Mime & Punishment - A study of "Ghost Singers" in the music industry (Full Documentary)
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2021
- All the Lip Sync Scandals! From Boney M to Milli Vanilli, Black Box, and more...
Mime and Punishment - A study of Ghost Singers in the music industry
In 1990 Milli Vanilli shocked the world and rocked the music industry when it was revealed they had not sung one single note on their debut album despite winning a Grammy for Best New Artist, 3 American Music Awards, and scoring a string of number 1 hits in the USA and around the world. Instead, ghost singers had been used on recordings, and at gigs, they would just lip-sync.
They quickly became the laughingstock of the music industry, but who was really behind the deception? Was it Frank Farian who had pulled a similar scam with Boney M? was it Arista records who were the first to actually credit them with the vocals?
This documentary uncovers the true story behind the Milli Vanilli scandals and reveals the secrets some in the music industry would rather keep hidden. One group mentioned in the documentary has already proved they really don't want you to watch this video and have had an excerpt of this video removed from UA-cam resulting in a copyright strike against this channel.
This documentary was originally uploaded in 2 parts, but both parts have now been heavily edited due to copyright claims. Seriously, they REALLY don't want you to watch this!
Mime & Punishment Spotify Playlist 1hr.20mins
open.spotify.com/playlist/1Mj... - Розваги
A great video. So much detail and work involved. Thanks for making this!
I'm glad that Fab was able to move on from the scandal and still perform today. I have never seen him perform live but from what I've heard, he's actually a great musician. It's sad that Rob never overcame the scandal and went into drugs and alcohol which eventually cost him his life.
Fab is so laid-back...watched his interview...so professional. I'd kick it with him.
Thank you for making this video. As a 46 year old, I LIVED THROUGH this era in the late '80s and early 90s. I remember being 14 years old in 1990 and loving the song "Everybody, Everybody" by Black Box. When it came time for the group to perform the song on TV shows like Soul Train, I was taken aback when there was an interpreter on stage with the lead singer as Don Cornelius interviewed her. I said to myself, "Something doesn't sound right about this group"? Two weeks later, I was watching Entertainment Tonight and they did a segment with Martha Wash where she claimed she was the actual singer for Black Box. I said "Ah, now I see ...the girl from Black Box was lipsynching to Martha's voice". I was devastated yet relieved. Martha has a great voice! I'm glad Martha Wash exposed the music industry. What Black Box and C&C Music Factory did to her was atrocious.
@@gemini802 thank you! ☺️
I remember that episode of Soul Train. I was thinking the same thing: "Something ain't right"
@@smoothnubian thank you! I knew I wasn't the ONLY one that picked up on that! Lol
@seanpowell1661 right I thought the same thing I didn't know who it was that was singing the song everybody o found out last month it was the woman Martha wash that was the real singer that was singing that beautiful song
That Martha Walsh "No." After shawti trying to sing over her vocals live was hilarious.
Rob and Fab were basically used as sacrificial lambs when the truth began to surface, it also predisposed people to the new world of fakery that was beginning to unfold through technological advances and made the idea of ghost performances and computer assisted vocals more palatable to the average consumer.
On a side not I would like to thank you for the content, your presentations are very compelling. I look forward to seeing more videos about the deception of the modern music-entertainment industry, these are the kind of videos which will bring in lots of views and subscribers, just be careful with copyright issues.
"Artists like Jennifer Lopez, TLC, Selena Gomez, and Britney Spears have all released record that employed ghost singers." Wait, what?! Clearly there needs to be a part 2! You can't leave as hanging like that.... after such a stunningly good, well-researched history up to the 90s. After being so wildly spoiled, now I only want to learn more
OK, at some point I will do coverage of those artists too! 😀
@@Traxploitation Oh, sweet, thanks! Have been really digging your videos. Deep research and clear explanations which also expose a lot of the hypocrisy and exploitation of copyright and music industry without coming across as polemics are just great!
And, don't forget, except for Shirley Jones and David Cassidy, The Partridge Family were, themselves a Milli Vanilli before the fact. The other cast members were not involved in the recordings. The other vocals were by Tom Bahler, John Bahler, Ron Hicklin, Jackie Ward, and Sally Stevens, all who were studio performers. The PF needs at least a (dis)honorable mention in a part 2
I really feel sorry for Rob and Fab. I remember liking Milli Vanilli when I was a kid and I still remember the scandal that it caused. The worst of it was that while it was headline news that they didn't sing on their hits, the follow up wasn't given the same attention. It wasn't until the 2000s when I saw Fab on some TV show where he told the story and even sang a little bit, showing that he was actually a better singer than the guys on the record. I also feel sorry for The Monkees because they got called out for being fake when it was actually a somewhat similar situation. They had no idea they weren't going to be allowed to play on their albums until it was too late and they were already under contract and had even started filming the show. From their 3rd album onwards, they had complete creative control. The other thing was that The Byrds, The Beach Boys and others were all using the same session musicians who played on The Monkees records so as with Rob and Fab, they were hardly the only ones. The English bands of that time usually played most of their own instruments, but that wasn't the case in America where the record companies wanted to get things done quickly and professionally. They knew they could rely on The Wrecking Crew to get it done, whereas had The Monkees or The Byrds or whoever come into the studio, they'd have still gotten there eventually but it might have taken longer, they might have wanted to experiment with things a bit more or maybe each member would have had their own ideas they wanted to try out. In both cases, The Monkees and Milli Vanilli, they were actually very talented but they were taken advantage of and now seem to be the go to reference for artists who were "fake", yet most modern pop music is far more artificial than anything they ever did.
