Meat Loaf

This article is about the American entertainer. For the culinary dish, see Meatloaf.

Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf in 1971
Background information
Birth name	Marvin Lee Aday
Also known as	Michael Lee Aday
Born	(1947-09-27)September 27, 1947 Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Died	January 20, 2022(2022-01-20) (aged 74) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Rock hard rock heavy metal
Occupations	Singer actor
Years active	1968–2022
Labels	Rare Earth Cleveland International Epic RCA Arista Atlantic MCA Polydor Sanctuary Mercury Virgin
Website	meatloaf.net

Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. His Bat Out of Hell trilogy — Bat Out of Hell, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose — has sold more than 65 million albums worldwide. The first album stayed on the charts for over nine years and more than four decades after its release still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually, making it one of the best-selling albums in history.

After the commercial success of Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, and earning a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song "I'd Do Anything for Love", Aday nevertheless experienced some difficulty establishing a steady career within the United States. This did not stop him from becoming one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 100 million records. The key to this success was his retention of iconic status and popularity in Europe, especially the United Kingdom, where he received the 1994 Brit Award for best-selling album and single, appeared in the 1997 film Spice World, and ranked 23rd for the number of weeks spent on the UK charts in 2006. He ranks 96th on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

Aday appeared in over 50 films and television shows, sometimes as himself or as characters resembling his stage persona. His film roles include Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and Bob Paulson in Fight Club (1999). His early stage work included dual roles in the original Broadway cast of The Rocky Horror Show. He also appeared in the musical Hair, both on and off Broadway.

Early life

Aday was born in Dallas, Texas, on September 27, 1947, the only child of Wilma Artie (née Hukel), a school teacher and member of the Vo-di-o-do Girls gospel quartet, and Orvis Wesley Aday, a former police officer who went into business selling a homemade cough remedy with his wife and a friend under the name of the Griffin Grocery Company. Regarding his birth, Meat Loaf stated in an interview that he was "bright red and stayed that way for days", that his father said he looked like "nine pounds of ground chuck", and that he convinced hospital staff to put the name "Meat" on his crib. His father was an alcoholic who would go on drinking binges for days at a time, which started when he was medically discharged from the U.S. Army during World War II after being wounded by fragments from a mortar shell. Aday accompanied his mother in driving around all the bars in Dallas to look for his father, and often stayed with his grandmother.

In a 2010 interview with CBC television, Meat Loaf described being in Dallas in 1963 and meeting US President John F Kennedy when he arrived at Love Field in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. Shortly afterward, while he and a friend were driving on the city streets, he learned that the president had been assassinated and drove to Parkland Hospital. A US government official commandeered their car to get to the hospital immediately and Meat Loaf was ordered to stay in the parking lot until the official returned.

In 1965, Aday graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, having appeared in school stage productions such as Where's Charley? and The Music Man. Aday played football at the position of defensive tackle as a member of the Rebels and earned the nickname of "M.L.", but when his weight increased, this was changed to "Meatloaf". After attending college at Lubbock Christian College, he transferred to North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). After he received his inheritance from his mother's death, he rented an apartment in Dallas and isolated himself for three-and-a-half months until a friend found him. A short time later, he went to the airport and caught the next flight to Los Angeles.

Career

Early career

In Los Angeles, Aday formed his first band, Meat Loaf Soul, after a nickname coined by his football coach because of his weight. He was immediately offered three recording contracts, all of which he turned down. Meat Loaf Soul's first gig was in Huntington Beach in 1968 at the Cave, opening for Van Morrison's band Them and Question Mark and the Mysterians. While performing their cover of the Howlin' Wolf song "Smokestack Lightning", the smoke machine they used made too much smoke and the club had to be cleared out. Later, the band was the opening act at Cal State Northridge for Renaissance, Taj Mahal, and Janis Joplin.

The band then underwent several changes of lead guitarists, changing the name of the band each time. The new names included Popcorn Blizzard and Floating Circus. As Floating Circus, they opened for the Who, the Fugs, the Stooges, MC5, Grateful Dead, and the Grease Band. Their regional success led them to release a single, "Once Upon a Time", backed with "Hello". Then Meat Loaf joined the Los Angeles production of the musical Hair. Meat Loaf later stated that the biggest life struggle he had to overcome was not being taken seriously in the music industry. He compared his treatment to that of a "circus clown".

1970s

Meat Loaf and Stoney (Shaun Murphy), 1971

With the publicity generated from Hair, Meat Loaf was invited to record with Motown. They suggested he do a duet with Shaun "Stoney" Murphy, who had performed with him in Hair, to which he agreed. The Motown production team in charge of the album wrote and selected the songs while Meat Loaf and Stoney came in only to lay down their vocals. The album, titled Stoney & Meatloaf (with Meat Loaf spelled as one word) was completed in the summer of 1971 and released in September of that year. A single released in advance of the album, "What You See Is What You Get", reached number thirty-six on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart (the same chart is now titled Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) and seventy-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. To support their album, Meat Loaf and Stoney toured with Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers, opening for Richie Havens, the Who, the Stooges, Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, and Rare Earth. Meat Loaf left soon after Motown replaced his and Stoney's vocals from the one song he liked, "Who Is the Leader of the People?" with new vocals by Edwin Starr. The album was re-released following Meat Loaf's later success, with Stoney's vocals removed. Meat Loaf's version of "Who Is the Leader of the People?" was released; however, the album did not sell well.

