Meatloaf went all the way last night, paradise, no dashboard light...

[telemnemonics]

My wife is a fan, wrong era for me but she had me watch a couple of live clips recently and he was quite the showman.
Acted in 50 movies and TV shows too which I didn't know.
Boy George posted this morning that Meatloaf once "turned me upside down in a Chinese restaurant".
So there's that!

The videos I saw recently surprised me with how good the band actually was, not sure who but there was some really good guitar playing and overall tight solid musicianship.

RIP Marvin

 

[davidge1]

The only thing I ever heard was Paradise by the Dashboard Light. It seemed like a silly, gimmicky song. I heard it maybe a few times on the radio in the '70s, but that was it. I never knew anyone who was a fan or owned any of his albums, never heard anyone talk about him, and never saw anything written about him.... but the news story about his death said he was one of the biggest selling artists in history. I find that strange. Who did he appeal to?

 

[Skully]

The only thing I ever heard was Paradise by the Dashboard Light. It seemed like a silly, gimmicky song. I heard it maybe a few times on the radio in the '70s, but that was it. I never knew anyone who was a fan or owned any of his albums, never heard anyone talk about him, and never saw anything written about him.... but the news story about his death said he was one of the biggest selling artists in history. I find that strange. Who did he appeal to?

My impression has always been that Meat Loaf lied wildly about the sales of "Bat Out of Hell." That said, I think it did sell a lot.

 

[Ronzo]

@davidge1:
For those of us who were in their late ‘20s and had a kid or two by then, Meat Loaf was 1. relatable, and 2. an alternative to the disco scene that made some of us envious of the people who were having more sex than we were. Paradise by the Dashboard Light resonated with those in poor marriages that felt trapped by the vows they had made and the choices they had made with first-time sex as the driving force.

“I’ll never break my promise, or forget my vow, but God only knows what I can do right now!
“I’m prayin’ for the end of time, that’s all that I can do…
“I’m prayin’ for the end of time… so I can end my time with you!”

There were and are many, many people who believe that the promises they make matter, and who wish that they could have foreseen their future before making a youthful promise like that. It’s part of being human. Jim Steinman understood that well when he wrote the song.

 

[nojazzhere]

My wife is a fan, wrong era for me but she had me watch a couple of live clips recently and he was quite the showman.
Acted in 50 movies and TV shows too which I didn't know.
Boy George posted this morning that Meatloaf once "turned me upside down in a Chinese restaurant".
So there's that!

The videos I saw recently surprised me with how good the band actually was, not sure who but there was some really good guitar playing and overall tight solid musicianship.

RIP Marvin

RIP Marvin Lee Aday aka Meatloaf

Just heard from a friend. Divisive artist but I loved BOOH

www.tdpri.com

 

[telemaster03]

My wife is a fan, wrong era for me but she had me watch a couple of live clips recently and he was quite the showman.
Acted in 50 movies and TV shows too which I didn't know.
Boy George posted this morning that Meatloaf once "turned me upside down in a Chinese restaurant".
So there's that!

The videos I saw recently surprised me with how good the band actually was, not sure who but there was some really good guitar playing and overall tight solid musicianship.

RIP Marvin

The guitar player was Todd Rundgren. In reading about Meatloaf's death this morning I was surprised to learn that the female vocalist on "Dashboard" is not Karla DeVito, who was in the video. It was Ellen Foley, who went on to have her own career in music and a stint in acting, including the television show "Night Court."

Meatloaf sang three or four songs on Ted Nugent's "Free For All" album in the mid-70's when Ted and Derek St. Holmes were having a spat. Meatloaf later said that he was only paid $1,000 for the work.

 

[thunderbyrd]

i've loved Meatloaf since the 1st time i heard him. the obvious theatricality and the overblown production were pure pleasure. he had a magnificent voice and always had great bands.

i can't vouch for his record sales, but i bought "Bat..." at least 3 times and have never gotten tired of it.

i wish i could have met him and told him how much i enjoyed his music. my son and DiL met him at a convention and spent some time talking to him. he was in poor health then, in a wheelchair.

 

[telemnemonics]

RIP Marvin Lee Aday aka Meatloaf

Just heard from a friend. Divisive artist but I loved BOOH

www.tdpri.com

Ahhh, I did a quick scroll down and saw no memorial so I dropped a line...

 

[Telekarster]

RIP Marvin Lee Aday aka Meatloaf

Just heard from a friend. Divisive artist but I loved BOOH

www.tdpri.com

Wow man.... I didn't see that thread and hadn't heard! RIP Meatloaf!

an alternative to the disco scene that made some of us envious of the people who were having more sex than we were.

 

[Ronzo]

My best friend from my NY days, a superb bassist named Jim Dolega, was the last cut bassist during the final auditions for Meat Loaf’s touring band. That band was very, very tight!

