Remembering the late Meat Loaf

Heaven couldn’t wait to admit another one of rock’s greatest voices 

Celebrated musician Meat Loaf, known for branching rock to different genres, passed away two weeks ago on Jan. 20 in Nashville, Tennessee, surrounded by his family. The cause of his death was due to complications surrounding COVID-19 and his condition with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Unfortunately, just within the last year we have lost a great number of musicians to COVID; namely people like Tommy DeVito (The Four Seasons), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), and John Prine.  

Michael Lee Aday, the man behind the stage name “Meat Loaf” was born in Dallas, Texas in 1947. His major influences were none other than the Boss himself Bruce Springsteen, along with other legendary icons like Cher and Queen. After getting the name on his day of birth from his father in the nursery ward (he looked like “nine-and-a-half pounds of ground chuck.” apparently), Aday formed the band MLS (Meat Loaf Soul) and got their first gig opening for Van Morrison in 1968. 

In 1977 he released Bat Out of Hell. This debut LP is often regarded as one of rock’s most iconic albums, reaching over 43 million sold copies and further influencing many rockers to pass the genre of theatrical, opera, heavy rock to the ’80s. The LP included singles like “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.” His second volume of the Bat Out of Hell series, Back into Hell, sold over 14 million copies after a 16-year hiatus and five albums in between. This album featured the infamous singles “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” and “Out of The Frying Pan (And Into The Fire).”    

He was a huge influence to many in the rock industry and was the reason as to why so many people took up singing opera rock, like Jared Leto (Thirty Seconds to Mars) and Matt Bellamy (Muse). His career spanned over six decades which is no mean feat (and more than many other musicians can boast about). His ability to think outside the box and push boundaries within the genre of rock was what made him stand out from his peers.

Meat Loaf was the sort of artist who affected the lives of many, both to musicians who were in the same realm as him, and to the budding rockers like myself. In 2016 after I got paid for my first gig, I felt his quote “I go out on stage as if it’s the last thing I ever do” from Piers Morgan’s 2011 interview flash in my head. That stuck with me, and it still does, to this day. So thanks Meat Loaf; for the twelve albums worth of music, for showing up in movies like Fight Club, Wayne’s World, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and for being an inspiration to many musicians, including me.