German music producer and former singer Frank Farian is dead, the Allendorf Media agency reported, citing members of the musician’s family. The composer was 82 years old.
Frank Farian in a photo from 2009. /Karlheinz Schindler /PAP
“Frank Farian died peacefully at his home in Miami, Florida, at the age of 82,” reads a statement from the Allendorf Media agency, quoted by German media. “Bild” writes that the star has recently had health problems – he suffered from heart disease, used a wheelchair and had difficulty speaking.
Farian Farian, or rather Franz Reuther, was born on July 18, 1941 in Kirn, Germany. He was raised by his mother, because his father died at the front during World War II, before he was born.
The German quickly became interested in rock and roll. In 1974, under the name “Boney M”, Farian released the single “Baby do you wanna bump”. Then he began to create a band of the same name, consisting of dancers. On stage, some of the Boney M members did not sing, but only moved their lips to the playback recordings. The male parts were performed by Farian.
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Boney M became famous for hits such as “Daddy Cool”, “Rives of Babylon” and “Rasputin”, which are extremely popular to this day.
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In the late 1980s, Farian also created the band Milli Vanilli. The group’s debut album sold 30 million copies, and the song “Girl You Know It’s True” quickly became a hit. The band received a Grammy Award in 1990.
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In the same year, a scandal broke out around the band. Farian admitted to the media that band members Fabrice “Fab” Morvan and Robert “Rob” Pilatus never sang. Only session musicians could be heard on the recordings. As a result of this information, the band was stripped of their Grammys.