100%!
I think a big factor in the USA is touring. In order to stay current you have to keep on the road and its a huge country. Brian Wilson pretty much stopped touring and just stayed in the studio while the rest of them gigged, everything would be done ready for them to lay the vocals in between time on the road. That's what happened with the Crystals too.
As for Milli Vanilli it was pretty cruel how everyone that used them just walked away acting all shocked and innocent, only really Frank Farian took a little bit of flack and hadn't had the same attention given to his records but he did so well out of it it seems he's just pretty much retired comfortably in the end.
Poor Martha Wash just can’t catch a break.
I honestly didn't see why Fab couldn't have been a solo artist then? He can actually sing.
Seen a couple of your videoes now. A lot of info here I didnt know. You deserve to be picked up by the algorithm. Producers and DJs like me deserve to see this.
Thank you so much for your encouragement. It's definitely Artists, Producers and DJs like you that I had in mind when i started making these videos so I'm glad you are getting something out of them. I'm getting better at SEO side of things and more of the videos are starting to rank highly in certain keywords so I do feel like the Algorithm is beginning to notice the channel! Watching, subscribing, commenting and sharing really helps that too...so already you're part of the growth!! Thanks! :)
martha is beautiful
So, so impressed; especially by the even tone you adopt balancing all sides to the stories. I saw the excerpt posted on Boney M (who I’ve ‘seen’ live!), then found the full documentary here which I intended to watch part of, and finish watching later; well, it was so compelling I watched straight through! So good! I noticed here and there silences, and occasionali no visuals; I assume that’s due to copyright issues; still there is SO MUCH here, obviously contentious, that you have been able to include; I love especislly how you portray Rob and Fab in a favourable understanding light.
Interesting aside, Marni Nixon’s son was Andrew Gold (with Ernest Gold, who wrote the score for Exodus (with screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, one of the Hollywood 10, who himself under McCarthyism wrote under a pseudonym!)) Andrew had a huge role in the creation of Linda Ronstadt’s magnificent single You’re No Good.
All is not necessarily as it appears! But to be fair so much actually is! And most of all, so much amazing talent here, miscredited, credited, or otherwise!
Thanks again!
👌 .. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 … 😀
P.S. My phone likes to translate my words! I meant ‘occasionally’! And it won’t let me edit, though I will be able to later on my laptop! ✌️ .. 😀
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
Yes the pauses etc is because the original of this video was in 2 parts, part 1 got hacked apart by copyright claims...part 2 was deleted by youtube as Black Box themselves took offense to being exposed and issued a copyright strike. So i re-edited and made this video...but left part 1 as youtube loves to recommend it!
I've since mastered the art of using copyright material in a way that fits in with the fair use doctrine, this was only my second video with a narrative.
To be honest, i was a teenager when Milli Vanilli came out...and I hated everything about them. Everything. But after 30 years in the music industry, I came to view the whole thing in a different light. Miming or not, they worked HARD...you don't have to like their music to be able to respect the effort they put in. I tried to just state facts, rather than pass judgment.
I had no idea about Marni Nixon's son, so i have some homework to do as that all sounds fascinating. Thanks for sharing that story, it may appear in a future video!
Girl You Know it's True (the song) remains as an undisputed guilty pleasure of mine...
That studio recording they made to prove they could sing sounded fine.
The record Company ARS Records from Belgium called Felly as lip sync singer For Pump up the Jam , Not the Producer Jo Bogaert.
Such a well-made documentary - great job! I love the historical context really puts things into perspective. This was not a mind blowing insane deception by Milli Vanilli. This has been going on for decades and continues to go on in someways like you mentioned now it’s just auto tune. I wish that they had come in front of the story and not let Frank farian break it. They could’ve been the ones to say we’re not gonna make a second album unless we sing and we need to let our fans and the world know that
Industry Rule #4,080..
Record company people are shady!
That was actually the original name of this channel, and the name of the Traxploitation Podcast :)
man your content is top quality mate. Once the BBC get's wind, they'll be lucky to licence them from you as it's so well researched. That is if the BBC still has a focus on popular culture of yesteryear. I reckon many people would love the show. Best wishes and just shared a link to this with my friend who is a publisher at a major label in the UK.
Excellent work! I thoroughly enjoyed this and watched every second of it.
I like the subtle sarcasm throughout the video. This is the best researched video I have ever watched about this whole situation. Very good.
Betty Boo was a favorite case of this. She dropped the mic at a live show and her voice kept coming out of the speakers. Pretty much ended her career right then and there
I remember that. I didnt really end her career though. She cancelled the rest of the Australian tour but the following year she was signed by Warner and released another album which although not as big as the first still had a top 40 UK hit and the singles made the charts around Europe. She then turned down an offer from Madonna to sign to her Maverick label as she wanted to explore new avenues... She's now a successful songwriter, she co-wrote Hearsay's number 1 "Pure and Simple" for which she won an Ivor Novello award. She did actually make a new Betty Boo record last year "Boomerang" which peaked at number 45 with little to no promotion.
