One of the real singing voices behind the infamous pop duo Milli Vanilli has died at the age of 66 after a battle with COVID-19 … according to his daughter.
John Davis‘ daughter, Jasmin, revealed her dad died May 24 with a post that read, “My dad passed away this evening through the coronavirus.” She continued, “He made a lot of people happy with his laughter and smile, his happy spirit, love and especially through his music. He gave so much to the world! Please give him the last round of applause. We will miss him dearly.”
The Milli Vanilli duo the public came to know was made up of members Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The pair won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990 after their wildly successful “Girl You Know It’s True” album dropped the year before.
However, it was soon discovered that Morvan and Pilatus were only a front, and didn’t actually sing all the songs that they put out … and it was Davis’ voice, among others, that was actually on the recording.
Perhaps the most infamous moment for the pair came during a live performance for MTV in 1989 when the track for “Girl You Know It’s True” skipped on a loop, leaving the duo on stage embarrassed.
From there, it was all downhill for Morvan and Pilatus … they gave up their Grammy and lawsuit and demands for refunds came flooding in from fans.
Davis attempted to form his own group with one of the original ghost singers, but couldn’t repeat the group’s success.
Pilatus died in 1998 at the age of 32, following an overdose.