Meat Loaf: The career of the all-rounder with the eternal power ballad

meat loaf
The career of the all-rounder with the eternal power ballad

He first rose to fame with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. With “I’d Do Anything for Love” he wrote a rock ballad for eternity in the 1990s. The American rock musician Meat Loaf (1947-2022) has died at the age of 74. This was announced by his longtime agent Michael Greene on behalf of the family on January 21. A look back at the all-rounder who inspired both behind the microphone and in front of the camera…

The sad background of his stage name

Meat Loaf was born Marvin Lee Aday in Dallas, Texas in 1947 to a police officer father and a teacher father. However, his childhood was anything but carefree. His father is said to have been an alcoholic and violent. It was he who gave his son the nickname “Meat” when he was just two years old – due to his former overweight. A few years later, when the US musician was 13 and in high school, he got his second nickname after stepping on his football coach’s toe. From then on he called him “Meat Loaf”. Meat Loaf wrote the history of his nickname and later stage name in the songs “Tear Me Down” and “Couldn’t Have Said It Better”.

After his mother succumbed to cancer, Meat Loaf plucked up courage and left his father in 1967 at the age of 19 for Los Angeles. There everything should change for the native Texan…

While Meat Loaf auditioned there for roles in musicals and films during the day, he first worked as a parking lot attendant at night. He founded several bands and played in the opening acts for music greats such as Joe Cocker (1944-2014) and Iggy Pop (74). In 1971 his debut album “Stoney & Meat Loaf” was released.

After an engagement in the musical “Hair”, the composer Jim Steinman became aware of Meat Loaf, with whom he wrote the songs for his second album “Bat Out of Hell”. Before it was released in 1977, the musician landed his first big coup with the role of Eddie in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

Not long after, Meat Loaf met his first wife, Leslie G. Edmonds, in the recording studio. The two married in February 1979 and had their daughter Amanda Aday (41) in 1981, who is now an actress. At the time, his wife brought their daughter Pearl Aday (47), a singer, into the marriage, but they divorced in 2001. Meat Loaf was married to his second wife Deborah Gillespie from 2007 until his death.

Success and its downsides

“Bat Out of Hell” stayed in the charts for more than 500 weeks. However, the great success was accompanied by Meat Loaf’s first personal crisis. His world tour was followed by a loss of voice. Meat Loaf feared for his career. It also came with disputes between him and Steinman regarding further album production.

Only in the 1990s – and after a reconciliation with Steinman – did the second “Bat Out of Hell” album appear. Meat Loaf wrote music history with the comeback. The single “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” was Meat Loaf’s big break – including a Grammy award. The album stayed at the top of the charts in Germany, Great Britain and the USA for months.

More albums were released and Meat Loaf filled entire stadiums over the years, especially at his European concerts. However, his subsequent albums were unable to match the great success of “Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell”. His last album “Braver Than We Are” was released in 2016. After that, Meat Loaf went quiet.

Camera instead of microphone

In addition to music, the all-rounder has also tried his hand at acting over the years. Meat Loaf has been seen in supporting roles in films like “Wayne’s World”, “Fight Club” and “The Mighty”. Meat Loaf also appeared in a few episodes of the series “Dr. House”, “Glee”, “Elementary” and most recently “Ghost Wars”.

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