Milli Vanilli

Milli Vanilli was a pop and R&B group formed in 1988 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany. The group was constructed by producer Frank Farian, who selected models Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus as the public face of the project due to his assessment that the actual vocalists — Brad Howell and John Davis, with additional female vocals provided by Jodie Rocco and Linda Rocco — were not marketable. Morvan and Pilatus appeared on album artwork, in music videos, and performed live, lip-synching throughout to recordings they had no part in creating.

The group achieved significant commercial success with the 1989 album "Girl You Know It's True" and in 1990 were awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. When it became publicly known that Morvan and Pilatus had not contributed to the recordings, the Recording Academy revoked the award — the only time in the history of the Grammys that this has occurred. In 1993, Morvan and Pilatus released an album under the name Rob & Fab in an effort to demonstrate their own musical capabilities; it was not a commercial success. Frank Farian subsequently produced a project called The Real Milli Vanilli, featuring the original vocalists. Rob Pilatus died in 1998 at a hotel near Frankfurt.

Collectors seek out Milli Vanilli releases primarily for their place in a well-documented episode in pop music history. Original pressings of "Girl You Know It's True" and associated singles and picture sleeves, along with the short-lived Rob & Fab album, are the most commonly sought items. Releases from various European markets, including German pressings on Hansa and Arista-affiliated labels, attract particular interest on the collector market.