In December 1972, Meat Loaf was in the original off-Broadway production of Rainbow at the Orpheum Theatre in New York. After the tour, Meat Loaf rejoined the cast of Hair, this time on Broadway. After he hired an agent, he auditioned for the Public Theater's production of More Than You Deserve. During the audition Meat Loaf met his future collaborator Jim Steinman. He sang a Stoney and Meatloaf favorite of his, "(I'd Love to Be) As Heavy as Jesus", and subsequently got the part of Rabbit, a maniac that blows up his fellow soldiers so they can "go home." Ron Silver and Fred Gwynne were also in the show. In the summer between the show's workshop production (April 1973) and full production (Nov 1973 – Jan 1974), he appeared in a Shakespeare in the Park production of As You Like It with Raul Julia and Mary Beth Hurt.

He recorded a single of "More Than You Deserve", with a cover of "Presence of the Lord" as the B-side. He was only able to save three copies of it because the record company did not allow its release. He recorded it again (1981) in a slightly rougher voice. The original single came out on RSO SO-407 with some promotional copies bearing both songs, while some were double-A side copies with "More Than You Deserve" in mono and stereo on them.

In late 1973, Meat Loaf was cast in the original L.A. Roxy cast of The Rocky Horror Show, playing the parts of Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott. Two other cast members from More Than You Deserve were also part of this cast; Graham Jarvis (playing The Narrator) and Kim Milford (playing Rocky). The success of the musical led to the filming of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in which Meat Loaf played only Eddie, a decision he said made the movie not as good as the musical. About the same time, Meat Loaf and Steinman started work on Bat Out of Hell. Meat Loaf convinced Epic Records to shoot videos for four songs, "Bat Out of Hell", "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth", and "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" convincing Lou Adler, the producer of Rocky Horror, to run the "Paradise" video as a trailer to the movie. Meat Loaf later returned occasionally to perform "Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul" for a special Rocky Horror reunion or convention, and rarely at his own live shows (one performance of which was released in the 1996 Live Around the World CD set).

During his recording of the soundtrack for Rocky Horror, Meat Loaf recorded two more songs: "Stand by Me" (a Ben E. King cover), and "Clap Your Hands". They remained unreleased until 1984, when they appeared as B-sides to the "Nowhere Fast" single. In 1976, Meat Loaf recorded lead vocals for Ted Nugent's album Free-for-All when regular Nugent lead vocalist Derek St. Holmes temporarily quit the band. Meat Loaf sang lead on five of the album's nine tracks. As on the "Stoney & Meatloaf" album, he was credited as Meatloaf (one word) on the "Free-for-All" liner notes. That same year, Meat Loaf appeared in his final theatrical show in New York City, the short-lived Broadway production of Gower Champion's rock musical Rockabye Hamlet. It closed two weeks into its initial run.

A printed ad for a Meat Loaf concert in 1978

Meat Loaf and Steinman started Bat Out of Hell in 1972, but did not get serious about it until the end of 1974. Meat Loaf decided to leave theater and concentrate exclusively on music. Then the National Lampoon show Lemmings opened on Broadway and it needed an understudy for John Belushi, a close friend of Meat Loaf since 1972. It was at the Lampoon show that Meat Loaf met Ellen Foley, the co-star who sang "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" and "Bat Out of Hell" with him on the album Bat Out of Hell.

After the Lampoon show ended, Meat Loaf and Steinman spent time seeking a record deal. Their approaches were rejected by each record company, because their songs did not fit any specific recognized music industry style. Finally, they performed the songs for Todd Rundgren, who decided to produce the album as well as play lead guitar on it (other members of Rundgren's band Utopia also lent their musical talents). They then shopped the record around, but they still had no takers until Cleveland International Records decided to take a chance. In October 1977, Bat Out of Hell was finally released.

Meat Loaf and Steinman formed the band The Neverland Express to tour in support of Bat Out of Hell. Their first gig was opening for Cheap Trick in Chicago. He gained national exposure as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on March 25, 1978. In 1978, the singer jumped off a stage in Ottawa, Ontario, breaking his leg. He finished his tour performing in a wheelchair.

Bat Out of Hell has sold an estimated 43 million copies globally (15 million of those in the United States), making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. In the United Kingdom alone, its 2.1 million sales put it in 38th place. Despite peaking at No. 9 and spending only two weeks in the top ten in 1981, it has now spent 485 weeks on the UK Albums Chart (May 2015), a figure bettered only by Rumours by Fleetwood Mac with 487 weeks. In Australia, it knocked the Bee Gees off the No. 1 spot and became the biggest-selling album of all time in that country. Bat Out of Hell has, as of December 2020, spent a total of 522 weeks in the Top 200 in the UK chart.

