In 1977, a Belgian singer Plastic Bertrand released a single that quickly became something of a punk rock anthem. “Ca Plane Pour Moi” (which translates as “All’s Cool With Me”) was eventually translated into English and recorded as “Jet Boy, Jet Girl” by the Dead Boys and, most notably, Elton Motello.
Bertrand’s entire career is rooted in this song. But now it turns out that he didn’t actually sing on the record.
In a rather bizarre twist to a 33 year-old cold case, a linguist was commissioned by a Belgian judge to determine once and for all it was, in fact, Bertrand’s voice in “Ca Plane Pour Moi.” The key, apparently, was in the accent. Was it Bertrand and his Brussels inflection? Or was there a clue in the distinctive twang?
The linguist reported that it couldn’t have been Bertrand, saying that the actual singer must be from northeastern France.
Faced with having to have all his denials dragged out in court, Bertrand ‘fessed up. For thirty-three years, he’d been living a Milli Vanilli existence. Scandalous.
In case you don’t know the song, here’s the video.
And should you want the English version, here’s Elton Motello.
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Ongoing History of New Music
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You know, I get the feeling this happened a lot more than we think in the past. Nowadays (well, ever since the Milli Vanilli incident) you wouldn’t dare attempt it, way too risky . . . but before that, you just get the sense that there are a lot of acts hiding juicy little stories like this.
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