R.I.P. legendary songwriter Jim Steinman
Variety, songwriter, composer, and producer Jim Steinman—best known for writing all of Meat Loaf’s best songs, not to mention his work with Celine Dion, Bonnie Tyler, and Air Supply—died on Monday. A specific cause of death has not been shared, but the news was initially confirmed by the Connecticut state medical examiner and
TMZ says there was a “medical emergency call” to his home earlier this week. Steinman was 73.
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One of the most iconic songwriters of all time, Steinman was an undeniable master of a very specific kind of song, generally involving grand, sweeping romantic tragedies and tongue-in-cheek takedowns of traditional rock and roll ballads. “Paradise By The Dashboard Lights,” for example, is an epic ode to having sex in a car and the extremely big feeling of being a teenager in love, and it ends with the narrator of the song praying for the end of time because he’s so sick of being with the woman he promised to love forever. Similarly, “Bat Out Of Hell” is a classic “I’m going to get out of this rotten small town and be free” song, but it’s about dying in a motorcycle crash.