 

[Greg70]

The only thing I ever heard was Paradise by the Dashboard Light. It seemed like a silly, gimmicky song. I heard it maybe a few times on the radio in the '70s, but that was it. I never knew anyone who was a fan or owned any of his albums, never heard anyone talk about him, and never saw anything written about him.... but the news story about his death said he was one of the biggest selling artists in history. I find that strange. Who did he appeal to?

Maybe it's a regional thing? Bat out of Hell was huge here in the Midwest in the late 70's. There were several other songs that got a lot of airplay besides Paradise by the Dashboard Light.

 

[telemnemonics]

My impression has always been that Meat Loaf lied wildly about the sales of "Bat Out of Hell." That said, I think it did sell a lot.

Can you do that?
Alter album sales stats?
Or he just made claims but the stats showed differently?
IDK, seems we still argue over Beatles vs Elvis etc and numbers sold vs quality of music.

 

[Telekarster]

My band worked up Dashboard last year. Talk about a lot of work! That song is seriously complex on a lot of levels. We were going to perform it but have yet to do so, because in our view the venue has to be "right" for that song and plus we're having more fun in the recording studio these days, so it's hard to say if we'll ever gig again. But yeah, it's fun to play! Lots of work though. Hats off to em performing that song all these years!

 

[Skyhook]

The only thing I ever heard was Paradise by the Dashboard Light. It seemed like a silly, gimmicky song. I heard it maybe a few times on the radio in the '70s, but that was it. I never knew anyone who was a fan or owned any of his albums, never heard anyone talk about him, and never saw anything written about him.... but the news story about his death said he was one of the biggest selling artists in history. I find that strange. Who did he appeal to?

The rest of us, man. The rest of us.

 

[bumnote]

An old friend of mine was befriended by Meatloaf when he was shooting the Steve Martin movie "Leap of Faith" back in the early 90's. My friend had a bit role in the film and was on set with him the entire shoot.
They'd go off for a drive afterwards and he was playing him demos or rough mixes of "I'd Do Anything For Love" to get his opinion...which was funny because my friend was a metal head.
He said he was just a really nice, normal guy...and once he found out my Buddy and his wife were having their first child, was an endless source of advice..

 

[getbent]

I always found meatloaf the dude more interesting than the music. had a roommate in college who loved the bat out of hell record, so I heard it often, just too corny and 'theatrical' but, he also loved rocky horror and had a jesus picture on the wall that said it was okay to have long hair. Everyone has got their thing, right?

Rest easy Meatloaf!

My roommate hated my theory about 'but I won't do that' was.

 

[boxocrap]

The only thing I ever heard was Paradise by the Dashboard Light. It seemed like a silly, gimmicky song. I heard it maybe a few times on the radio in the '70s, but that was it. I never knew anyone who was a fan or owned any of his albums, never heard anyone talk about him, and never saw anything written about him.... but the news story about his death said he was one of the biggest selling artists in history. I find that strange. Who did he appeal to?

me

 

[Skully]

Can you do that?
Alter album sales stats?
Or he just made claims but the stats showed differently?
IDK, seems we still argue over Beatles vs Elvis etc and numbers sold vs quality of music.

The alleged RIAA number is 14 million for the U.S., although I can't trace it back to an RIAA source. Remember that the bulk of those numbers are going to be from the '70s, pre-Soundscan, when albums would routinely ship platinum, pre-returns, and his label Cleveland International might've worked to juice those numbers. Someone said "Bat Out of Hell" was 25x platinum in Australia, but platinum status is 70K Down Under, and I'm pretty sure Australia and the U.K. were his primary markets outside the U.S. Perusing his touring history, I also see regular stops in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. I see no evidence that he saw much success in Asian or Spanish-speaking countries.

I remember Meat Loaf throwing out these impossibly huge sales numbers for "Bat Out of Hell" on his "Behind the Music" special back when it first aired in 1998 and thinking, "He is so full of it." I have nothing against him. I own the album. I love him in "Fight Club." But it's obviously carnival barker b.s.

 

[Skully]

My former dad bandmate's band from Columbus, Ohio, was in contention to be his backing band for the "Bat Out of Hell Tour," but they ended up using other people (he's still friends with Karla DeVito). He had a story about going to fetch Meat Loaf from his hotel or apartment and Mr. Loaf (as the New York Times infamously referred to him) and Beverly D'Angelo greeted him at the door, stark naked. Having read and heard numerous interviews with Ms. D'Angelo, this sounds entirely plausible. The bandmate went on to work regularly with Jim Steinman in the '80s and, from what he told me, Mr. Steinman's prison handle would've been "short eyes."

 

[Papanate]

Meatloaf was a lot of things in his life - and yeah he goosed the numbers on albums sold - but really 15 million? You didn't have to goose it.
I never listen to his music - Dashboard lights was on the radio for a bit - but it seemed to me to be overly dramatic and like a showtune - saw him in a couple of shows - was surprised too - he had a different persona than his music.

See Ya Around Marvin!