@@Traxploitation I really should stop making broad statements in your presence :) I had no idea, thanks!
Probably one of the worst lip sync performances in recent memory is Mariah Carey's mishap performance at New Year's Rockin Eve. Despite her "Diva" nature, Mariah's voice is iconic and she had no reason to lip sync. What got everyone upset was when she started making excuses and blaming everyone but herself on live TV for the bad performance. The way she acted that night was definitely unprofessional.
What an amazing documentary. Thank you for all the details and research put in producing this.
The algorithm has only just decided to show me your videos. Excellent research and presentation. Well done. I’m gonna watch a bunch more.
Thank you!...and welcome
1:09:00 And there’s a documentary to be made about ghost producers. The music industry has got much more cynical since the end of the 90’s. With famous producers getting all of the credit for other peoples work and actual talented producers not getting a look in because of the names of big name producers who use ghost producers selling off the back of their name.
Also it’s worth examining the reasons behind so many artists that do “collabs” purely at the behest of labels for the money and crossover of artists purely for money/promo reasons rather than any artistic purpose.
It’s an absolutely horrendous industry which has a whole host of much bigger scandals that make the movie scandals look (where a very famous example has gone to jail) and there will be many at the top of the music industry worried that the same could happen to them for exactly the same reasons.
If there is any justice, your channel will blow up to a million plus subs.
This video deserves way more views!
im bRoKeN... my childhood was a lie... And yeah, incredible research and effort put into this video. Amazin!
do you have videos talking about current acts employing ghost singers? You mentioned Britney, TLC and Selena Gomez and JLo but didn't go into any detail. Would like to learn more about this. Thanks
Not yet, but a few people have asked for a follow up to this video so I will get onto it, stay tuned!
Yes, mentioning that there are ‘countless’ examples piqued my interest. Im interested in a list of say 20, 30 and more. Fascinating. Love your work!!!
I hear Paula Abdul belongs on the list
you deserve waaay more views and subs, your work is incredible keep going :D
Thank you so much! No plans to stop any time soon :)
Your research, presentation and ability to effectively tell a story (and uncover truths) are amazing. Better than the BBC. Great website too. Incredible that you do this channel and so much else.
Thank you for taking the time to say that! It really means a lot to me to get positive feedback. I watched some of your videos too. You have a great voice, and I love that you tell the story behind some of the songs too!
@@Traxploitation Wow you really are a researcher to the core!! Haha if you ever need any classical warbling let me know!! Also going to tell absolutely everyone to watch your videos and look at your website. You're doing extremely valuable work.
Well actually, I'm working a video about some notorious copyright cases in the 1940s and there isn't much video or audio of the time so I was considering recreating some of it. Perhaps we could collaborate on the video?
@@Traxploitation WOW YES PLEASE
@@patriciahammondsongs I just sent you an email with more details :)
Rob & Fab were my childhood heroes - still are! RIPROB
Also RIP to John Davis, one of the real singers. I just learned that he died in 2021.
Incredible detail and production, great V0, thank you 🙏
Oooooo I've heard all of these stories but never compiled in one single video. Thank you for doing this... 😊
You're welcome 😊 🙏
Awesome documentary. Goes to show that lip syncing and faking talent goes a long way and not something manufactured in the 21st century pop music.
Great video, Traxploitation. Very interesting and thorough.
The Monkees were indeed one of the first examples of manufactured pop music. They were created as an American answer to The Beatles. They were called "The Pre-Fab Four".
Please keep in mind that The Monkees, first & foremost, were created for a TV sitcom. The fact that they "took off" as a musical act was probably a surprise to all.
The only time that I recall The Monkees lip-synching was the pilot (it's on UA-cam).
@@w.llawrence86 It wasn't until about 1986, which was the 20th Anniversary, that I learned that they "put together" specifically for the series! I had thought they were already a pre-existing band, like the Beatles,
and that they just got their own series, very much like the beatles who were now starring in movies.
Please don't stop making these videos.
Glad you enjoyed it! No plans to stop...lots more to come! 😀
Good work and very informative - will keep in touch.
Nice work, Trax 👍
Great video !
italys italo disco era den harrow is a stand out example for me .. his stage and live performances and videos are fantastic,along with his looks sold millions of records,more so than the person singing .. the person singing tom hooker tried to discredit him unfairly because he felt left out,due to dens popularity .. it was a package deal, they all had a part to play and it worked .. den played his part perfectly and sold millions of records that the original singer would not have been able to,just like some of the bands here .. tom childishly made lots of mock comedy videos of den to try and discredit den .. tom should have been thanking den for giving the music an audience far greater than he ever could of .. the scandal to me is exposing the illusion, katrin,den,fab and rob all had jobs to, and they were very good at it as record sales show .. if you look at the actual singers music popularity, it is easy to see why "ghosts" are used .. and how well it works .. it happens in films as well with scripts,not just music ..
I think the Italian music scene needs its own entire video to cover the subject! I chose not to include acts like Den Harrow as none of the releases charted in English-speaking countries and only charted in a handful of European countries so most people will not have heard of them. The examples in the video like Black Box and Milli Vanilli were global hits. Lots of people have asked for a part 3. So perhaps a Euro-edition is needed?