1980s

Steinman started to work on Bad for Good, the intended follow-up to 1977's Bat Out of Hell, in 1979. During that time, a combination of touring, drugs and exhaustion had caused Meat Loaf to lose his voice. Without a singer, and pressured by the record company, Steinman decided that he should sing on Bad for Good himself, and write a new album for Meat Loaf; the result was Dead Ringer, which was later released in 1981, after the release of Steinman's Bad for Good. After playing the role of Travis Redfish in the movie Roadie, Meat Loaf's singing voice returned, and he started to work on his new album in 1980. Steinman had written five new songs which, in addition to the track "More Than You Deserve" (sung by Meat Loaf in the stage musical of the same name) and a reworked monologue, formed the album Dead Ringer, which was produced by Meat Loaf and Stephan Galfas, with backing tracks produced by Todd Rundgren, Jimmy Iovine, and Steinman. (In 1976, Meat Loaf appeared on the track "Keeper Keep Us", from the Intergalactic Touring Band's self-titled album, produced by Galfas.) The song "Dead Ringer for Love" was the pinnacle of the album, and launched Meat Loaf to even greater success after it reached No. 5 in the United Kingdom and stayed in the UK Singles Chart for 19 weeks. Cher provided the lead female vocals in the song.

A comedy/documentary movie was filmed to accompany the release of Dead Ringer, written and produced by Meat Loaf's managers David Sonenberg and Al Dellentash. It featured Meat Loaf playing two roles: himself and a Meat Loaf fan, 'Marvin'. Sonenberg persuaded CBS to advance money for the making of the movie, which was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and won some favorable reviews. The album reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, and three singles were released from the album: "Dead Ringer for Love" (with Cher), "I'm Gonna Love Her for Both of Us", and "Read 'Em and Weep".

Following a dispute with his former songwriter Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf was contractually obliged to release a new album. Struggling for time, and with, it seemed, no resolution to his arguments with Steinman on the horizon (eventually they sued each other), he was forced to find songwriters wherever he could. The resulting album was Midnight at the Lost and Found. According to Meat Loaf, Steinman had given the songs "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" to Meat Loaf for this album. However, Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay for Steinman. Bonnie Tyler's version of "Eclipse" and Air Supply's version of "Making Love" topped the charts together, holding No. 1 and No. 2 for a period during 1983.

Meat Loaf is credited with having been involved in the writing of some of the tracks on the album, including the title track, "Midnight at the Lost and Found". The title track later regularly formed part of Meat Loaf concerts, and was one of few 1980s songs to feature on the 1998 hit album The Very Best of Meat Loaf. This was Meat Loaf's final album to be released through Epic. It was also his last album release via Sony Music until 2011's Hell in a Handbasket. On December 5, 1981, Meat Loaf and the Neverland Express were the musical guests for Saturday Night Live where he and former fellow Rocky Horror Picture Show actor Tim Curry performed a skit depicting a One-Stop Rocky Horror Shop. Later, Curry performed "The Zucchini Song" and Meat Loaf & the Neverland Express performed "Bat Out of Hell" and "Promised Land".

In 1984, Meat Loaf went to England to record the album Bad Attitude; it was released that year. It features two songs by Steinman, both previously recorded. It was a minor success with a few commercially successful singles, the most successful being "Modern Girl". The American release on RCA Records was in April 1985 and features a slightly different track list, as well as alternate mixes for some songs. The title track features a duet with the Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey. "Modern Girl" was the first single taken from the album but was only a moderate success on the European Charts. In 1985, Meat Loaf took part in some comedy sketches in the UK, with Hugh Laurie. Meat Loaf also tried stand-up comedy, appearing several times in Connecticut.

Meat Loaf worked with songwriter John Parr on his next album, Blind Before I Stop, which was released in 1986. It features production, mixing, and general influence by Frank Farian. Meat Loaf gave songwriting another shot with this album and composed three of the songs on the album. Released as a single (in the United Kingdom) was "Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries", which was a duet with rock singer John Parr. Another single released in the United Kingdom was "Special Girl". Meat Loaf performed "Thrashin" for the soundtrack of the 1986 skateboarding film Thrashin' (directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin).

1990s

Following the success of Meat Loaf's touring in the 1980s, he and Steinman began work during December 1990 on the sequel to Bat Out of Hell. After two years, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell was finished. The artist's then manager, Tommy Manzi, later told HitQuarters that music industry insiders were wholly unenthusiastic about the idea of a comeback, and considered the project "a joke". The immediate success of Bat Out of Hell II saw the album going on to sell over 15 million copies, and the single "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" reaching number one in 28 countries. Meat Loaf won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo in 1994 for "I'd Do Anything for Love". This song stayed at No. 1 in the UK chart for seven consecutive weeks. The single featured a female vocalist who was credited only as "Mrs. Loud". Mrs. Loud was later identified as Lorraine Crosby, a performer from England. Meat Loaf promoted the song with American vocalist Patti Russo, who performed lead female vocals on tour with him. In Germany, Meat Loaf was commercially successful following the release of Bat Out of Hell II. Also in 1994, he sang the U.S. national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. He released the single "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through", which reached No. 13 in the United States.

