Frank Farian has died at the age of 82.
The music producer created the disco-funk group Boney M. in the 1970s and was behind some of their biggest hits including ‘Daddy Cool’ and ”Rasputin’ but passed away “peacefully” on Tuesday (23.01.24) at his apartment in Miami, Florida, his family has announced.
The singer had three daughters with former wife and longtime partner Chinya Onyewenjo.
Over the years, the band has consisted of various lineups that have included combinations of Liz Mitchell, Marcia Barrett, Maizie Williams, Bobby Farrell, Reggie Tsiboe and sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Outside of the band, Frank also worked with music superstars including the late Meat Loaf – who died in January 2022 at the age of 74 – and Stevie Wonder.
No cause of death has been announced at the time of writing, but he revealed in what became his final interview in November 2023 that he had been through a life-saving operation similar to that of rock icon Sir Mick Jagger.
He told Bild: “My heart valve works wonderfully. Mick Jagger also received exactly the same heart valve. I have a good pig in me! And I’m very grateful for that!”
At the time, Frank was the subject of the documentary ‘Milli Vanilli: From Fame to Shame’ – which focused on the rise and fall of his R and B music act and relished in the worldwide fame that his work’s “unimaginable popularity” had brought him over his 50-year career.
He said: “It has generated unimaginable popularity for my work over the last 50 years. The name Frank Farian is present in all the news around the world right now! It doesn’t get any better than this.”