10 Hit Songs That Weren’t What They Seemed

Recently, the reputation of Milli Vanilli—the dreadlocked duo who fooled the world by lip-syncing to session singers’ vocals—has been reevaluated thanks to a poignant Paramount+ TV documentary and now a big screen biopic hailing from their German homeland. Premiering on August 9, Girl, You Know It’s True stars Elan Ben Ali and Tijan Njie as the aspiring stars whose Faustian pact with an evil genius turned into a living nightmare. Of course, Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan aren’t the only hitmakers who benefited from such duplicitous tactics. Here’s a look at the history of Hot 100 singles that weren’t as they initially seemed. 

“He's a Rebel” // The Crystals

If you thought that faking it until you make it was a relatively modern concept, think again. Famously eccentric producer Phil Spector hoodwinked both listeners and his girlband The Crystals all the way to the No. 1 spot in 1962 with the song “He’s a Rebel.”

The tune was originally written by crooner Gene Pitney for The Shirelles; when they passed, Spector quickly bagged it for The Crystals. Time was of the essence, because Latin pop singer Vikki Carr had already recorded the song, and Spector was determined to beat her to radio with the Crystals’ version. There was one problem, though: The Crystals were on an East Coast tour at the time, and Spector and his studio were in California. So he roped in The Blossoms, fronted by Darlene Love, to provide vocals for the song instead.

Remarkably, the first The Crystals heard about the whole charade was on an Ohio radio station introducing “their” new single. “[O]ur mouths fell open,” singer Mary Thomas later said. “I mean, goodness gracious, but what could we do.” They quickly learned the new song so they could perform it on tour.

 “Ça Plane Pour Moi” // Plastic Bertrand

You wouldn’t expect anyone involved with punk, a scene that famously values authenticity above any musical talent, to have lip-synced. But Roger François Jouret, a.k.a. Belgian japester Plastic Bertrand, is no ordinary punk. And as a nonsensical pastiche of the whole genre—albeit one championed by its hero Joe Strummer—1977’s “Ça Plane Pour Moi” was no ordinary punk single, either. Jouret pretended he had provided the monotonous voice on the No. 47 Billboard hit (and four entire Plastic Bertrand albums) for decades. But in a 2010 court case, the truth came out: The voice on the songs actually belonged to producer Lou Deprijck. “I'm the victim,” Jouret argued at the time. “I wanted to sing but he wouldn’t let me into the studio.” He did, however, get to showcase his real voice throughout the rest of his career, most notably while representing Luxembourg at the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest.

“Back to the ’60s” // Tight Fit

The second incarnation of Tight Fit spent three weeks atop the UK charts with their cover of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” But their only entry on the Hot 100 was 1981’s hit-packed medley—featuring everything from The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” to Manfred Mann’s “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”—“Back to the ’60s,” which peaked at No. 89. When it came time to perform the song on Britain’s flagship music show Top of the Pops, however, the session singers who comprised the actual band were kept firmly behind the scenes. Instead, actors such as Robert Pereno performed the roles of the main vocalists. Ironically, Emperor Rosko, the American DJ who really did provide the Wolfman Jack-inspired voiceover for the song, was the least convincing performer. 

“Girl, You Know It’s True” // Milli Vanilli

Although 1988’s “Girl, You Know It’s True” didn’t quite achieve the chart-topping success of the following three singles (it made it No. 2), Milli Vanilli’s first musical deception remains their most notorious. The track famously skipped when Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan were meant to be performing live on the Club MTV tour, instigating a downfall that culminated in the Grammys rescinding their award for Best New Artist. “[We] made a deal with the devil,” the pair later admitted after producer and puppet master Frank Farian threw them to the wolves by revealing their vocals had been sung by studio musicians. Following a failed attempt to reinvent themselves under the guise of Rob and Fab—this time using their own voices—their story took a tragic turn. Pilatus descended into a life of crime and drugs, and died from an accidental overdose in 1998. 

