Frank Farian, the mastermind producer responsible for the groups Milli Vanilli, Boney M., La Bouche, and more, has died. He was 82 years old.

Over the course of his six-decade career, Farian saw considerable success as a songwriter and producer, but his time as the mastermind behind Milli Vanilli — and their infamous lip-syncing controversy — is likely what most remember him for. Farian first met the group’s frontmen, Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, in Frankfurt, and signed a contract with them in January 1988, locking them into a deal.

Then, dissatisfied with the quality of the group’s vocal performances, Farian employed session vocalists — including Charles Shaw, John Davis, Brad Howell, and others — to provide the lead vocal parts for the duo’s recordings, leading to an arrangement where Pilatus and Morvan, against their desires, lip-synced the parts that they claimed to be singing themselves.

Upon the release of Milli Vanilli’s biggest hit,...