Rolling Stone Meat Loaf Remembers Jim Steinman: ‘He Was the Centerpiece of My Life’
In an emotional, two-day interview, Meat Loaf looks back at the ups and downs of his five-decade saga with the writer of his biggest hits. “We belonged heart and soul to each other,” he says. “We didn’t
know each other. We Michael Putland/Getty Images
Jim Steinman was such a titanic figure in Meat Loaf’s life, that sharing their saga in a single phone call to Rolling Stone after Steinman’s death simply was not possible. It took two long calls across two days to get it across, and at the end of the first one, Meat Loaf broke down and sobbed uncontrollably over the loss of his friend. “Oh my God!” he moaned. “I haven’t cried until now. It just hit me. Oh my God! It’s horrible!”
Last modified on Thu 22 Apr 2021 13.31 EDT
His own website described him as “The Lord of Excess”, and the Los Angeles Times dubbed him “the Richard Wagner of Rock and Roll”. Jim Steinman, who has died of kidney failure aged 73, made a spectacular career of being bigger and more bombastic than the rest, and his achievement in masterminding Meat Loaf’s album Bat Out of Hell will guarantee his immortality.
Bat . has sold more than 50m copies since its 1977 release. It is the original and best showcase for Steinman’s mixture of extended multipart song structures, beyond-operatic production, and lyrics in which teen angst is inflated to berserk dimensions. Bat’s producer, Todd Rundgren, thought the album was supposed to be a parody of Bruce Springsteen – members of Springsteen’s E Street Band played on it – and Steinman did not entirely reject parallels with the Boss. His own songs, Steinman said, “are dream operatic, his are street operatic. He’s more West Side
Fabulous Flip Sides In Memoriam Meat Loaf Songwriter Jim Steinman
Remembering Jim Steinman, legendary songwriter for Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Barry Manilow, and Celine Dion
Author:
Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman, 1977 promotional photo, Cleveland International Records
Dramatic songwriter Jim Steinman passed away on April 19 at the age of 73. Steinman wrote Meat Loaf’s
Bat Out of Hell, the seven song 1977 debut album for Steve Popovich’s Cleveland International Records. While FM rock radio played the title tune, “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” and “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth,” AM radio settled on the big ballad, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” which reached No. 11 in 1978, and became a gold single, with another ballad from the album, “For Crying Out Loud,” on its flip side.
Jim Steinman (Courtesy/ jimsteinman.com)
NEW YORK (AP) Jim Steinman, the Grammy-winning composer who wrote Meat Loaf’s best-selling “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 Monday from kidney failure and was ill for some time. He said Jim Steinman died in Connecticut near his home in Ridgefield.
“I miss him a great deal already,” Bill Steinman said by phone Tuesday.
Jim Steinman was born on Nov. 1, 1947, in New York City. He got his start in musical theater and was known for writing and producing epic, operatic rock songs and power ballads throughout his prolific career.
A Toast to Jim Steinman: The Songwriting Powder Keg Who Kept Giving Off Sparks
RIP to the self-proclaimed Little Richard Wagner who redefined rock melodrama
Rob Sheffield, provided by
FacebookTwitterEmail
In a better time for the world, we’d all be hitting the karaoke bar tonight to mourn the late great Jim Steinman. This man was more than just the composer behind mega-bombastic hits by Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Air Supply, and so many others. He was the patron saint of karaoke singers. His idea of the perfect song was a powder keg giving off sparks, one that anybody could belt out loud. Think of a karaoke anthem “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” and chances are Steinman wrote it. Even before the art form was invented, he composed as if he saw it all coming. That’s why karaoke fans everywhere are grieving for him tonight, even if we’re cryin