The most successful German composer of all time, Frank Farian, has died, wrote the Bild. During his career, he sold more than 800 million records and wrote hits for bands such as Boney M., Milli Vanilli, La Bouche and No Mercy. He also worked with Meat Loaf and Steve Wonder.
Farian was born Franz Reuther on July 18, 1941 in Kirn, Rhineland-Palatinate. In April 1967, he released his first music under the name Frankie Farian, a cover of Otis Redding’s Mr. Pitiful. After signing a record deal as a solo artist, she branched out into the pop business and appeared on the television show Hitparade. In 1976, Farian’s German-language cover of Dickey Lee’s Rocky reached number one for four weeks and was certified gold. His 1973 single, Was kann schöner sein?, a German-language cover of the Lynsey de Paul/Ron Roker song When you’ve Gotta Go, was included in the German Popkultur magazine’s top 100 hits.
His greatest successes
The album Take the Heat off Me was released in 1976 under the pseudonym Boney M. In 1974, the classic line-up was born, featuring singers Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, frontman Bobby Farrell and dancer Maizie Williams. He achieved his greatest success under the name Boney M. in Europe and worldwide with songs such as Daddy Cool, Rivers of Babylon or Rasputin.
He owes his greatest hits to the bands Boney M. and Milli Vanilli.
The latter band caused a huge scandal in 1990 when it was revealed that Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus did not sing their hits themselves. In the same way, in Boney M., Farrel didn’t sing either, he just lip-synced to Farian’s vocal lines.
On November 14, 1990, Farian admitted that he orchestrated the events leading up to the Milli Vanilli scandal. As a producer, he assembled a group of session musicians and fronted them with the physically attractive dancers Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan. After a performance in 1989, it was revealed that the singers were gaping due to a background track error. Farian later confirmed to the press that other people sang on the albums. In 1990, Milli Vanilli’s Grammy Award for Best New Artist was revoked and at least 26 lawsuits were filed in the United States under US consumer protection laws.
He had been ill for a long time
Farian’s health had been in serious decline for some time.
The musician underwent heart surgery in 2022 and received a pig heart valve. According to him, the operation saved his life.
In his last interview with Bild in November, Farian said: “My heart valve works wonderfully. Mick Jagger had the exact same heart valve. I have a good pig in me! And for that I am very grateful”.
However, the truth was that Farian had been getting weaker and weaker since the surgery. He lost a dramatic amount of weight, was recently confined to a wheelchair and required a ventilator due to lung problems. He also had difficulty speaking.
Farian’s closest confidant and former partner, Ingrid “Milli” Segieth, recently visited Frank Farian in Miami. When he returned to Germany a few days ago, the man was still in good condition.
Segieth told Bild:
Although Frank was physically very weak, he was still full of strength. He was still in the studio all day working on new music.
In the spring, Farian planned a boat trip to his old country, Germany, because he could no longer fly for health reasons. This dream will never come true.
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