.
Fab, at least, has become a serious and respected musician. At least something good came out the debacle.
You know all this or are just assuming? Because unless you have cites, I have to assume from the fact that they didn’t sue that they knew exactly that they were going to be paid out as session voices who weren’t going to be credited and signed a contract to that effect.
Although I realize that this isn’t the best cite - Behind The Music details the fact that the two guys were pretty naive model types that were offered the chance to get famous by Fabian. They were told that they would “have the chance to sing soon” and were swept up in the whole mess.
Fabian, under pressure from the duo who were threatening to come out unless they were allowed to sing, threw them under the bus himself.
Take it for what it’s worth - it was VH1
Princhester - Hey, you got any sources, I’ll be glad to check them out. In the absence of any information whatsoever about the singers, all I can do is play the percentages. I mean, it’s POSSIBLE that this was a quick 'n dirty cash grab by a couple of aspiring artsts who needed just a few more month’s rent money, but given what we know about the recording industry, I’m not optimistic.
Poysyn - Thank you. I know VH1 generally isn’t the most dependable source, but it’s something. Given what we know about the self-preservation instincts of most celebrities, I’m inclined to believe that this is at least mostly true.
Firstly you misunderstand Poysyn, who is talking about the frontmen, not the actual singers.
Secondly, you are the one making the claim, namely that the guys who did the actual singing were ripped off. Put up or shut up. There is no evidence that they were.
Frankly, it would make no sense. The songs sold well and made a great deal of money. If the singers did not sign their rights away, there is no reason why they would not have sued.
Google “session musician” and “Clare Torry” and “The Great Gig in the Sky” for some background. If it weren’t for the fact that Clare Torry was able to argue that she in effect wrote (improvised) her vocal track on “The Great Gig in the Sky” her full contractual entitlement for singing one of the most recognisable tracks on one of the world’s highest selling albums of all time would have been 30 pounds.
Also, where Poysyn writes “Fabian”, she most likely is referring to “Farian”, the manager of the duo. He was the one who broke the story of their lip-synching to the press (
[quote]
(Frank Farian - Wikipedia)).
Just my 2 eurocent!
(GRRRR – Missed edit window!!)
Regarding the situation with the singers behind Milli Vanilli, according to Wikipedia, they were:
Charles Shaw
John Davis
Brad Howell
Twins Jodie and Linda Rocco.
The only information about money paid I have been able to find was regarding Charles Shaw. Apparently he was paid $6000 for his rapping in “Girl you know it’s true”; later on he went public with the scandal (before Farian did) and the latter paid him off to the tune of $1,500,000 to shut up.
Or so Wikipedia says. I take everything there with a HUGE truckload of salt. Ironically, as an example related to this very subject, in the article on Charles Shaw it says that he later became part of the group “The Real Milli Vanilli” that Farian set up, along with singers John Davis and Brad Howell.
HOWEVER, if you go to the article on “The Real Milli Vanilli”, it explicitly says that Charles Shaw was NOT part of it. In other words, WTF?
Anyway, now we have names, and proper research may be done regarding the “were these people royally fucked or not by Farian?” aspect.
So far, I have found a page that purports to be the personal page of Charles Shaw:
Just my 2 eurocent!