Rock Legend Meat Loaf Passes Away At 74

PhotoL: Super Festivals, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

When I was fifteen years old I walked into a Sam Goody’s record store in the Smith Haven Mall and saw the album cover to Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell which had just been released. I had never heard of Meat Loaf before, but the album cover looked so cool. I thought to myself “this has to be a good album”….so I brought it just based on the cover. I was completely blown away by what I heard when I got home as was so much of the rest of the world too. I became a huge Meat Loaf fans for the rest of my life. Now at 6o years old, it saddens me immensely to write of the passing of one of rock and roll’s most iconic rock stars of all time. Sadly, Meat Loaf’s family announced the news on Facebook just a few hours ago that Meat Loaf had passed away at the age of 74. The family did not give any cause of death. His wife and daughters who were at his side released the following statement.

Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight with his wife Deborah by his side. Daughters Pearl and Amanda and close friends have been with him throughout the last 24 hours.

His amazing career spanned 6 decades that saw him sell over 100 Million albums worldwide and star in over 65 movies, including “Fight Club,” “Focus,” “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Wayne’s World.” “Bat Out of Hell” remains one of the top 10 selling albums of all time.

We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man. We thank you for your understanding of our need for privacy at this time.

From his heart to your souls…don’t ever stop rocking!

Meat Loaf was an unknown in the rock and roll world before the release of Bat Out of Hell. While he had been around in the business and had performed in the Rocky Horror Picture shows’ film and stage productions, the rock and roll world was pretty much unaware of his powerful voice and his dynamic stage presence. That all changed when Bat Out Of Hell exploded around the world back in 1977. The album would become one of the biggest selling albums in classic rock history.

Produced by Todd Rundgren who seemed to really understand what Jim Steinman had been trying to attain with his songs, the album spawned many hits including the legendary “Paradise By The Dashboard Light,” that featured the much loved Yankee Clipper Phil Rizzuto in a mid song cameo that was truly unforgettable. The albums paid homage to the sounds of Phil Spector, Bruce Springsteen and Broadway in an incredible original way that sounded like nothing else when it was all done. Yet, it never would have worked without the powerful vocals of Meat Loaf who would become such a huge star from his performances on the album and the many concerts that would follow.

Meat Loaf was the perfect voice for Jim Steinman’s creations who also sadly passed away back in April. Meat Loaf never really had any hits during his career that were not written by Jim Steinman. It would be over fifteen years until Meat Loaf had another hit after Bat Out Of Hell. That would come when he teamed up with Jim Steinman for the sequel to Bat Out Of Hell called Bat Out Of Hell II which was fueled by the mega hit single “I Would Do Anything For Love (but I Won’t Do that).” A third Bat Out Of Hell album was released in 2006 that didn’t sell nowhere near as many copies as the first two. It was also the only Bat Out Of Hell album to feature other songwriters besides Jim Steinman.

It’s tough losing our heroes. Meat Loaf was a big one. It really hurts to write news stories about the passing of someone such as Meat Loaf. He brought so many of us us great joy throughout our lives from his music and his contributions to pop culture in so many ways. We will miss him dearly.

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