Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf, born Marvin Lee Aday in Texas, was an American rock singer and actor whose career-defining moment came with the 1977 album Bat Out of Hell, a collaboration with songwriter and producer Jim Steinman. Built on Steinman's operatic, theatrical songwriting and Meat Loaf's massive, dramatic voice, the album became one of the best-selling records of all time and defined a maximalist, Wagner-meets-Springsteen brand of rock that fused hard rock instrumentation with Broadway-style storytelling and duets.

His catalog is anchored by epic, narrative-driven tracks such as «Bat Out of Hell», «Paradise by the Dashboard Light» and «Two Out of Three Ain't Bad», which showcased his ability to inhabit a song like a stage role rather than simply perform it. After a commercially difficult period in the 1980s, he returned to prominence with Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell in 1993, again with Steinman, scoring a massive hit with «I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)».

Beyond music, Meat Loaf built a substantial acting career, with memorable roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Fight Club and Wayne's World, and he remained a popular live performer for decades. He died in January 2022 at age 74, leaving behind a body of work defined by theatrical grandeur, emotional intensity and a voice that made outsized, romantic rock opera feel utterly sincere.