@@Traxploitation i live in the uk,and no expertees this field,just a fan - when i was 14 ish i loved pet shop boys, milli vanilli,spagna, sabrina,london boys,blackbox type of sound .. there was not that many groups with this sound at the time in the mid to late 80s in uk ... i love synth pop and that type of sound and always have .. it was last year when i was confined inside with covid that i turned to music, and delved deeper that i discovered den harrow, cc catch ,sandra,moroder
to name a few .. it has now tuned into an obsessed for me .. and searching for new "italo disco" has become a hobby .. many singers from that era moved to london in uk in the 80s to learn to speak and sing in english , then moved back to their country of origin,many were huge in europe, but not the uk ..
i just feel sad that there is so much brilliant synth pop music out there,better than a lot released the uk .. that has never been heard in the uk.
there was a lot of euro dance music in the 90s in uk which seemed to be synth pop with a heavier dance beat like haddaway,cappella,2 unlimited,corona etc .. i do like this, but prefer the "italo disco" era as it is dubbed ..
lip synching was a big part of the 60's 70's and 80s and still happens modern day .. i just find it unfair to single one person one when it was part of the cogs of a whole generation which produced some of the best music to ever exist .. so many artists were conned, used,lied to,had careers wrecked who they were part of a production,group or manufactured creation that worked perfectly at the time ..
i dont care who really sings girl you know its true and never have, the whole package / production is perfect, the voices are great, and the videos are great, i dont care what is going on behind the scenes .. what i do know is that if Frank Farian was doing the live performances and in the videos, i would not have found them as appealing, which shows that the whole assembly was perfectly executed ..
many singers who do not have the "right look" have made millions out of people fronting their music, sums of money they could have dreamed of ,had they been the visual side of the music .. many of "visual" sides of the productions have caused music to sell to audiences it could never have reached .. it just seems a shame that certain generations of music which has shaped peoples memories and lives has to be remembered in such a negative light,due to greed and bitter indifferences ..
Superb video and a great channel. I appreciate the amount of work you put into this. Subbed👍
Thanks so much and welcome!
Great Video. Wish you can cover Den Harrow in a future/followup video. Tom Hooker was the lead singer, and Italian model Stefano Zandri was the frontman. Tom Hooker was a handsome guy, but the Italian producers decided to use someone even more devastatingly attractive.
This was truly phenomenal & very informative, thank you for this very educational video, I know it took a lot of work & research, I'm stunned on how this trend of dubbing can go back as far as the 1940's , my heart breaks for the talent that has been pushed into the background without credit & compensation, & my heart was already broken for Rob & Fab , but now I really feel bad for them, this fraudulent lip synching been going on for decades before them, others were doing it along side them in other projects around the time of their success, & people are still doing it now currently, but yet their the face of this category of deception, it's so unfair
Thank you for this
No problem 😊 glad you liked it...please check out the other videos on the channel, plenty more like this...
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment
It would be good to do the homework properly before throwing this kinda hastily put-together (and hastilly told) story in public. ...You mention Maizie and Sheyla while presenting photos of them... wait... you present photos of Maizie and MARCIA BARRETT!!! Immediately at that point, when you got that wrong, me and everyone else who knows these things better than you, lost interest in this video and your story... and you lost your credibility. The only scandal here is your Video. You really think that we didn't know all this "lipsyncing" without your misinformative/erroneous Video???
@@MyenoB thanks for taking the time to comment. Appreciate the feedback. I didn't say the pictures were of Sheyla...it was merely a sideshow of pictures of people involved in the events.
To your other er criticism...
I expected some people to know about the story, and others to not know...I didn't expect those that already knew about it to hate watch it, because the un-syncronised slideshow showed a picture of someone I wasn't talking about at that exact moment.
Sorry that spoiled it for you...
This video, like all my videos, are the result of extensive research. You haven't made one single comment on the factual accuracy of any of the substance. You just nit picked that for one passing moment in a 75 minute documentary the (uncaptioned) picture on screen was of only 1 of the 2 people the voice over was referring to. Combined with your unnecessary insult...it makes you seem a little petty..🤷♂️ I can see from your name, Boney M spelled backwards...that you're a fan...so obviously I've touched a nerve. 🤔
Just to be clear, Im not accusing the members of Boney M of anything, the documentary centers around Milli Vanilli, And how they were severely punished when in fact it was Farian and Arista that masterminded the deception... Showing his involvement in Boney M was meant to show his pattern of behaviour not accuse the group themselves of anything (I've spoken with both Liz and Marcia in person through my work in royalty collection and they were both lovely to deal with).
Perhaps if you had watched a little further, and paid less attention to the slideshow you would have reached that conclusion. 😉
Anyway, Despite its slightly petty nature, I will still take your feedback on board regarding which pictures are on screen so as not to cause confusion in future.
Cheers.
I’ve always heard that when someone wins the Grammy for Best New Artist it’s a curse.
Many awards can be the kiss of death that's an interesting topic itself...artists whose careers went downhill after winning an award.
