January is not starting off well with many deaths. This past week saw the death of one of my favorite male singers, Meat Loaf. He was 74, and fortunately, his family was by his side during his last moments.
The man had a VOICE! A three-octave voice! He could have easily been an opera singer, but there was just that grit in his vocal cords that was meant for rock-n-roll. Born Michael Lee Aday, he got the moniker Meat Loaf as a chubby baby. Playing football in high school, he was told by his coach to play like a “bat out of Hell.” He never forgot that statement, and it became the title of his best-selling album released in 1977, selling over 43 million copies and achieving a 14x platinum status! I had four copies of that album: a vinyl (I still have but no turntable), an 8-track cartridge (long since destroyed), a cassette (lost somewhere), and a CD (stolen, I’m sure I’ll never get it back).
Bat Out of Hell is a rock-n-roll masterpiece. Based roughly on the story of Peter Pan but in the distant future, it musically pays homage to the sounds of Phil Spector, Bruce Springsteen, The Who and classical music. It was produced by Todd Rundgren, and members of his band Utopia, as well as members of the E Street Band, Edgar Winter, and Ellen Foley, performed on various tracks. It took over two years to record and mix. Even famous baseball announcer Phil Rizzuto was snagged to record the play-by-play radio commentary during the make-out session in “Paradise By The Dashboard Light.”
Jim Steinman was a big part of that album. He had worked with Meat Loaf on various National Lampoon tours, and so much of his attitude went into the album, including musical direction and album cover artwork concept. With all of this talent working on a project, it could either be an amazing hit, or a self-righteous-heavy flop. Epic Records hated it, but agreed to release it on a smaller subsidiary, Cleveland International Records. Slow to take notice in the US, it became a mega-underground sensation in the UK, thanks to videos played on the program The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Eventually, US fans took notice. “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad” reached up to Number 11 on the Billboard charts. All of the songs are over four minutes, which was still a radio no-no even in the 1970s. However, it was the mini-opera “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” that became the cult classic. I remember trying to convince one of my pop-rock bands in the 1990s (we had a female singer) to cover the song, but no one wanted to take a chance. That ending when both of the lovers turn out to hate each other is pure Meat Loaf rock comedy!
Meat Loaf was also in a number of films, best known for appearing in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He made numerous TV appearances, and his videos of “Paradise” and “Bat Out Of Hell” were staples in the early days of MTV.
Watching him perform live with a band, you could see that Meat Loaf gave his all. Being overweight, the sweat would be coming down off of his face like a waterfall. He would always be wiping himself off, which reminded me of Luciano Pavarotti and his famous handkerchief. However, that voice of Meat Loaf was powerful. He could croon a love song, then belt out a hard rocker at the flip of a switch.
According to the New York Post, Meat Loaf had passed away from complications of COVID, but was a dedicated anti-vaxxer and anti-masker. He reportedly said, “If I die, I die, but I’m not going to be controlled.” I know how he felt, I feel the same way.
Meat Loaf, you will be missed by thousands for the music that you gave us, including me. However, I will miss you for the bravery to stand up to the system, even in death. I will always love this song.
Chew on it and comment.
Luegra 