In 1995, Meat Loaf released his seventh studio album, Welcome to the Neighborhood. The album went platinum in the United States and the United Kingdom. It included three singles that hit the top 40, including "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" (which reached No. 13 in the United States and No. 2 in the UK), and "Not a Dry Eye in the House" (which reached No. 7 in the UK chart). I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth) was a duet with Patti Russo, who had been touring with Meat Loaf and singing on his albums since 1993. Of the twelve songs on the album, two are written by Steinman. Both are cover versions, the "Original Sin" from Pandora's Box's Original Sin album and "Left in the Dark" first appeared on Steinman's own Bad for Good as well as the 1984 album Emotion by Barbra Streisand. His other singles, "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" and "Not a Dry Eye in the House", were written by Diane Warren.

In 1998, Meat Loaf released The Very Best of Meat Loaf. Although not reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom, it went platinum in December of that year, and was already platinum around the rest of the world just after its release. The album featured all of Meat Loaf's best-known songs, a few from his less popular albums from the 1980s, and three new songs co-written by Steinman – two with Andrew Lloyd Webber and one with Don Black, "Is Nothing Sacred", released as a single. The single version of this song is a duet with Patti Russo, whereas the album version is a solo song by Meat Loaf. The album did not feature any songs from his 1986 album Blind Before I Stop.

2000s

Meat Loaf performing in New York in 2004

In 2003, Meat Loaf released his album Couldn't Have Said It Better. For only the third time in his career, Meat Loaf released an album without any songs written by Steinman (not counting live bonus tracks on special edition releases). Although Meat Loaf claimed that Couldn't Have Said It Better was "the most perfect album [he] did since Bat Out of Hell", it was not as commercially successful. The album was a minor commercial success worldwide and reached No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart, accompanied by a sellout world tour to promote the album and some of Meat Loaf's best selling singles. One such performance on his world tour was at Sydney's 2003 NRL grand final. There were many writers for the album including Diane Warren and James Michael, who were both asked to contribute to his 2006 album, Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. The album featured duets with Patti Russo and Meat Loaf's daughter Pearl Aday. Upon the album's release, Meat Loaf told Paul Stenning, "The more you discover it the better the record gets for you. I think we did that the correct way, everyone involved. I can sense that from how the record is sustaining itself without a lot of airplay."

On November 17, 2003, during a performance at London's Wembley Arena, on his Couldn't Have Said It Better tour, he collapsed of what was later diagnosed as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. The following week, he underwent a surgical procedure intended to correct the problem. As a result, Meat Loaf's insurance agency did not allow him to perform for any longer than one hour and 45 minutes. From February 20 to 22, 2004, during an Australian tour, Meat Loaf performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, in a set of concerts titled Bat Out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The performances included the Australian Boys' Choir singing back-up on a Couldn't Have Said It Better track, "Testify". The show was released as a DVD and a CD called Meat Loaf and The Neverland Express featuring Patti Russo Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. As well as singing his best-known songs, Meat Loaf sang a cover version of the hit single "Black Betty". During this tour he also sang "Only When I Feel", a song meant to appear on his then-upcoming album Bat Out of Hell III. The song subsequently turned into "If It Ain't Broke (Break It)".

Meat Loaf and Steinman had begun to work on the third installment of Bat Out of Hell when Steinman suffered some health setbacks, including a heart attack. According to Meat Loaf, Steinman was too ill to work on such an intense project while Steinman's manager said health was not an issue. Steinman had registered the phrase "Bat Out of Hell" as a trademark in 1995. In May 2006, Meat Loaf sued Steinman and his manager in federal District Court in Los Angeles, seeking $50 million and an injunction against Steinman's use of the phrase. Steinman and his representatives attempted to block the album's release. An agreement was reached in July 2006. According to Virgin, "the two came to an amicable agreement that ensured that Jim Steinman's music would be a continuing part of the 'Bat Out of Hell' legacy." Denying reports in the press over the years of a rift between Meat Loaf and Steinman, Meat Loaf told Dan Rather that he and Steinman never stopped talking, and that the lawsuits reported in the press were between lawyers and managers, and not between Meat Loaf and Steinman.

The album was released on October 31, 2006, and was produced by Desmond Child. The first single from the album "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (featuring Marion Raven) was released on October 16, 2006. It entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 6, giving Meat Loaf his highest UK chart position in nearly 11 years. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, and sold 81,000 copies in its opening week, but after that did not sell as well in the United States and yielded no hit singles, although it was certified gold. The album also featured duets with Patti Russo and Jennifer Hudson. In October 2006, Meat Loaf's private jet had to make an emergency landing at London Stansted Airport after the plane's forward landing gear failed.