Many years after the scandal, former BMG executive turned TV presenter Ian "Dicko" Dickson was on the Australian music trivia show "Spicks And Specks" where he revealed what it was like being in the industry at the time. They would all publicly be saying things like "oh...how terrible of them to mime like that', but they were also a little bit paranoid as to whether any of their artists would be the next to be exposed because "all of our artists mimed". It wasn't quite the same as they were usually miming to their own voices but not always. Anything produced by Stock-Aitken-Waterman (or at least most of it) had ghost singers on it. The star would sing too, but they be doubled by another singer. Their whole strategy was to find someone who looked the part and could kinda carry a tune, but then have a more talented singer add to the recordings to make them sound like better singers than they actually were.
Yes the vocal "augmentation" 😁
I've seen that done many times...
I was working as a studio engineer in the 90s in studio in West London where a load of pop and dance got made, East 17, Rozalla, Peter Andre and so on...with some of the lest skilled singers? those were some looong sessions!. I got sent into the West end to buy another sampler and an eventide harmoniser to try and fix the vocals on one particular track...lol people think "autotune" is a new thing... we used to tune up people's vocals 30 years ago it's just it wasn't auto we had to edit the singing one note at a time 😕 we'd often spend a week fixing vocals for one track.
@@Traxploitation Yes, there's always been a certain amount of trickery going on. Even in live situations as far back as the 80s. I saw an interview with a session singer who had been employed by several big name pop and rock stars to double them live, so this guy would be standing in a booth out the back and he would sing for the star who was on stage. A lot of metal bands would also have an additional keyboard player back there to fill out the sound. Now most of those bands are pretty much miming to tapes. If they were able to get away with that live, anything could be possible in the studio. I knew there was some form of pitch correcting going on back in the 80s and early 90s, but I wans't sure how they were doing it. I have heard of the Eventide Harmoniser because that's what Bowie and Visconti used on the snare drum on the Berlin albums, but I didn't realize it could also be used to tune things.
Funny how lip syncing is so okay these days to the point that I doubt anyone would deeply care if an artist was lip syncing everything or miming somebody else's work. They could recover easily with a good pr.
Its no more okay now than in the 80s or before, its just now they use other methods to make people with less talent commercially. marketable. Whether that means technical tricks like "auto-tune" or focussing on the virality of their other content, social media etc, but make no mistake if it was discovered that Beyonce had been miming to some unknown session singers voice that would be a HUGE story. It caused a storm when she mimed to her OWN voice at Obama's inauguration so, I don't think its as acceptable as you think.
Thank you!!
What about the artist "Snap" with "I Got The Power".
It doesn't fit in with this documentary as there was no miming.
I might do an entire video on that one song cos it's complicated, but still interesting. The version of The Power that most people know is 100% legit. No miming. No uncleared samples. There were however 2 previously released versions, the first was released in Germany and was all uncleared samples. Then Wild Pitch released a version under the name Power Jam, rather than Snap! Where the Chill Rob G samples were cleared but not the jocelyn brown samples.
Then finally the version we all know has Penny Ford rerecordings of the Jocelyn Brown samples and Turbo B replaced the Chill Rob G samples. Only this release had a video or live promotion. So there was no miming involved.
It's more a case of sampling than miming.
The Black Box one really got me. There’s an Australian group called Euphoria that used a model for their first hit, but the real vocalist was brought to the fore on their subsequent recordings. I think a lot of people can tell something’s off. It’s a bit different with a TV show like, eg The Partridge Family, I don’t think many of us thought a few small kids could make that big a sound, it was a fictional tv show after all and we knew David Cassidy and Shirley Jones had great voices. But I’ve had my suspicions about a few other groups over time.
Also, I’d love to find out what happened to other mega groups from Europe, like Silver Convention.
Bl00dy interesting. Great work, please continue. Subscribed.
Thanks 😊
There's lots more videos on the channel...
It wasn't mentioned on the video, but Fab is French and the contract he signed was in German, a language he didn't speak. Farian also only spoke German with them, so Rob had to translate it to Fab, but Rob's English wasn't that great either.
Pretty sure I mentioned that🤔 if not, thanks for noting it.
@@Traxploitation yes, you did say Fab was French and didn't speak German, but not that the contract was in German.
Anyways, the video is fantastic, the best out there about this subject. 👏
Great work and analysis. In a smaller scale I can add the case of Italo Disco artist named Den Harrow whose hits were mostly sang by american Tom Hooker.
the Den Harrow story is coming! It's all written...
This was a nice watch, thank you.
I even wrote down the many names and bands that used this way of delivering a product. After all of the lip sync, ghostsinging and moviestar dubbing, in the end it all comes down to the final product ( as harsh as it sounds) and I still will play the music and listen to lipsyncing artists that I know and adore....the truth behind them doesn't matter to me...but it sure was an intertesting look behind the scenes
I agree. Knowing its Marni Nixon and not Audrey Hepburn singing doesn't make My Fair Lady a less enjoyable film 🤷
Which was kind of the overarching point, why were Milli Vanilli vilified so much for a practice that's been around for as long as the recorded entertainment industry has existed!
