Meat Loaf, theatrical, surprising rock star, dies
Meat Loaf, a singer whose soaring, operatic rock anthems and mega-selling “Bat Out of Hell” album made him an unexpected pop star of the 1970s and 1980s and whose many acting roles included an integral part in the cult movie classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” died Thursday at age 74.
His family confirmed the death in a statement. Other details, including the cause of death, were not immediately disclosed.
Meat Loaf, born Marvin Lee Aday, was a character actor and second-rung rock singer before releasing his breakthrough album, “Bat Out of Hell,” in 1977. In singing overwrought songs about teen angst and lust, Meat Loaf created the persona of an uncertain, love-struck man-child whose theatrical vocal style took him to the edge of self-parody.
His best-known songs included “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night),” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” the 10minute title song of “Bat Out of Hell” and the later Grammywinning hit “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do
That).” All were written by Meat Loaf’s longtime musical collaborator and occasional antagonist Jim Steinman, but it was Meat Loaf who was the vehicle for the music, delivering energetic, emotionally earnest performances with an almost heroic sincerity.
His musical secret, Meat Loaf said, was that he approached every song like an actor preparing for a role.
“I can’t sing unless there’s a character,” he told the London Observer in 2003. “Because I don’t sing. It’s almost like being schizophrenic. I don’t sing – the character sings.”