In the weeks following the release of Bat III, Meat Loaf and the NLE (the Neverland Express) did a brief tour of the U.S. and Europe, known as the Bases Loaded Tour. In 2007, a newer, bigger worldwide tour began, The Seize the Night Tour, with Marion Raven, serving as a supporting act, throughout the European and American tour. Portions of the tour in February 2007 were featured in the documentary Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise, directed by Bruce David Klein. The film was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival in 2007. It opened in theaters in March 2008 and was released on DVD in May 2008.

Meat Loaf performing at Birmingham's NEC arena, 2007

During a performance at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on October 31, 2007, at the opening of "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" he suggested that the crowd of thousands should enjoy the performance as it was the last of his career. He attempted to sing the first line of the song, but instead said "Ladies and gentlemen, I love you, thank you for coming, but I can no longer continue." Removing the jacket he was wearing, he thanked the audience for 30 years, said "goodbye forever" and left the stage. His tour promoter, Andrew Miller, denied that this was the end for Meat Loaf and said he would continue touring after suitable rest. The next two gigs in the tour, at the NEC and Manchester Evening News Arena were cancelled because of "acute laryngitis" and were rescheduled for late November. The concert scheduled for November 6, 2007, at London's Wembley Arena was also cancelled. Meat Loaf cancelled his entire European tour for 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal cords. After releasing a statement he said "It really breaks my heart not to be able to perform these shows," adding "I will be back."

On June 27, 2008, Meat Loaf returned to the stage in Plymouth, England, for the first show of The Casa de Carne Tour alongside his longtime duet partner Patti Russo, who debuted one of her own original songs during his show. The tour continued through July and August with twenty dates throughout England, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. Six U.S. showdates were also added for October and December 2008.

In May 2009, Meat Loaf began work on the album Hang Cool Teddy Bear in the studio with Green Day's American Idiot album producer Rob Cavallo, working with such writers as Justin Hawkins, Rick Brantley, Ollie Wride, Tommy Henriksen, and Jon Bon Jovi. Though not much was revealed officially to begin with, Meat Loaf gave away some information through videos he posted on Twitter and YouTube. The album is based on the story of a fictional soldier, whose "story" furnishes the theme. During his concert of March 19, 2011, held outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Meat Loaf explained that he had wanted an insert put with the album to explain what the premise of the album was, but he said there were too many "bleeping" record label politics and it did not get done. He went on to tell the audience that the story was of a soldier who, being wounded, had his life flash before his eyes, and the songs were telling the story of his life.

The album is based on a short story by the Los Angeles-based screenwriter and director Kilian Kerwin, a long-time friend of the singer. Hugh Laurie and Jack Black both perform on the album, Laurie plays piano on the song "If I Can't Have You", while Black sings a duet with Meat Loaf on "Like A Rose". Patti Russo and Kara DioGuardi also duet on the album. Queen's Brian May features on guitar along with Steve Vai. It received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The first single from the album, "Los Angeloser", was released for download on April 5 with the album charting at number 4 in the UK Albums Chart on April 25, 2010. The Hang Cool Tour followed in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Patti Russo accompanied him on the tour, continuing through mid-2011.

2010s

In May 2011, Meat Loaf confirmed in a video on his YouTube account, that he was in the process of recording a new album called Hell in a Handbasket. According to Meat Loaf, the album was recorded and produced by Paul Crook; Dough McKean did the mix with input from Rob Cavallo. The album features songs called "All of Me", "Blue Sky", "The Giving Tree", "Mad, Mad World", and a duet with Patti Russo called "Our Love and Our Souls". On July 6, the album had to be finished for the record company. They released it in October 2011 for Australia and New Zealand, and February 2012 for the rest of the world. Meat Loaf said, "It's really the first record I've ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what's going on at the moment." The "Mad, Mad World" tour in connection with the album Hell in a Handbasket was launched in late June 2012. For the tour Meat Loaf said, "People who come to Meat Loaf shows know what to expect. They know they're going to get full-on energy with the best rock 'n' roll band in the world. That's not an opinion. That's the truth."

At the 2011 Australian Football League Grand Final, the pre-match entertainment was headlined by a 12-minute medley performed by Meat Loaf. The performance was panned as the worst in the 34-year history of AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment in a multitude of online reviews by football fans and Australian sport commentators. Meat Loaf responded by calling online critics "butt-smellers", and the AFL "jerks", saying "I will go out of my way to tell any artist, 'Do not play for them.'" In response to this criticism, the AFL changed the format of the entertainment, effective from the 2012 Grand Final, to have a small pre-match show, a larger half-time show, and, for the first time, a free concert open to the public at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after the match.

