Meat Loaf, the iconic rock star whose debut album, Bat Out of Hell, still ranks as one of the top five highest-selling albums of all time (43 million copies), is dead at 74. According to Deadline, no official cause of death was given, but he died surrounded by his family, including wife Deborah, and daughters Pearl and Amanda, as well as friends, so the singer must have been ill for some time. Of course, this is a significant blow to all of us who grew up idolizing the singer, who was born Marvin Lee Aday and acted under the tongue-in-cheek name Meat Loaf Aday (get it?).
If you went by his musical success alone, it would be easy to call Meat Loaf an icon, but when you consider that he also went on to become one of the best character actors in Hollywood, the loss is monumental. He first blasted his way into the public consciousness as the motorcycle-riding Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (both on stage and film), brilliantly singing “Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul,” but it was his album Bat Out of Hell that made him a legend. A collaboration with the late Jim Steinman, the album spawned at least two of the best driving songs of all time, “Two of Three Ain’t Bad” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.” His musical career was lower-key in the eighties, but he had a significant comeback in the nineties with Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, which had the classic “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” – which became his biggest hit. Roles in movies like Fight Club (where he famously played Bob Paulson under a pair of prosthetic breasts), Black Dog, The Mighty and more also proved he was a terrific actor, and he seemed to be loved by just about everyone.
Indeed, after news of his passing hit Twitter was flooded with tributes to the man:
From us here at JoBlo – rest in peace sir.
What’s your favourite memory of this iconic singer/actor? Let us know in the comments below!