Meat Loaf, larger than life rock legend, has died at the age of 74
21.01.2022 - 13:17
/ officialcharts.com
The US singer and actor Meat Loaf has died.
Born Marvin Lee Aday, passed away on 20 January 2022, with his wife Deborah by his side. He was 74.
His family have issued this statement:
“We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man,”
“From his heart to your souls … don’t ever stop rocking!”
Born in Dallas on September 27, 1947, Meat Loaf moved to Los Angeles after his mother’s death in 1965 to make it in showbusiness, forming his first band - Meat Loaf Soul – after a nickname coined by his football coach because of his weight. Despite being offered record contracts immediately, he turned those all down in favour of focusing more on his music, and after several iterations of line-up and band name, supported acts such as The Who, Janis Joplin and the Stooges, before he was asked to join the cast of the musical Hair.
As a result of his versatility, he landed a record deal with Motown with castmate Shaun ‘Stoney’ Murphy, resulting in his first hit single, What You See Is What You Get, in the Billboard charts in 1971.
Meat Loaf was concurrently working on both a music and acting career, appearing in off-Broadway productions, and it was his role in the original Los Angeles Roxy cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1973, which led to him also appearing in the film version that would significantly raise his profile. Also at this time Meat Loaf began work with songwriter/ producer Jim Steinman on the songs that became Bat Out Of Hell.
As Meat Loaf said of Bat Out of Hell in 2017, “Some people don’t like it. They’re afraid of themselves, and that’s the honest truth. If someone listens to