@@Traxploitation the saying that the world loves to have an idol and then love to see it crash...maybe that is the case with Milli Vanilli. They were getting pretty big and so the paperazzi was probably already looking for flaws. In the end it is very sad for the Vanilli that did end his life over this
Finding out Boney M was a semi-fraud is akin to finding out Santa isn't real 😞
It was NEVER a secret. There are only enlightened fast learners and the slow learners.
@@MyenoB I've only really known about them for about 3-4 years bc of Rasputin memes and then got into some more of their songs. I'm young haha
unlike the Martha Wash controversies, the vocals on the Milli Vanilli records were always mediocre at best, so noone would have realy cared if it wasn't for the big ego clashes.
Good point! I reckon that's about right.
I'm sure many people remember the dance act by the name Whigfield. Their biggest hit was "Saturday Night". I strongly suspect that Sannie Carlson is _not_ the actual singer on the recordings. The real singer, I believe, is Annerley Gordon, who also went by the name Ann Lee (best known for her single "2 Times"). To my ear, the Whigfield vocals are unmistakably Annerley's. Sannie has had recent releases as both Whigfield and as a solo act that seem to be Sannie herself singing (very different from past Whigfield vocals), but her voice is heavily layered and/or processed. When she performed "live" on her UA-cam channel during the COVID-19 pandemic, her voice does not sound _at all_ like those heard on Whigfield's recordings. Annerley has never confirmed nor denied that she was the voice of Whigfield, but she _has_ performed "Saturday Night" live in recent years, and has made cheeky fleeting references to certain Whigfield songs in her livestreams. At this point it's pretty much an open secret, it simply has to be made official by Annerley, Sannie or Alfredo "Larry" Pignagnoli (the producer common to Annerley and Whigfield projects).
Your videos are so well done and informative, thank you! xx Man, after all the horror stories I've heard through the years, choosing motherhood over the music industry was the right choice. Just so much greed and corruption within, it's soul-sucking, imo.
As much as I've enjoyed my journey in the music business, I do wonder what it would have been like if I had just had a "normal" life. 🤷♂️
A school friend of mine asked for some help for his son who wanted to get into music business and i said tell him to do something else for money and just make music for fun.
Unfortunately he got offended by that advice and we haven't spoken since 😕. I guess he thinks I didn't want to help...when I was giving him the best help I could!
@@Traxploitation Wow, I hope he realizes what you meant some day. And that it was good not bad advice. lol I'm guessing the safest music career, for most, would be a studio musician?
My friend Nick Augustine (I call him Tony) is one that toured/played worldwide with many bands out there, filling in for someone missing, yet is just a fellow drummer to me. (am hoping to see him in one of your videos) He seems to have the right idea, the love of playing not money. Great guy.
It feels like once you're in it for the money/fame, the industry owns you. But, even Hollywood celebs have the same issue, imo. More today than ever, it seems.🤔🙄
what as in Tony De Augustine? I'm sure I've come across that name before 🤔.he'll pop up in a story no doubt. Especially if someone that knows him puts him touch we me 😉
I think the safest jobs in music are the transactional ones, where you get paid for your time directly like studio session work, teaching, that sort of thing.
I've got my own personal horror stories of being exploited and taken advantage of. I produced and co-wrote an award winning album and was paid nothing, in fact when the budget ran dry I covered the shortfall myself, foolishly thinking that if/when it was successful i'd get my due, nope...not only did she not give me any of the £20,000 prize money, the morning after the awards ceremony she called the publisher and had all the song writing credits changed to give me much less that we had previously agreed on.
People in the music industry mostly either have short memories or lack values. I rescued one artists demo from the rubbish bin at one label and made the A&R team listen again, even paid him out of my pocket to remix a song and now he's a successful recording artist and radio host with absolutely no recollection of that beginning. There are some honest people in the business but theyre few and far between and out-numbered by sharks.
Thanks Wayne! Another brilliant piece of work and history mindfully put together. So my question thus...is the voice over you?🤭
Thanks and You're welcome.
Yeah voice over is me. Everything is me in fact. One man army 💪 😎
@@Traxploitation just had to make sure😉. Kudos to you. I moonlight for a production company (moonlight, not ghost lol) and know the effort it takes for research, editing, VO and such. Looking forward to more material.
Farian wanted to make black-ish music but noone took it serious so he found a way. Kind of genius in itself if you get over all the drama. Rob and Fab benefited greatly from it also, they would never had made it past session dancers. Rob really was a victim of his own. Also the thing with the company not having money to promote/sell their first real album was really unfortunate. I kind of feel like it is there where they really became victim of some amercian managers.
Marni Nixon forever !!! ♥
Wow...Freedom Williams is trash. Could he sound more boneheaded? Team Martha, all the way!
Right!?!? I never really liked him when the song came out, he was just a cut rate, half sized Ice-T with only the most rudimentary vocal ability. But once I watched a few interviews I could not stand him...I'm glad his trashiness came over.
@@Traxploitation That moment at 50:30 where Arsenio gets Martha to sing the line "Everybody dance now," and the crowd goes wild, just gives me life every time! Now, that bit when Katrin Quinol thinks she's going to sing over Martha's vocals. Oh dear. So, so bad.
@@LifeinAnalog Same, I get goosebumps every time I see that bit!
and Katrin trying to sing...wow...just wow....
