Meat Loaf

See also: Meatloaf

created by mbm

(person) by Jet-Poop (16.7 min) (print) ? (I like it!) 1 C! Sat Nov 13 1999 at 9:43:04

A big 300-pound rock star from Texas. Born Marvin Lee Aday in Dallas in 1946, he was nicknamed "Meat Loaf" in high school because of his heavy frame.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and formed a group called Meat Loaf Soul and Popcorn Blizzard, which opened for the Who, the Stooges, and Ted Nugent. He acted and sang in the West Coast production of "Hair" and appeared in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" as Eddie.

His gigantic voice and incredible live performances, along with Jim Steinman's fantastic songwriting, helped make "Bat Out of Hell" one of the biggest albums of the 1970s.

Meat Loaf and Steinman had a nasty split after "Bat Out of Hell", and Meat's follow-up albums--"Dead Ringer", "Midnight at the Lost and Found", "Bad Attitude", and "Blind Before I Stop"--were not successful. Meat Loaf declared bankruptcy in the 1980s.

After that, he did nothing for several years, but he and Steinman reunited in 1993 for "Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell", which was as big as "Bat I", both musically and commercially. Meat Loaf recorded a follow-up ("Welcome to the Neighborhood") without Steinman, but the rumor mill says they may collaborate on another "Bat Out of Hell" album someday. Meat Loaf has also been acting more lately, appearing in films like "Spice World", "Black Dog", "Crazy in Alabama", and "Fight Club".

Of course, meat loaf is also a delicious meat dish.

(person) by Demeter (8.5 hr) (print) ? (I like it!) 4 C!s Wed Dec 05 2001 at 9:08:44

Marvin Lee Aday was born on September 27, 1947 in Dallas, Texas. His father apparently nicknamed him Meat when he was 2, because he was, to put it kindly, a chunky kid (you've got to love parents with such regard for the self esteem of their children, haven't you?). The "Loaf" was added later by schoolmates.

When he was nineteen, Marvin moved to Los Angeles, and tried to break into the music business starting bands called Popcorn Blizzard, Meat Loaf Soul and The Floating Circus, however rock 'n' roll success wasn't quick coming, so he earned his living as a car park attendant, before concentrating on working in theatre, in musicals like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar where his vocal range (which covers four octaves) was a major asset.

In 1970 Meat recorded an album with another member of the Hair cast, Stoney, but the eponymous LP was a commercial flop, so he remained in the theatre. 1973 he went to New York to perform on Broadway in Rainbow in New York. It was in this show that he attracted the attention of composer/lyricist Jim Steinman and the partnership between the two, that would later become legendary, began when Steinman arranged for Meat to perform in his musical More Than You Deserve, the title song later becoming a track on the Dead Ringer album.

In 1975, he recorded a song on Ted Nugent's album Free for All and accepted the part that was finally going to bring him public notice - Eddie, the (very) ex-Delivery Boy in Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Picture Show. Although it's only a bit part, Meat's performance of Hot Patootie, Bless My Soul showed that he was a powerful presence. After this, he and Steinman hooked up again on The National Lampoon Roadshow.

It was his next project that was to be the big break though - Jim Steinman started writing a musical called Never Land based on the tale of Peter Pan, and this was became the foundation of 1977's Bat out of Hell. The album, produced by Todd Rundgren, became the biggest selling LP up to that date, although it was later overtaken by Michael Jackson's Thriller. But more than this, it was the defining album of a generation, in the way that Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was definitive ten years earlier. There are very few people in their mid thirties-forties who can't quote at least one track from Bat out of Hell verbatim - many (like me) can quote them all.

The extensive tour that went along with the album, however, left Meat unable to record the planned next album Bad For Good with Steinman. Numerous rumours surrounding the reasons behind this circulated - some said that the strain of the tour had damaged his throat, while others claimed that he had started the album project but was haunted by physical and mental demons. Whatever, Steinman recorded the album solo.

Meat Loaf concentrated on film work, appearing in Americathon and Roadie before returning to the studio to record Dead Ringer with Steinman. Perhaps inevitably, this album couldn't compare with the commercial success of Bat, and bad blood surfaced between writer and singer, with Steinman filing several lawsuits against both Meat Loaf and the Epic record label about alleged contract breaches.

Meat's following three albums Midnight at the Lost and Found, Bad Attitude, and Blind Before I Stop failed to make a ripple, and the singer filed for bankruptcy and disappeared from public view for several years.

He began to appear on radar again in 1992 when he starred with Steve Martin in Leap of Faith and appeared in Wayne's World, but again it was a collaboration with Jim Steinman that re-established his prominence - the 1993 release Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell. Since then, Meat Loaf Aday (as he is known in his recent film roles) has never looked back. He's toured widely, with his son playing drums and his daughter singing back-up. I saw him on the Welcome to the Neighbourhood tour in 1996, and, if the album was less compelling than Bat II, the stage presence was as energetic, manic and impressive as ever. There have been no other albums apart from a greatest hits compilation, but he has continued to work in film (including Fight Club) and on TV. His current project is The Salton Sea, due for release in 2002.