Meat Loaf said in 2011 that he planned to release a Christmas album called Hot Holidays. As of his death in January 2022, the album had not yet been released.

In media interviews to promote his 2013 "Last at Bat" tour, Meat Loaf said he would work with Steinman again on an upcoming album called Brave and Crazy. The album was released in 2016 as Braver Than We Are on September 9 (Europe) and September 16 (North America). It features 10 tracks. Meat Loaf claimed in several interviews that he would be recording reworked versions of Steinman's songs "Braver Than We Are", "Speaking in Tongues", "Who Needs the Young", and "More" (previously recorded by the Sisters of Mercy) for the album. Additionally, the song "Prize Fight Lover", originally issued as a download-only bonus track for Hang Cool Teddy Bear, was re-recorded for the album.

Later projects and Jim Steinman's death

In January 2020, during an interview for The Mirror, Meat Loaf announced "I'm not old. I've got songs for another record and I'm reading a script." In a February 2020 Facebook post, Meat Loaf announced his intention to record a new album containing 'four or five new tracks', including Steinman's "What Part of My Body Hurts the Most" (a song long requested by fans, but previously under contract restrictions for the Bat Out of Hell musical), along with the original 1975 demo recordings made for the Bat Out of Hell album. Meat Loaf's longtime collaborator Jim Steinman died on April 19, 2021, of kidney failure.

In a Facebook post in November 2021, he further elaborated that he and his band would be returning to the studio in January 2022 to record seven new songs for a forthcoming album, which would also include live tracks from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. At the time of his death, the recording process had not yet begun.

Acting

In addition to his role in 1975 for Rocky Horror Picture Show, Aday also had a career as an actor in television and film. He played a small role as a doorman/bouncer in Wayne's World in 1992. He appeared as the Spice Girls' bus driver in the 1997 movie Spice World and as Red in the 1998 thriller/drama film Black Dog alongside Patrick Swayze and Randy Travis. In David Fincher's 1999 film Fight Club he played Robert Paulson, a man who joins a men's self-help group. He also reportedly assisted director David Fincher with the editing of the film.

In 2000 he played a character in the sixth-season episode "Gettysburg" of The Outer Limits. Meat Loaf appears (uncredited) as Jack Black's father in the 2006 film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, providing vocals on the film's opening song "Kickapoo".

On October 26, 2010, Meat Loaf (credited as Meat Loaf Aday) appeared on the Fox television series Glee in "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", the series' tribute episode to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 2011, he was a contestant in season 11 of Celebrity Apprentice, during which he was eliminated after task number 12. In the course of the contest he had a notable dramatic showdown with fellow contestant Gary Busey which was then televised. He also had small roles in the shows South Park, Elementary, House M.D., and Monk.

Personal life

Family and views

Meat Loaf being interviewed in 2009.

In December 1978, Meat Loaf went to work with Steinman in Woodstock, New York, where his future wife, Leslie G. Edmonds, was working as a secretary at Bearsville Studios; they were married within a month. From a previous marriage, Leslie had a daughter named Pearl, who later married Anthrax rhythm guitarist Scott Ian. Meat Loaf adopted Pearl in 1979 and her last name was changed to Aday. Also in 1979, he and his family moved to Stamford, Connecticut. In 1981, Leslie gave birth to Amanda Aday, later a television actress. For a brief time after Amanda's birth, they lived in Westport, Connecticut. Meat Loaf said that Pearl once came home crying while in fifth grade "because she had the wrong type of jeans", prompting him to move the family to Redding, Connecticut, which he said "is much more of a blue-collar, working-class kind of town, and it really didn't make any difference what kind of jeans you were wearing". He coached children's baseball or softball in each of the Connecticut towns where he lived. In 1998, the family relocated to California. Meat Loaf and Leslie divorced in 2001. He married Deborah Gillespie in 2007.

In 1984, Meat Loaf legally changed his first name from Marvin to Michael. He was a fan of the New York Yankees and a fantasy baseball player, participating in multiple leagues every season. He also expressed support for the English football team Hartlepool United FC. In June 2008, he took part in a football penalty shootout competition on behalf of two cancer charities in Newcastle upon Tyne. He auctioned shots to the 100 highest bidders and then took his place between the goal posts. He also participated in celebrity golf tournaments. He was one of the celebrity drivers in the 2005 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, finishing 12th overall.

In 2003, while reporting on Meat Loaf's support for Hartlepool United FC, the BBC claimed that he was seeking a residence in the team's hometown. In 2008, he resided in Calabasas, California. During a June 2012 show in Austin, Texas, he announced that he had moved to Austin a month prior.

He revealed that he had social anxiety and said, "I never meet anybody much in a social situation because when I go into a social situation, I have no idea what to do." He said that he does not "even go anywhere" and that he felt that he led a "boring life", in having said that he "completely freaked" when having to attend a party and that he was "so nervous, so scared" of the idea. He also said that he spent time with fellow musicians mainly in work-related situations rather than social ones.

