Frank Farian, the producer-songwriter behind Boney M and Milli Vanilli, has died at age 82.
Frank Farian, the influential electronic music producer, composer and founder of the German/Caribbean disco funk ensemble Boney M, and the man behind the creation of the notorious pop duo Milli Vanilli. died Tuesday at 82. The news was confirmed by his agency, Allendorf Media.
Boney M, which essentially consisted of Farian and a handful of session musicians, was a sensation of the Eurodisco scene of the 1970s and 80s, starting with 1974’s dance single, “Baby Do You Wanna Bump,” and continuing through eight gold and platinum-selling albums. Yet, for all of Boney M’s fame, Farian never appeared on the covers of any of its albums.
In 1988, Farian signed then-Munich-based dancers and singers Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan to a production contract and named the R&B vocal duo Milli Vanilli. Unimpressed by the pair’s vocal prowess, but in awe of their good looks, Farian produced a breakout album for the duo, co-writing songs such as “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You,” “All or Nothing” and “Baby Don’t Forget My Number,” which along with the smash “Girl You Know It’s True” were recorded by vocalists including John Davis, Charles Shaw, Brad Howell and twin singing sisters Jodie and Linda Rocco.
First out in Europe in 1988 as “All or Nothing” – retitled “Girl You Know It’s True” for North America’s album release on the Arista label – the Rob-and-Fab-fronted Milli Vanilli debut went 6-times platinum in the United States alone and won the pair the 1990 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. But lip-synch scandals and an insistence by Morvan and Pilatus on singing on a follow-up album brought troubles to a head within the Milli Vanilli camp. By November 1990, Farian announced that he had fired the duo, confessed they did not sing on the Milli Vanilli tracks, and that other vocalists besides its handsome music video-friendly frontmen made the music.
Pilatus and Morvan were forced to give up Milli Vanilli’s 1990 Grammy for Best New Artist and were, along with Arista Records, part of a class action suit involving U.