Discography: (Tracks marked '=' were released as singles)

STONEY & MEATLOAF

(I'd Love To Be) As Heavy As Jesus
She Waits By The Window
It Takes All Kinds Of People
Game Of Love
Kiss Me Again
What You See Is What You Get =
Sunshine (Where's Heaven)
Jimmy Bell
Lady Be Mine
Jessica White

BAT OUT OF HELL

Bat Out Of Hell =
You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth =
Heaven Can Wait
All Revved Up With No Place To Go =
Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad
Paradise By The Dashboard Light
For Crying Out Loud

MEAT LOAF Featuring STONEY & MEATLOAF (Re-release including three additional tracks)

Stone Heart
Who Is The Leader Of The People
Everything Under The Sun

DEAD RINGER

Peel Out
I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us =
More Than You Deserve
I'll Kill You If You Don't Come Back
Read 'Em And Weep =
Nocturnal Pleasure
Deadringer For Love =
Everything Is Permitted

MIDNIGHT AT THE LOST & FOUND

Razor's Edge =
Midnight At The Lost And Found =
Wolf At Your Door
Keep Driving
The Promised Land
You Never Can Be Too Sure About The Girl
Priscilla
Don't You Look At Me Like That
If You Really Want To =
Fallen Angel

BAD ATTITUDE

Bad Attitude
Modern Girl =
Nowhere Fast =
Surf's Up
Piece Of The Action =
Jumpin' The Gun
Cheatin' In Your Dreams
Don't Leave Your Mark On Me
Sailor To A Siren

BLIND BEFORE I STOP

Execution Day
Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries =
Getting Away With Murder =
One More Kiss (Night Of The Soft Parade)
Blind Before I Stop =
Burning Down
Standing On The Outside
Masculine
Man And A Woman
Special Girl =
Rock 'n' Roll Hero

BAT OUT OF HELL II: BACK INTO HELL

I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) =
Life Is A Lemon (And I Want My Money Back)
Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through =
It Just Won't Quit
Out Of The Frying Pan (And Into The Fire)
Objects In The Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are =
Wasted Youth
Everything Louder Than Everything Else
Good Girls Go To Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)
Back Into Hell
Lost Boys And Golden Girls

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Where The Rubber Meets The Road
I'd Lie For You (And That's The Truth) =
Original Sin
45 Seconds Of Ecstasy
Running For The Red Light (I Gotta Life) =
Fiesta De Las Almas Perdidas
Left In The Dark
Not A Dry Eye In The House =
Amnesty Is Granted
If This Is The Last Kiss (Let's Make It Last All Night)
Martha
Where Angels Sing

THE VERY BEST OF MEAT LOAF

Home By NowNo Matter What
Life Is A Lemon (And I Want My Money Back)
You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)=
Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad =
Modern Girl =
Rock 'n' Roll Dreams Come Through =
Is Nothing Sacred =
Paradise By The Dashboard Light
Heaven Can Wait
I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)
A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste
I'd Lie For You (And That's The Truth)
Not A Dry Eye In The House
Nocturnal Pleasure
Deadringer For Love
Midnight At The Lost And Found
Objects In The Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are
Bat Out Of Hell

Filmography (from IMDB)

The Salton Sea (as Michael Lee Aday) .... Bo
Face to Face .... Driver
Trapped (as Meat Loaf Aday) .... Jim Hankins
Wishcraft (as Meat Loaf Aday) .... Sparky Shaw
51st State (as Meat Loaf Aday) .... Lizard
Crossover .... Himself
Focus (as Meat Loaf Aday) .... Fred
Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back .... Himself
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple (as Meat Loaf Aday) .... Aaron
A Galaxy Far Far Away .... Himself
Rustin .... Coach Trellingsby
Blacktop (as Meat Loaf Aday) .... Jack
Classic Albums - Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell .... Himself
The Hurdy Gurdy Man
Meat Loaf: VH-1 Storytellers .... Himself
Fight Club (as Meat Loaf Aday) .... Robert Paulson
Crazy in Alabama (as Meat Loaf Aday) .... Sheriff John Doggett
Smash Hits Poll Winners Party 1998 .... Himself
Outside Ozona .... Floyd Bibbs
Everything That Rises .... Red
The Mighty .... Iggy
Black Dog .... Red
Gunshy .... Lew Collins
Spice World .... Dennis
I'd Lie for You and That's the Truth .... Himself
To Catch a Yeti .... Big Jake Grizzly
Leap of Faith.... Hoover
The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag.... Larry
Wayne's World .... Tiny
Dead Ringer.... Meat Loaf/Marvin
Motorama.... Vern, Biker at American West Lounge
The Squeeze.... Titus
Stand by Me: Aids Day Benefit.... Himself
Vandemonium Plus.... Piglet
The Grand Knockout Tournament.... Himself
Out of Bounds .... Gil
Der Formel Eins Film (aka Feel the Motion) .... Himself
Musicourt.... Himself
Roadie .... Travis W. Redfish
Americathon.... Oklahoma Daredevil
Scavenger Hunt.... Scum , Head Biker of Peace Corps
The Rocky Horror Picture Show.... Eddie (Ex-Delivery Boy)

printable version
chaos

Meatloaf	Bat Out of Hell	Never Mind The Buzzcocks	Bat Out of Hell II
The Rocky Horror Picture Show	Jim Steinman	How I Almost Blew My Nuts Off	Fight Club
A pound of ground beef	Heinz 57	Objects in mirror are closer than they appear	You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth
Meatballs and Spaghetti	Statements that would be shocking to people living in 1975	I'd Do Anything	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sara Downing	Two out of three ain't bad	No-meat loaf	How to Cook Everything
Karaoke	Casio E10	Wayne's World	February 9, 2005

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