@@Traxploitation and his career went nowhere fast
Is it just me, but I never assumed that the model in the video actually sang that line. Somehow I knew it was actually the vocals of a real powerhouse session singer. I didn’t realize people really thought it was the model in the video. 🤷♀️
Also the power of snap was a sample of joceclyn browns Love is gonna get ya. In the video jackie harris lip sync the lyrics
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. This came up in the comments already. Actually, the version of "Power" that charted under the name Snap! doesn't contain any of Jocelyn Brown's vocals they were re-recorded by Penny Ford. It's Ford's voice that Harris is miming to in the video. The version that was released in Germany containing Jocelyn Brown's sampled vocals was released under the name Power Jam, not Snap!. I left it out of this video as Penny Ford was in fact credited for her vocal, unlike Martha Wash, the singers of Milli Vanilli and the other examples given, whose voices were used with no credit. Although the story of "Power" is a good one for me to cover for the channel because it also includes sampling and interpolations.
Corona in the mid 90s had a model front and centre who never actually sang on the records! Jenny B and Sandi Chambers did the vocals
OUTSTANDING!
Wow! I had no idea about the history of Boney M. Thanks for such an informative video🤗
Glad you enjoyed it!
Is this the same Boney M that recorded "Pop Music" ??
@@w.llawrence86 That was by an artist just called M, real name Robin Scott.
@@Traxploitation Thanks for the clarification
I love your channel. I'm so grateful I found it! I've been binge-watching. Could you please do a video on Jennifer Lopez and all of her ghost singing. She's definitely A "Milli Vanilli". We know Christina Milian and Ashanti are responsible for the majority of her vocals. She sings off-key on a regular basis. She's one of the greatest fraudsters of all time. She didn't decide to have an actual music career until she played Selena. Although, there have been other videos that tried to outline this, I would love you to do it from the perspective of why no one's has sued her or officially exposed her like they did Milli Vanilli. Please and thank you, signed your newest fan, and if you've already done the video, I'll look for it. Thanks.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment.
I really appreciate your words of encouragement, feedback like this keeps me going!
Nice!!!!
Excellent work. I'm surprised Alvin Stardust and the song My Coo Ca Choo didn't get a mention. An interesting scenario in which the singer found someone else to stand in for him.
There's a few examples, like Alvin Stardust that deserve their own entire video. Alvin Stardust is kind of like the Den Harrow story, where all the parties were fully aware of the arrangement and willing to be involved. The ones I chose for this documentary were selected as they all involved at least one unwilling person so were more like the Milli Vanilli situation. It's still a great story and especially odd because the original singer did appear in person on tv as Alvin Stardust before allowing the replacement to mime the same song but then he actually sang on all the subsequent recordings...So thanks for reminding me...it's been added to the list of "ones to do.."
@@Traxploitation really? I didn't know Peter made an appearance as Alvin! Just searched for it and yes it was on Lift Off with Ayshea but can't find any pics or video. Probably wiped in the great tape scandals of the 70s. Both Shane and Peter were talented guys. I'm glad it worked out for both. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I look forward to seeing more stuff on your channel.
I'm making it my mission to find that footage! Or at least a photo!
@@Traxploitation That arrangement between Tom Hooker Stefano Zandri ended badly. I suppose after awhile the real singer wants in on the action.
Another notable record in this vein was the 1979/80 top 30 hit "First Be a Woman," credited to the late Leonore (or Lenore, as she preferred to spell it) O'Malley. O'Malley was signed to Polydor, but her two LPs were sung by former session singer (now Jazz icon) Catherine Russell. It's unclear if either woman knew this was the producer's plan beforehand. Oddly, between the two LPs, Polydor released a promo single of O'Malley herself singing the theme to the short-lived sitcom Me and Maxx called "Is It Because of Love." There's absolutely nothing wrong with her voice, or with Catherine Russell's look, and she had fronted other singles. It's just...odd that this switcheroo happened. O'Malley is no longer with us, and I don't know how Catherine Russell feels about the two LPs, but they are completely absent from any of her official bios. Russell also sang (and appeared live) with the French group New Paradise, and she is as beautiful as O'Malley, though they have very different styles. "First Be a Woman" is a banger of a tune, but having face and voice being different people sort of limited the promotional options, and neither performer really benefited from the project beyond any initial payment.
Thats an interesting story...I'll have to dig deeper into it. Thanks!
So the white guy who started it all he gets off scott free.. While the young black man became pariah's of the music industry.. Are we actually surprised here... White industry types.. have been doing this to black vocalists for decades, and only we are beginning to know the truth..
Thank you for this comprehensive documentary..
It's easy after this doc,to be like uncredited singers ALL good,music or film companies ALL bad,one has to understand that looks are very important and are a crucial factor for the success of a song or a film,it's human nature a slim hot chick is always going to appeal more than an overweight chick,so in conclusion it's important to admit that good-looks won't sell without the pretty voice but it's equally true that the pretty voice alone also won't sell without good-looks.
There's also something phony about Lipps Inc's 1980 hit Funkytown
Yes, Rob and Fab were dealt with very harshly. While Frank Farin, the scumbag mastermind, made sure all was put on them. Thank you for this very detailed video.
Rob and Fab ~ MilliVanilli always
I remember howling and laughing when this was in the news.