Meat Loaf was a vegetarian from 1981 to 1992. Discussing the confusion caused by his contrasting stage name and dietary habits, he once told Entertainment Weekly, "There've been vegetarians who wouldn't speak to me because of my name. I was sitting with Jon Bon Jovi at one of those awards things, and I say, 'Oh, man, I love k.d. lang. I'd really like to meet her.' They went to find out if it was okay, and she goes, 'No. His name is Meat Loaf.' I stopped being a k.d. lang fan after that." He declared in 2019 that he would try veganism for Veganuary in 2020, and would be partnering with UK restaurant chain Frankie & Benny's to promote its vegan options.

Health

In 2003 he was diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome.

In July 2011, Meat Loaf fainted on stage while performing in Pittsburgh. He collapsed again while on stage in Edmonton in June 2016 due to severe dehydration, after having already cancelled two other shows due to illness. The playback containing his pre-recorded, voice-over vocal track continued while he lay unconscious on the stage, which caused controversy over lip syncing.

At the 2019 Texas Frightmare horror convention, Meat Loaf fell off an interview stage and broke his collarbone.

Politics

Meat Loaf was not officially registered with any political party. He performed at the 1997 pre-inauguration ball for re-elected Democratic President Bill Clinton and attended the 2001 inauguration of Republican President George W. Bush. He donated to the presidential campaigns of Republican candidates Rick Santorum and John McCain, the latter of whom became the party's nominee in the 2008 presidential election.

On October 25, 2012, Meat Loaf endorsed Mitt Romney for president, citing poor relations with Russia as a major reason he had been "arguing for Mitt Romney for a year". He said, "I have never been in any political agenda in my life, but I think that in 2012 this is the most important election in the history of the United States." He then said there are "storm clouds" over the United States and "thunder storms" over Europe: "There are hail storms – and I mean major hail storms! – in the Middle East. There are storms brewing through China, through Asia, through everywhere." The same day, he performed "America the Beautiful" standing next to Romney.

In a 2017 interview with Billboard, he made positive remarks about U.S. President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump Jr.; they had worked together on The Celebrity Apprentice in 2011. In an interview with the Daily Mail in 2021, he called Greta Thunberg "brainwashed" due to her views on climate change.

He was critical of restrictions brought about in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, telling the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in August 2021, "I hug people in the middle of COVID ... I understood stopping life for a little while, but they cannot continue to stop life because of politics." He described a person who called for people on airplanes to wear masks as a "Nazi" and "power-mad". Meat Loaf then said: "If I die, I die, but I'm not going to be controlled."

Death

Meat Loaf died in Nashville, Tennessee on the evening of January 20, 2022, at the age of 74 from COVID. His daughter had posted to Instagram on January 7: "We are not sick, but we have too many friends and family testing positive right now, positive but doing ok". Several musicians, including Bonnie Tyler, Cher, and Brian May, posted tributes, as did former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Discography

Main article: Meat Loaf discography

• Bat Out of Hell (1977)
• Dead Ringer (1981)
• Midnight at the Lost and Found (1983)
• Bad Attitude (1984)
• Blind Before I Stop (1986)
• Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993)
• Welcome to the Neighbourhood (1995)
• Couldn't Have Said It Better (2003)
• Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006)
• Hang Cool Teddy Bear (2010)
• Hell in a Handbasket (2011)
• Braver Than We Are (2016)

Tours

• Bat Out of Hell Tour (1977–1978)
• Dead Ringer Tour (1981)
• In Europe '82 (1982)
• World Tour '83 (1983)
• Bad Attitude World Tour (1984–1985)
• 20/20 World Tour (1987)
• Lost Boys and Golden Girls / Bat Out of Hell 10th Anniversary World Tour (1988)
• World Tour '89 (1989)
• World Tour '90 (1990)
• Off Tour (1991–1992)
• Bat Out of Hell II Tour (1993)
• Everything Louder Tour (1994)
• Born to Rock World Tour (1996)
• German Festival Tour (1997)
• The Very Best of World Tour (1999)
• The Storytellers Tour (1999–2000)
• Night of the Proms (2001)
• Just Having Fun Summer Tour (2002)
• Just Having Fun Winter Tour (2002–2003)
• The Last World Tour (2003–2004)
• Hair of the Dog Tour (2005–2006)
• Bases Are Loaded Tour (2006)
• Seize the Night Tour / Three Bats Live Tour (2007)
• The Casa de Carne Tour (2008)
• Hang Cool Tour (2010–2011)
• Guilty Pleasure Tour (2011)
• Mad Mad World Tour (2012)
• Last at Bat Farewell Tour (2013)
• Rocktellz & Cocktails (2013–2014)
• In Concert Tour (2015–2016)

