This was the song I had on repeat when I was in high school.
It was the song I had in mind when I wrote my first original short story. Yes, it was suitably gothic, with a matching vampire hero, baby steps into world building and was derivative of all my fave vampire fandoms. I was 12 years old. I didn’t care. I was so proud. And I had Bat Out of Hell II as my soundtrack.
I saved my allowance money to buy that cassette tape and wore it out.
Even now, I have his songs on repeat. I can still chant the lyrics to Wasted Youth and the blood of that guitar was chuck. berry. red.
I remember everything. I will remember every little thing as if it happened only yesterday.
In a decade full of scrawny-ass rock stars, “Meatloaf” was a surprisingly romantic rocker with a rich rather than screechy voice, and songs dripping with angst.
Teen guys, clueless as always, were completely confused by girls sighing over Meatloaf. He was the Phantom of the Opera of rockers.
RIP, Marvin Lee Aday. You were our Bad Boy cuddly stud in a sea of sneering, arrogant skinny jerks, and we teen girls loved you.
And of course he was in Rocky Horror Picture Show. When you get right down to it, Jack Black’s rocker was a watered down version of Meatloaf.
Seems fitting to listen to Bat Out Of Hell and laugh at all those record companies that rejected it—they spent two and a half years trying to find a record company, with Meatloaf’s manager David Sonenberg joking that they were creating record companies just so they could be rejected—only for it to become one of the biggest selling albums ever, and it still remains one of the top 10 selling albums of all time.
Everybody knows Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell features an amazing painting by Richard Corben on its cover. But did you know the ‘Loaf (rest in peace!) tapped Bernie Wrightson, Michael Whelan, Julie Bell, and Boris Vallejo for cover art as well? See all the images here:
