January 24, (THEWILL) – German music producer and founder of the disco band ‘Boney M’, Franz Reuther, otherwise known as Frank Farian, has died at the age of 82.
Farian’s agency released a statement saying he had passed away at his home in Miami.
Boney M, which he formed in 1976, had a string of hit singles, including ‘Daddy Cool,’ ‘Rasputin’ and ‘Rivers of Babylon.’
Farian also went on to found the duo Milli Vanilli, who were involved in a lip-synching controversy.
Born in south-western Germany, he was trained as a chef while also pursuing a musical career, first as a singer and then as a producer.
He also worked with the likes of Meat Loaf and Stevie Wonder and is reported to have sold an estimated 800 million records worldwide.
In 1990, Farian was embroiled in a scandal surrounding Milli Vanilli when he confessed they had not sung on their records.
The duo, who scored a clutch of hits in the late 1980s, later had their Grammy Award for Best New Artist revoked.
In 2022, Farian revealed he had undergone heart surgery and had a pig heart valve inserted, which he said saved his life.
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
