Franz Reuther
| Frank Farian | |
|---|---|
Farian in 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Franz Reuther |
| Born |
18 July 1941 Kirn, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, music producer, singer, rapper, musician |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Associated acts | Gilla, Boney M., Far Corporation, Meat Loaf, Milli Vanilli, Eruption, No Mercy, La Bouche, Le Click |
Frank Farian (born Franz Reuther 18 July 1941, Kirn, Germany) is a German record producer and songwriter, best known as the founder and voice behind the 1970s' disco-pop group Boney M. and as the mastermind and voice behind the lip-synching group Milli Vanilli. His tendency to create bands with a visual image distinct from the recorded musical performances has led to controversy throughout his career, especially in the case of Milli Vanilli. During his career, Frank Farian has sold more than 850 million records worldwide (according to the German magazine Der Spiegel). Farian is also the owner of the record label MCI and several subsidiaries.
Farian started as a trained cook before moving into the music industry. In the early days of his career, he was keen to attain success as a solo artist, but he made little impact on the popular music scene until his song "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" (a remake of Prince Buster's song "Al Capone" from 1967), released under the pseudonym Boney M., became successful. He also had a minor hit in 1973 with "Was kann schöner sein", a German version of "When You've Gotta Go" originally by Solomon King, co-written by Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker.
Shying away from the spotlight, he hired performers to front for public performances. The lead vocals for songs on Boney M. albums in the 1970s were sung by Farian, Marcia Barrett and Liz Mitchell, who quickly became synonymous with the group. Boney M.'s frontman, Bobby Farrell, was only allowed to record vocals in the 1980s (although all four members of the group did sing live for all their concert tours). Bobby Farrell was fired from the group for unreliability in 1981.
In 1990, he admitted orchestrating the events which led to the Milli Vanilli scandal, a musical equivalent of ghostwriting. As a producer, he had assembled a group from session musicians, fronting it with visually attractive dancers Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan. The story broke when Farian confirmed to the press that someone else had sung on the records. After these details emerged, Milli Vanilli had their 1990 Grammy Award for Best New Artist withdrawn, and at least 27 different lawsuits were filed in the United States under various U.S. consumer fraud protection laws. Following the Milli Vanilli controversy, Farian went on to develop similar Eurodance groups La Bouche and Le Click.
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