Filmography

Film

Year	Titel	Role	Notes
1962	State Fair	Boy In Stands	Uncredited
1975	The Rocky Horror Picture Show	Eddie
1979	Americathon	Roy Budnitz
1979	Scavenger Hunt	Scum
1980	Roadie	Travis W. Redfish
1981	Dead Ringer	Meat Loaf / Marvin
1986	Out of Bounds	Gil
1986	The Squeeze	Titus
1991	Motorama	Vern
1992	Wayne's World	"Tiny"
1992	The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag	Lawrence
1992	Leap of Faith	Hoover
1997	Spice World	Dennis
1998	Gunshy	Lew Collins
1998	Black Dog	"Red"
1998	The Mighty	Iggy Lee
1998	Outside Ozona	Floyd Bibbs
1999	Crazy in Alabama	Sheriff John Doggett
1999	Fight Club	Robert "Bob" Paulson
1999	The Diary of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man (hu)
2001	Face to Face	Driver
2001	Rustin	Coach Trellingsby
2001	Focus	Fred
2001	The 51st State	"The Lizard"
2001	Polish Spaghetti	Food Critic
2002	The Salton Sea	Bo
2002	Wishcraft	Detective "Sparky" Shaw
2003	Learning Curves	Timmons
2004	A Hole in One	Billy
2005	Extreme Dating	Marshall Jackson
2005	Chasing Ghosts	Richard Valbruno
2005	Crazylove	John
2005	BloodRayne	Leonid
2006	The Pleasure Drivers	Dale
2006	Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny	Bud Black	Uncredited
2007	Urban Decay	Rick "Zero"
2007	History Rocks	Himself
2008	Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise	Himself
2010	Burning Bright	Howie	Uncredited
2010	Beautiful Boy	Motel Manager
2010	Polish Bar	Joe
2011	Absolute Killers	Dan
2013	The Moment	Sergeant Goodman
2013	All American Christmas Carol	Ross
2014	Stage Fright	Roger McCall
2014	Wishin' and Hopin'	Monsignor Muldoon

Television

Year	Titel	Role	Notes
1978	Saturday Night Live	Musical Guest	Episode: "Christopher Lee/Meat Loaf"
1981	Saturday Night Live	Musical Guest	Episode: "Tim Curry/Meat Loaf/The Neverland Express"
1985	The Equalizer	Sugar Fly Simon	Episode: "Bump and Run"
1987	The Grand Knockout Tournament	Himself	Television special
1988	Monsters	Dr. Willard Wingite	Episode: "Where's the Rest of Me?"
1992	Lightning Force	Richard Talbot	Episode: "MIA"
1992	Tales from the Crypt	Mr. Chumley	Episode: "What's Cookin'?"
1992	Psyched for Snuppa	Snuppa (voice)	TV Pilot
1995	To Catch a Yeti	Jake "Big Jake" Grizzly	TV Movie
1997	Dead Man's Gun	Aaron Freemont	Episode: "The Mail Order Bride"
1997	Nash Bridges	Charlie Pep	Episode: "Wild Card"
1998	South Park	Himself	Episode: "Chef Aid"
2000	The Outer Limits	CSA Colonel Angus Devine	Episode: "Gettysburg"
2000	Blacktop	Jack	TV Movie
2001	The Ballad of Lucy Whipple	Amos "Rattlesnake Jake" Frogge	TV Movie
2001	Trapped	Jim Hankins	TV Movie
2006	Masters of Horror	Jake Feldman	Episode: "Pelts"
2007	Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve	Himself
2007	Private Sessions	Himself	Episode: "Meat Loaf"
2007	Go-Phone Commercial	Singing Father
2008	The F Word	Himself
2009	Hannity	Himself	Panel member
2009	House	Eddie	Episode: "Simple Explanation"
2009	Citizen Jane	Detective Jack Morris	TV Movie
2009	Bookaboo	Himself	Episode: "The Lamb Who Came for Dinner"
2009	Don't Forget the Lyrics!	Himself	He won $500,000 for The Painted Turtle
2009	Ghost Hunters	Himself	Episode: "Bat Out of Hell"
2009	Monk	Reverend Hadley Jorgensen	Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Voodoo Curse"
2010	Popstar to Operastar	Himself	Judge
2010	Spicks and Specks	Himself
2010	WWE Raw	Himself
2010	Glee	Barry Jeffries	Episode: "The Rocky Horror Glee Show"
2010	Ghost Hunters	Himself	Episode: "Sloss Furnaces"
2010	This Week	Himself
2011	The Celebrity Apprentice	Himself
2012	Fairly Legal	Charlie DeKay	Episode: "Kiss Me, Kate"
2017	Elementary	Herman Wolf	Episode: "The Ballad of Lady Frances"
2017–2018	Ghost Wars	Doug Rennie	Main cast

Books

• Meat Loaf (1999). To Hell and Back: An Autobiography. ReganBooks. ISBN 0-06-039293-2.

See also

• List of best-selling music artists

External links

• Official website
• Meat Loaf at AllMusic
• Meat Loaf discography at Discogs
• Meat Loaf at IMDb
• Meat Loaf at the Internet Broadway Database