I wonder if Fab ever recreates that broken record moment live; I could see it being cathartic for him to repeat "girl you know it's..." a dozen times, playing with vocal cues to make it obvious it's live, and then saying "I'm just playing around guys, don't give me a Grammy or anything!"
Sad learning about Boney M. :(
It was NEVER a secret. There are only enlightened fast learners and the slow learners.
Another instance you probably didn't know about but could have covered is in Yngwie Malmsteen's 1985 video "I'll See The Light, Tonight". The person singing on the actual song was Jeff Scott Soto, but the singer in the video is a different one lip syncing his voice. I don't remember the name of the singer though.
Might've been Joe Lynn Turner
@@w.llawrence86 Nah, it wasn't him.
Similar thing happened with Phoebe Buffay's Smelly Cat in '96.
Special: The story on Milli Vanilli is just very beautiful. This was a modern-day Turk (referring to the 18th Century Chess machine story) in where they fooled millions and millions of people in the beginning into believing that they could sing. This is my perception but I feel that people in this country (the USA) forgave them (referring to these guys) for this horrible sin. I don't think that the Ghost singers really went anywhere in terms of the financial. Boy Bands need to have a special good-looking look and these Ghost singers who sang those tracks on those albums were just average looking guys at best. I looked under am@zon and I see the Ghost singers album but it's no longer available. It's not in demand! (Referring to the Ghost singers' albums). 2024 USA
Sheryl Crow has said that she had sung lead vocals uncredited on other people's records before she was famous.
It didn't matter who sung/rapped on the records, it was ALL horrible. 😅
Dude was shady as hell. He knew Americans wouldn't stand for it. Either he release the brother's or the brothers would've whooped his a**.
OMG!!!!! They beat out Soul 2 Soul for best new artists????????? SMH...Soul 2 Soul's first album was brilliant, as were their others.
a very good illustration of the uglyness of the music industry
Were Corona and Playahitty mentioned?
No they didn't even mention C bank either
@52:14 - I will tell you one thing...If a person approached me speaking like this man is about to speak, I can assure you that I would never trust a word he said.
Yeah I don't trust a word this cut price ice T has to say lol...
8:04 Who is the other woman in that photo with Linda and Jodie Rocco?
Not sure. She's isn't anyone significant to the story tho. I'll have to check my research notes. It was quite a while ago I made this.
Can we get that full clip of her singing live “katrin “
I had a video up previously with the full clip. Black Box themselves had youtube take it down and i got a copyright strike. I think you can find it on vimeo or dailymotion.
@@Traxploitation I got my life with that clip
@@Traxploitation do ya still have it
everything I ever loved has been a lie. lol. anyway.. I just hope Martha got some of the MANY royalties I paid for the duplicate singles over the years as a DJ. At the end.. Marni Nixon? wow. I'm flabbergasted.
My parents knew about Marni Nixon in the early 60's
Milli Vanilli = Phoney Baloney!
"The lion sleeps tonight"is one of the worst songs ever recorded.👎
I still can't get passed "in the jungle...the lion sleeps tonight" lions don't live in the jungle, they live in the savannah 🤷♂️🤦♂️but that's what happens when a middle class american tries to translate a zulu song. Lol
Awesome video mate - subscribed... Interesting that there's somehow an overly proportionate share of black artists in this overview... I wonder if racism had something to do with it - and music managers thought that black artists had to be beautiful to be successful
Hmm 🤔
That is an interesting observation.
Part of that may be down to me, as I selected the examples?
I think you could also see it as socio-economic thing (which obviously does have its own racial bias too).
For whatever reason, it does always seem to be those lacking in power.
But yeah, something to think about. 🤔
@@Traxploitation ALL artists lack power when they first start out. And few (if any) have the legal education to understand the contract (John Fogerty comes to mind as I type this).
Wait. Try N B were a repackaged Real Milli Vanilli and The Real Milli Vanilli didn't even perform their own songs?
I was looking for the video to Sexy Eyes. It's only a passable Dr Hook cover at best though.
Audrey would have been a better choice
I think Milli Vanilli suffered the blunt because most people didn't like them. They were a good punchline, their style and music were especially bad, and they exemplified the soulless corporate factory music in a way that made people notice, where otherwise they would not. On top of that, it was the manner in which they were exposed, which was highly comical, leading it to catch traction in broader pop culture. Something similar happened with Ashley Simpson. The personalities behind these other groups weren't as obnoxious. People who didn't like this kind of music had no reason to even pay attention.
And it ended Ashley Simpson's career too. She had some minor hits before the SNL scandal.
This reminds me of the band Gorillaz, who would use an animation screen even at "live performances."
Yes, but that was always the concept of the band...they were a "virtual" band.
The musicians played live behind a screen of animated visuals. Each character in the band had a separate voice actor that spoke to the audience in-between songs.
They were very clear and open about the bands concept from the outset, it wasn't a deception like the examples in this video.
Ultimately, they felt the technology available wasn't good enough to present the show they wanted to and they now do live shows a few different ways. I know the drummer from the current Gorillaz live band and an artist i produced features on one of their albums...and he also did a few live shows with them and said its an odd experience as he was in front of the animations while the band were behind it...
this world is an illusin. this one,