Franz Reuther (born July 18, 1941), better known as Frank Farian, is a German music producer, singer-songwriter and fraudster. He started out as a trained cook before moving into the music business. is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... In the music industry, record producer designates a person responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for release. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... It has been suggested that Fraud for profit be merged into this article or section. ...

His trademark is that he very commonly inserts himself as a backup or lead vocal in place or in tandem with the male performers in the groups that he produces. Starting out, Farian wanted to become a solo artist, but was unable to attain success. He wanted to write, produce and sing R&B-style music and created the group Boney M. in 1975 with his voice doing almost all the male and even some of the female vocals ^{[citation needed]}. The lead vocals for songs on Boney M. albums 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 eighties (although all four members of the group did sing live for all their concert tours). Farian's recording policy for Boney M. became too restrictive for Bobby who was sacked from the group in 1981 -- which coincided with the group's demise in the Eighties. The other female member of the group, Maizie Williams, is at the moment also in litigation with Farian for unpaid royalties. Boney M. was a pop and disco group, comprised of four West Indian singers and dancers and masterminded by West German record producer Frank Farian, and who were successful during the 1970s. ... Marcia Barrett was born in St Catherines, Jamaica, on 14 October 1945. ... Liz Mitchell, born in Clarendon, Jamaica, on July 12, 1952, was Boney Ms lead singer. ... Bobby Farrell, born on Aruba on October 6, 1949, was a DJ in the Netherlands when producer Frank Farian spotted him for his new Boney M group. ... One of the key members in the music group, Boney M. Categories: Musician stubs | Musicians ...

Farian also started the supergroup Far Corporation (for the first syllable of his last name), which featured Steve Lukather, David Paich, Bobby Kimball, Simon Phillips and Robin McAuley, many of Toto fame. Far Corporation is notable for being the first act to chart with a single release of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", barely making the charts in the U.S., while becoming a top-10 hit in the UK, reaching number 8 in October 1985. In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe music groups comprising members who had already achieved fame or respect in other groups or as individual artists. ... Famous for their cover of Stairway to Heaven, Far Corporation was comprised of Robin McAuley on Vocals and Simon Phillips on drums. ... Steve Luke Lukather (born Steven Lee Lukather on October 21, 1957 in San Fernando Valley, California, USA) is an American Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and guitar player, best known for his work with the rock band Toto. ... David Paich (born David Frank Paich on June 25, 1954 in Los Angeles, California) is a session musician from the 1980s, keyboard player, vocalist and main composer of the Los Angeles based rock/pop band Toto. ... Bobby Kimball Bobby Kimball is the lead and background singer in the American rock/pop band, Toto. ... Simon Phillips (born February 6, 1957, in London, England) is a profilic English jazz and rock drummer. ... Robin McAuley is a rock vocalist known mostly for his work in McAuley Schenker Group and Grand Prix. ... Toto (IPA pronunciation: ) is a Grammy Award winning American rock band that was founded in 1976 by some of the most popular and experienced session musicians of the era. ... For the bands 1969 self-titled debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... Stairway to Heaven is a popular rock song by the English rock group Led Zeppelin, composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant, and recorded on their fourth studio album, (Led Zeppelin IV). ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1986, Farian produced and mixed the Meat Loaf album, Blind Before I Stop. He also sang backing vocals on the first single from the album ("Rock N' Roll Mercenaries) which was credited to "Meat Loaf featuring John Parr and Frank Farian". Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... This article or section may contain excessive or improper use of copyrighted images and/or audio files. ... Blind Before I Stop is a 1986 album by Meat Loaf. ... John Parr (born November 18, 1954, in Worksop, Nottinghamshire) is an English musician. ...

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 the group from German session musicians, fronting it with two good-looking dancers. The story broke when Farian, who was fighting with the "singers" over money at the time, confirmed to the press that someone else had sung on the records. Milli Vanilli (milli is a word meaning national in Turkish, picked up by the artists while visiting Turkey on one of its national days) was a duo, Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus, formed in Germany in the mid-1980s. ... For other uses, see Ghostwriter (disambiguation). ...

Some other groups that Farian has been involved with are Eruption (he became a manager in 1977) and No Mercy. Following the Milli Vanilli controversy, Farian went on to develop similar Eurodance groups La Bouche and Le Click. Eruption was a band in 1970s and 1980s. ... No Mercy is a pop and dance music trio formed by Frank Farian in Florida in 1995, consisting of twin brothers, Ariel and Gabriel Hernandez (born June 3, 1971 [1]), from Miami, Florida and Marty Cintron III (b. ... Eurodance is a colloquial and marketing term for a type of European synthesizer-driven dance music which became popular worldwide in the early- to mid-1990s. ... La Bouche is a Eurodance/Dance-pop duo formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1994, consisting of Melanie Thornton and Lane McCray. ... Le Click is a techno-dance duo consisting of Robert Haynes and Kayo Shekoni. ...

On the 15th August 2006, the much anticipated West End musical Daddy Cool opened at the Shaftsbury Theatre in London. Featuring a star cast line up, including Michelle Collins, former So Solid Crew member Michael Harvey and UK Eurovision entrant, Javine Hylton, the £3 million show produced by Frank Farian and Robert Mackintosh, opened to rave reviews. The story, written by Stephen Plaice with Amani Naphtali, is predominantly based on the songs of Boney M., but also features songs by Farian's other acts Milli Vanilli and No Mercy. A second show opens on 23rd April 2007 in Berlin, Germany. Daddy Cool is a British musical based upon the music of Boney M and other Frank Farian artists. ... Michelle A. Collins (born May 28, 1963 in Hackney, East London) is a British actress best known for her roles on television in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, as Cindy Beale, and BBC drama Sunburn. ... Harvey competing in The Games in 2003. ... Javine Dionne Hylton (born December 27, 1981 in London, England), more commonly known as simply Javine, is a British singer who has had modest success in the UK singles chart. ... Boney M. was a pop and disco group, comprised of four West Indian singers and dancers and masterminded by West German record producer Frank Farian, and who were successful during the 1970s. ... Milli Vanilli (milli is a word meaning national in Turkish, picked up by the artists while visiting Turkey on one of its national days) was a duo, Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus, formed in Germany in the mid-1980s. ... No Mercy is a pop and dance music trio formed by Frank Farian in Florida in 1995, consisting of twin brothers, Ariel and Gabriel Hernandez (born June 3, 1971 [1]), from Miami, Florida and Marty Cintron III (b. ...

External links

• Official site
• Daddy Cool Musical (London) Official site
• Daddy Cool Musical (Berlin) Official site
• Prolific Media Group UK
• Frank Farian Fansite