Girl You Know It's True - They're Not Singing
A huge scandal hit the music world 33 years ago...
In the summer of 1989, I remember taking a long road trip from Indiana to Chautauqua, New York.
In these pre-internet times, my dad brought a collection of cassette tapes to keep us occupied during the 500-mile drive.
I also contributed one of mine that was in heavy rotation that summer:
Dad was not a fan.
But Milli Vanilli were huge back then – and only getting bigger.
Until something happened on July 21, 1989 that changed everything.
But who were Milli Vanilli – and what’s their story?
I was curious…
In 1988, German record producer and songwriter Frank Farian had a problem.
He recorded a song called Girl You Know it’s True with studio performers in Germany, including a US Army veteran named Charles Shaw.
As an experienced record producer, Farian knew the power of a visual image in selling records.
And he didn’t like the image of the studio performers.
Then he met two young dancers – Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan.
Their English skills weren’t great – and Farian wasn’t impressed with their singing ability either, but they were desperate to be stars.
So Farian got creative – and came up with an idea to solve his problem.
He signed a contract with Rob and Fab to record 10 songs, and created an image – putting Rob and Fab in spandex shorts, thigh-high boots and cornrow hair extensions.
When it came time to release the song, Farian decided to use the studio track that Charles Shaw and others had recorded, and introduced the world to his new creation:
Milli Vanilli
The first single – Girl You Know it’s True – was a hit, and Rob and Fab were soon touring Spain, France, and Italy – lip-syncing to the pre-recorded tracks and thrilling crowds with their distinct style.
The album was repackaged for the US and released in March 1989.
It became a major success, producing five singles, and entering the top five of the Billboard Hot 100.
Three songs – Girl You Know It’s True, Blame It on the Rain, and Baby Don’t Forget My Number – reached #1.
But then the cracks started to appear.
During interviews, the duo’s English language skills stirred doubts as to whether they had sung on their records.
And on July 21, 1989, Milli Vanilli had a ‘live’ show on the Club MTV Tour.
As they performed, a hard drive issue caused the recording of Girl You Know It’s True to jam and skip, repeatedly playing the partial line “Girl, you know it’s” through the speakers.
“I knew right then and there, it was the beginning of the end for Milli Vanilli,” said Rob.
But despite this hiccup, Rob and Fab were onstage at the Grammys months later, accepting the award for Best New Artist.
Then singer Charles Shaw reappeared on the scene.
Shaw revealed that he was one of the three actual vocalists on the album – and that Rob and Fab were imposters.
The growing questions from the public – as well as Rob and Fab’s demands to sing on the next album – were making it difficult for Frank Farian.
So on November 14, 1990, Farian announced that he had fired Rob and Fab, and admitted they did not sing on the Milli Vanilli records.
Though groups had been fabricated in the past (e.g. The Monkees), Milli Vanilli were the first fabricated group to win a Grammy, and the credit on their album read: “Vocals: Fab and Rob.”
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences revoked Milli Vanilli’s 1990 Grammy.
Rob and Fab gave a press conferences in front of more than 100 journalists where they said they had “made a deal with the devil.”
Different lawsuits followed.
Rob and Fab later recorded an album titled Rob & Fab.
It flopped.
They were never able to recreate the fame they once had.
Rob struggled with substance abuse and died of an accidental overdose in 1998. Fab reinvented himself as a singer-songwriter, DJ, and product spokesman in the Netherlands for KFC’s national “KFC Value Campaign.”
And Frank Farian, the man Arista Records called a “creative genius” (even after the Milli Vanilli fraud) went on to develop similar Eurodance groups La Bouche and Le Click.
And Frank Farian made millions.
BONUS: Here’s a video of Charles Shaw singing Girl You Know It’s True.
If you ever listened to Milli Vanilli (come on, admit it!) you’ll know that voice.
And here’s Fab Morvan singing Girl You Know It’s True from 2018 (This is not the voice you know from the song, but you might recognize the face – and the moves!)
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This is CRAZY! I have never heard a story like this. Where is the lifetime movie? Get Ryan Murphy on the case stat!
Fascinating, as always, Beth! I spent the 90s in London and this Milli Vanilli story was legend, but I never knew until now how much of it was true. (Pre-internet times, hard to fact-check!) Thanks for the reporting!