Singer John Davis, who was one of the true vocal talents behind pop duo Milli Vanilli, has died from Covid-19 at the age of 66.
Davis sang on the group’s hit 1989 album Girl You Know It’s True, after which a scandal erupted when it was discovered that Milli Vanilli’s Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus had lip-synced their lyrics – which had actually been sung by Davis.
Ray Horton, Charles Shaw, Brad Howell were also revealed to be the other vocalists on tracks the duo had claimed were voiced by them.
It was a spectacular fall from grace for the pair, as the album had become a global hit, selling a whopping 11 million copies.
The title track was followed by successful singles ‘Blame It On The Rain’ and ‘Babe Don’t Forget My Number’.
Following the shocking revelation, Milli Vanilli were stripped of their Grammy Award for Best New Artist that they had received in 1990.
German record producer Frank Farian would later admit he had hired Davis to cover for Morvan and Pilatus’ lack of “vocal quality”, and incorrectly credited him as a backup singer for the group.
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Pilatus died in 1998 due to a drug overdose at the age of 32.
Paying tribute to her talented father following his death from coronavirus, Davis’s daughter Jasmin asked fans for one “last round of applause” in a tribute via Facebook.
“Unfortunately my dad passed away this evening through the coronavirus,” she began.
“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.”
In later years, Davis remained in Germany and went on to perform alongside Morvan as part of their collaborative project Face Meets Voice.
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Check out Fab Morvan and John Davis perform a Milli Vanilli Medley:
