German music producer Frank Farian, who was behind Boney M and Milli Vanilli, has died at the age of 82, German media reported.

The founder of two of the most controversial bands in pop music history slept peacefully at his home in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, his family said. Deutsche Welle.

First was Boney M, who dominated disco dance floors in the 1970s with songs like “Daddy Cool,” “Ma Baker,” “Rasputin” and “Rivers of Babylon.”

According to TT, the group was fronted by Caribbean artists, but it was Frank Farian who pulled the strings, recruited the singers and wrote most of the songs. Subsequently, it was revealed that band leader Bobby Farrell did not sing himself, but had it all pre-recorded.

A decade later, Frank Farian repeated his success trick with Milli Vanilli. He recruited dancers Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, creating a duo that won, among other things, Best Newcomer at the 1982 US Grammy Awards.

There, too, there were scandalous revelations in the wake of artists merely miming recorded music, which resulted in the duo having to return their Grammy Awards.

The success came as a big surprise, Varian told the German news agency at the time.

Frank Farian has also worked with artists such as Far Corporation, Stevie Wonder, and Meat Loaf during his production career, which comes on the heels of his famous singer. In total, he is said to be behind 800 million album sales across his various artists, according to DW.