Yesterday, Tuesday (January 23, 2024), the death of Frank Farian was announced – one of the most successful German music producers, head of Milli Vanilli and Boney M, among others. The international response to the 82-year-old’s death was somewhat muted; probably also due to the Milli Vanilli scandal in 1990, when it emerged that Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan did not sing their own number one hits.
The colleagues from the American ROLLING STONE have reported Farian’s death. Here is the translation of her article, in which the biopic about Milli Vanilli is surprisingly not mentioned:
“Frank Farian – the founder of the groups Boney M. and Milli Vanilli – has died at the age of 82. The German producer’s agency issued a statement on Tuesday confirming that Farian died peacefully at his home in Miami.
Although the cause of death was not immediately announced, Farian said he underwent heart valve surgery in 2022. He told the “Bild” newspaper at the time that the operation had saved his life.
Farian founded the R&B-pop duo Milli Vanilli – consisting of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus – in the late 1980s. The group had major hits with “Blame It on the Rain”, “Girl You Know It’s True” and “I’m Gonna Miss You”, but became embroiled in controversy after it was discovered that Morvan and Pilatus had recorded their songs with Session singers had lip-synced. Milli Vanilli was one of the most popular pop groups of the time and even received a Grammy for “Best New Artist” at the 1990 awards ceremony. (The award was later withdrawn and the duo returned it.)
“My condolences to his family,” Morvan said in a statement to The Guardian. “His music will live on. We can never deny the happiness and joy he brought into this world.” (Pilate died by suicide in 1998 at the age of 32.)
Before Milli Vanilli, Farian founded the disco-pop group Boney M. in the 1970s – consisting of Liz Mitchell, Marcia Barrett, Maizie Williams and Bobby Farrell. Farian was the group’s primary songwriter, releasing tracks such as “Daddy Cool,” “Rasputin,” “Sunny” and “Rivers of Babylon.” The intro to “Rasputin” has seen a resurgence on TikTok in recent years.
After Milli Vanilli, Farian founded the group No Mercy in 1995 with twin brothers Ariel and Gabriel Hernandez and Marty Cintron. The trio released the album “My Promise” in 1996, “More” in 1998 and their last album “Day by Day” in 2007. Her biggest hits included “Where Do You Go,” “When I Die” and “Missing.”