Milli Vanilli

Milli Vanilli was a musical group, a duo composed of Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus, formed in Germany in the mid-1980s. They are notorious for being the only group to have their Grammy Award stripped from them after it was revealed that they had not been involved in the creation of their breakthrough album, Girl You Know It's True and did not sing in concert. Their photos were pictured on the album cover and they lip-synced in concert. They have since been used as an example of utter shallowness in music, though they were hardly unique at the time. Other bands, including C&C Music Factory and Black Box, were also fronted by lip-syncers. Fabrice Fab Morvan (born in Guadeloupe on May 14, 1966) is a French model, singer and songwriter. ... Rob Pilatus, born in New York City on June 8, 1965, was a member of the music band Milli Vanilli. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music Awards, and the... Lip synchronization is the synchronization of audio signals (sometimes with corresponding video signals) so that there is no noticeable lack of simultaneity between them. ... Producers Robert Clivillés and David Cole brought house music to Americas heartland with the chart_topping title track of Gonna Make You Sweat (1990) and follow_up hit Here We Go (1991). ... Black Box was an Italian house music group popular in the late 1980s-early 1990s. ...

Despite the scandal, the Milli Vanilli sound created by Frank Farian was ground-breaking in pop-music, as it combined (American) hip hop rhythms with Eurodance melodies. In fact, some of melodic influence in today's hip-hop may be attributed to Milli Vanilli's influence. Frank Farian, born Franz Reuther on July 18, 1941, is a German music producer, singer and songwriter. ... Depending on context, pop music is either an abbreviation of popular music or, more recently, a term for a sub-genre of it. ... Hip hop music is a style of popular music. ... Eurodance (sometimes also called Europop) is style of dance music, popular in Europe, Oceania and South America between 1992 and 1996). ...

The word "milli" means "national" in Turkish, it was used after the artists picked it up while visiting Turkey on one of its national days.

Frank Farian used Pilatus and Morvan to front Charles Shaw, Johnny Davis and Brad Howell; he felt that these musicians were talented but unmarketable. Their first album was All or Nothing (see 1988 in music), which was both a European hit and an American hit. Despite critical pans, Milli Vanilli's fame continued to grow worldwide even after Charles Shaw told a reporter the truth; he later retracted his statement after Farian paid him off. The group's second album Girl You Know It's True spun four hit singles "Girl You Know It's True" 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 a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on February 22, 1990 for their second album, Girl You Know It's True (1990 in music). Pilatus was ridiculed in the press for comparing himself to Paul McCartney, Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan; he also developed a cocaine problem. Charles Shaw is the original voice on Milli Vanillis world-wide hit single Girl, You Know Its True Categories: Stub ... Released in Europe in November, 1988, titled All Or Nothing this was the first Milli Vanilli album. ... See also: 1987 in music, other events of 1988, 1989 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events Peter Ruzicka becomes director of the Hamburg State Opera and State Philharmonic Orchestra. ... The Grammy for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1960. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of every year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: 1989 in music, other events of 1990, 1991 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 21 - MTVs Unplugged premieres on cable television with musical guest, Squeeze February 6 - Billy Idol is involved in a serious motorcycle accident, resulting in several... Paul McCartney, as photographed by John Kelley for the 1968 LP The Beatles (aka The White Album). Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is a British singer, musician, composer, producer and animal rights activist who first came to prominence as a member of The Beatles. ... Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known as The King of Rock and Roll, or as just simply The King, was an American singer and actor who had an effect on Western popular music rivaled only by The Beatles . ... Sir Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Mick Jagger (born July 26, 1943, in Dartford, Kent) is a British rock musician, actor, writer, composer, record and film producer and businessman. ... Portrait photograph of Bob Dylan taken by Daniel Kramer Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman May 24, 1941) is widely regarded as one of Americas greatest popular songwriters. ... Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ...

With Morvan and Pilatus pressuring him to let them sing on the next album, Farian revealed the truth to reporters on November 15, 1990, after the record of Girl You Know It's True skipped during a live performance recorded by MTV at the Lake Compounce theme park in Connecticut. Milli Vanilli's Grammy was rescinded four days later, and Arista Records dropped the act from its rosters and deleted the album and its masters from their catalog. A court ruling in the US allowed anyone who had bought the album to get a refund. November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... MTV (abbreviation for Music Television) is a cable television network which was originally devoted to music videos, especially popular rock music. ... Lake Compounce is an amusement park located near Bristol, Connecticut. ... State nickname: The Constitution State Other U.S. States Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Governor M. Jodi Rell Official languages English Area 14,371 km² (48th)  - Land 12,559 km²  - Water 1,809 km² (12. ... Arista Records was founded in 1975 by Clive Davis, and named after his secondary school honor society. ...

Farian tried to reform the band as the Real Milli Vanilli, but the resulting LP Moment of Truth was an utter failure. Pilatus tried to commit suicide soon after, then rejoined with Morvan as Rob & Fab. After a few more tries, Pilatus began a series of criminal acts, arrested for assault and vandalism, among other crimes, in Los Angeles. Moment of Truth is an album by Gang Starr, an underground hip-hop group from the early 1990s. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of wilfully ending ones own life; it is sometimes a noun for one who has committed or attempted the act. ... To report vandalism on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Vandalism in progress. ... The Downtown Los Angeles skyline. ...

In 1997, Milli Vanilli had a chance to tell their side of the story of their musical fiasco in the premiere episode of VH1's Behind The Music. Then, in 1998, Pilatus was found dead of an alcohol and drug overdose in Frankfurt, Germany. 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... VH1 (which originally stood for Video Hits 1) is an American cable television channel that was created in 1985. ... Behind the Music is a television series on VH1 that ran from 1997 to 2003, and continues to air sporadically with new episodes. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... A drug overdose occurs when a chemical substance (i. ...   Frankfurt am Main? [ˈfraÅ‹kfÊŠrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. ...

Today, Fabrice Morvan forges a solo career, performing light alternative music that is far from his glory days with Milli Vanilli; he plays in clubs throughout the U.S.

Discography

1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Hit singles

• 1988 "Girl You Know It's True" #3 UK, #2 US
• 1988 "Baby Don't Forget My Number" #16 UK, #1 US
• 1989 "All or Nothing" #4 US
• 1989 "Blame It on the Rain" #1 US
• 1989 "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" #2 UK, #1 US

External links

• All Music Guide entry for Milli Vanilli
• Account of a Milli Vanili refund lawsuit in Ohio, USA
• Fabrice Morvan's official website