Jim Steinman, Bat Out of Hell songwriter, dies at 73
Lena Hall and Bradley Dean in Bat Out of Hell in New York, Aug. 1, 2019. Emon Hassan/The New York Times.
by Neil Genzlinger
(NYT NEWS SERVICE)
.- Jim Steinman, who wrote all the songs on Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loafs operatic, teenage-angst-filled 1977 debut album, which remains one of the most successful records of all time, died Monday in Danbury, Connecticut. He was 73.
His longtime manager, David Sonenberg, announced the death. He said that Steinman had a stroke four years ago and that his health had recently been declining.
Steinman had a wide-ranging resume that included writing Bonnie Tylers 1983 No. 1 hit Total Eclipse of the Heart and serving as Andrew Lloyd Webbers lyricist on Whistle Down the Wind (1996). But his career-defining achievement was Bat Out of Hell, a record that no major label wanted but that has now sold tens of millions of copies.
Jim Steinham (Image: Facebook)
There’s thunder in the sky, and a killer’s in the bloodshot streets, and Jim Steinman has passed on, taking much of the ’70s with him.
The writer of Meatloaf’s
Bat Out of Hell, of
Bad For Good, of … er …
Bat Out of Hell Two, and numerous other classics including the insane
Total Eclipse of the Heart has gone, at the age of 73. Who dies at 73 these days. It’s almost gauche. Twenty seven or 52 or 90, please.
But how do you memorialise a man, the bulk of whose work was done in bubblegum pop turned into mini-operas, like Bayreuth done out of spun sugar? From one angle the man’s work was ridiculous. Yet from another it’s a triumph, wringing from mainstream American popular culture one last triumph, the culmination of a culture of self-confidence and continuity, the point at which the country, the empire, was still revelling in its own capacity to create a culture that conquered the world, but only through a parodic version
Grammy-winning composer Jim Steinman dies aged 73
Jim Steinman, the Grammy-winning composer who wrote Meat Loaf’s bestselling Bat Out Of Hell debut album as well as hits for Celine Dion, Air Supply and Bonnie Tyler, has died, his brother said. He was 73.
Bill Steinman told the Associated Press that his brother died on Monday from kidney failure and was ill for some time. He said Jim Steinman died in Connecticut near his home in Ridgefield, according to The Guardian.
“I miss him a great deal already,” Bill Steinman said by phone on Tuesday.
Jim Steinman was born on 1 November 1947 in New York City.
Total Eclipse of the Heart helped launch Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler to legendary status in 1983. She tweeted today that she was devastated to learn of his passing, leading the charge of tributes online:
I am absolutely devastated to learn of the passing of my long term friend and musical mentor Jim Steinman. pic.twitter.com/TvR01AUXKrâ Bonnie Tyler (@BonnieTOfficial) April 20, 2021  The enigmatic songwriter was known for drawing inspiration from the arts. His song It s All Coming Back to Me Now, most famously performed by French-Canadian icon Dion in 1996, was said to be inspired by Emily Brontë s
Wuthering Heights. Critics hailed Dion s recording as a highlight of her English-language music career, undoubtedly paving the way for her global, decade-spanning success.