“Pump Up the Jam” // Technotronic

Anyone who’s watched satirical history series Cunk on Earth will already know the cultural significance of Technotronic’s 1989 song “Pump Up the Jam.” But they might not be aware that the face of the hip-house hit (which peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100) was not the voice behind it. Despite being an official member of the group, rapper Ya Kid K was replaced by model Felly Kilingi for both its music video and parent album art. But Jo Bogaert, the band’s creator, didn’t wait too long to come clean. Shortly after Pump Up the Jam: The Album hit shelves in late 1989, and just in time for their support slot on Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour, Ya Kid K was revealed as the true party-starter. 

“Strike It Up” // Black Box

On its debut album, Dreamland, Black Box did two soul divas dirty: They sampled Loleatta Holloway without her consent for Italo-house banger “Ride on Time,” and used the voice of Martha Wash—best known as one half of disco duo The Weather Girls—on six of the album’s other tracks, including U.S. hits “Everybody Everybody” and “Strike It Up,” which both peaked at No. 8 on the charts. The Italian trio not only failed to give both women credit, they also tried to pass off their vocals as those of a twentysomething model. Yes, despite not singing a single note on the record, Katrin Quinol fronted the entire Dreamland campaign. Wash, who’d believed she was only providing demo vocals, subsequently filed a lawsuit. Holloway also sued the trio. Both won monetary damages.

“Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” // C&C Music Factory

Martha Wash wasn’t only swindled by Black Box in the early ‘90s; the dance music veteran also discovered that another production team had used her demo sessions for a finished song without acknowledging her involvement. And on this occasion, she was denied the chance to celebrate a U.S. No. 1. In the music video for C&C Music Factory’s house-pop classic “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” Zelma Davis, one of the singers in the group, lip synched to Wash’s vocals. (Even Wash found the song difficult to sing: She would later recall that “It was like I was reaching for the ceiling trying to hit the notes.”) Again, the former Weather Girl took to the courts to receive her dues, receiving an undisclosed settlement for her troubles and prompting MTV to add a disclaimer every time its video was played. Wash’s many lawsuits against those who used her voice without proper crediting her resulted in federal legislation mandating vocal credits. 

“The Rhythm of the Night” // Corona

While most session singers would be understandably aggrieved if their vocals were commandeered by someone who could barely hold a tune, Giovanna Bersola breathed a sigh of relief: The singer suffered from severe stage fright when she recorded 1994’s “The Rhythm of the Night” (which hit No. 11 on the Hot 100) and so had no qualms about Corona frontwoman Olga Souza taking her place. “That gave me the freedom to be absolutely no one,” acknowledged Bersola, who later overcame her nerves to forge a fruitful recording and performing career under the name Jenny B. Souza also fronted “Baby Baby,” the No. 57 follow-up performed by Sandy Chambers, a Welsh singer based in Italy who finally gained recognition thanks to Sunblock’s 2007 cover of the song. 

“Another Night” // Real McCoy

Co-founded by German rapper Olaf Jeglitza, the ironically-named Real McCoy launched in 1989 with a cover of Technotronic’s “Pump Up the Jam.” Five years later, they scored a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic with their very own musical cover-up: “Another Night,” an infectious dancefloor anthem inspired by fellow Germans Captain Hollywood Project and disco musician Roni Griffith. The song, which hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 11, paired Jeglitza’s gruff rhymes with sugary-sweet melodies that were supposedly performed by Patsy Petersen. But although Petersen had a fine set of pipes herself, she was miming vocals recorded by session singer Karin Kasar. 

“Castles in the Sky” // Ian Van Dahl

Ian Van Dahl scored one of the biggest trance hits of the early aughts with 2001’s “Castles in the Sky.” But when it came time to perform the song, its original vocalist was nowhere to be seen: Martine D. J. Theeuwen, a.k.a. Marsha, had to watch not just one but two different women lip-sync to the hit song she co-wrote following a falling out with bandmates Erik Vanspauwen and Christophe Chantzis. First, dancer Cindy Mertens cosplayed as lead singer in the sewer-set music video; then, permanent replacement Annemie Coenen followed suit on stage. The latter was able to put her own mark on the track when it was re-recorded for the band’s debut album Ace. “Castles in the Sky” made it into the lower reaches of the Hot 100, peaking at No. 91. 

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