Born 79 Years Ago Today In Dallas, He Became One Of Rock's Most Unlikely Superstars

In what world could anyone have predicted that a former bouncer and theater kid could climb to the summit of contemporary, radio-friendly rock? That's with songs that clock in at eight minutes or more, too (unedited). Such is the power of exceptional songwriting and volcanic charisma that Meat Loaf became one of rock's most unlikely stars.

Mr. Loaf, aka Marvin Lee Aday, was born in Dallas on September 27, 1947, to a father who said he "look[ed] like nine-and-a-half pounds of ground chuck," as the singer told "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" in 2016, accounting for the first part of his nickname. He claimed the second part came years later, when he stepped on someone's toe and that person yelled at his loafy form to get off. Such tales were part of the theatrics and mythmaking that went into Meat Loaf's larger-than-life persona. And while it wasn't always obvious that Meat Loaf's persona would grant him superstardom, it was at least obvious that he was always going to act single-mindedly in pursuit of his desires.

Meat Loaf formed his first band while working as a bouncer in Los Angeles, where he'd moved in 1967 to pursue his post-college life. That's when he nabbed a gig in the stage production "Hair," through which he made it to Broadway and landed a role in the "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" in 1975. From there his success only escalated, as his collaboration with composer and producer Jim Steinman catapulted Meat Loaf's music career into the stratosphere.

In a masterstroke of kismet, Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf met when the latter auditioned for Steinman's musical "More Than You Deserve." Meat Loaf's vibrant theatricality met its match in Steinman's over-the-top, gushing dramatics, and the future of both men's careers was set. In 1977, two years after Meat Loaf starred in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," he released a career-changing debut, "Bat Out of Hell." This album features songs everyone knows, such as "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" (No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100) and "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" (No. 11). It was the eighth biggest-selling album of the entire '70s, at over 22 million copies sold.

That record, which catapulted Meat Loaf into the pop culture limelight, was 100% written by Jim Steinman. Steinman, who later wrote "Total Eclipse of the Heart" for a Nosferatu musical and then granted it to Bonnie Tyler, transferred his panache for stage operatics into rock form, with Meat Loaf as his vessel. The two were essentially made for each other, as Meat Loaf later recalled in a 2021 Rolling Stone article following Steinman's death. It's hard to say precisely how far Meat Loaf's musical career could have gone without Steinman, but it's safe to say not nearly as far. 

Loaf and Steinman's '70s work wasn't even the height of their careers. That would come with 1993's No. 1 epicest of epics that still somehow confuses people regarding its meaning, "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)." Meat Loaf cinched a Grammy for it, playing a character in the song's music video who seemed just as un-destined for success as he himself once was. 

Sadly, Meat Loaf died one year after Steinman in 2022. He would have been 79 this year.