Meat Loaf is an American singer, musician, and actor. The first wave of popularity covered Marvin after the release of the LP Bat Out of Hell. The record is still considered the most successful work of the artist.
Childhood and youth of Marvin Lee Edey
The artist's date of birth is September 27, 1947. He was born in Dallas (Texas, USA). Marvin Lee Edey (changed his name to Michael in 1981) was brought up in a family that had something to do with creativity. Although the guy's mother was a great gospel singer, she earned a living by working as a teacher. The head of the family - devoted himself, holding the position of a policeman.
Reference: Gospel is a genre of spiritual Christian music that appeared at the end of the XNUMXth century and developed in the first third of the XNUMXth century in America.
Marvin was orphaned early. Mom - died of cancer when he was a teenager. The woman fought for her life for a long time, but in the end, the disease defeated her. Against the backdrop of personal experiences, Marvin's father became deeply addicted to alcoholic beverages. He developed alcoholism. Since that time, the guy was left exclusively to himself.
After graduating from high school, Marvin entered Lubbock Christian College. Some time later, he transferred to North Texas State University.
He had to flee from his own home. The father, who suffered from the last stage of alcoholism, caught “parishes”. One day he attacked his son with a knife. Marvin had no choice but to pack his things and leave.
In the late 60s, he moved to Los Angeles. To provide for himself, the young man got a job as a bouncer in a nightclub. Later, Marvin will say: "The work was not dusty, but most importantly, it paid well."
The Creative Path of Meat Loaf
On the territory of Los Angeles, he "put together" his first project. The brainchild of the artist was called Meat Loaf Soul. Three times his group received an offer to sign contracts with famous labels - and three times the companies were refused. The composition of the team often changed. Sometimes the group performed under creative pseudonyms: Popcorn Blizzard or Floating Circus.
The guys managed to perform on the same platform with The Who и Iggy Pop. Despite this, a few years after the founding of the team, Mit worked as a watchman in the parking lot.
Once at the workplace, he managed to meet a man who had some weight in show business. He promoted it, and Meat soon landed in the musical Hair. He got the role of Ulysses S. Grant. Note that this is the first major role of the artist.
He caught the attention of Jim Steinman as a musical actor rather than the band's vocalist. Jim did everything to ensure that Meat Loaf gained weight in society.
Steinman wrote More Than You Deserve (a 1974 off-Broadway musical featuring Meat Loaf). In the next couple of years, Meat continued his work on Broadway, playing Eddie and Dr. Scott in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, later appearing in the cult film.
Together with Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf in the mid-70s of the last century "put together" a powerful team. Together with the National Lampoon Road Show, they have toured the world extensively.
Having united again a year later, the guys settled in the Ansonia Hotel in New York. There, the guys began a year-long rehearsal of compositions (some of which Steinman wrote for the musical "Neverland", a futuristic version of Peter Pan).
Bat Out of Hell solo album release
In 1977, the singer's solo debut album was released. Note that the disc was released by Cleveland International. The idea for the record came to Jim in 1977 during the production of the musical "Neverland".
Jim and Loaf (who happened to be on tour together) felt that a few tracks were "promising" enough. After that, the guys started working on a full-length LP.
Then he released several more full-length LPs, but none of them repeated the success of Bat Out of Hell. Dead Ringer, Midnight at the Lost and Found, Bad Attitude, Hits out of Hell, Blind Before I Stop, Live at Wembley and Heaven & Hell Meat Loaf/Bonnie Tyler didn't change the situation. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that Loaf quarreled with Jim. During this period of time, he goes on a binge that takes him a whole year.
In the 90s, Meat Loaf went with his old acquaintance to reconcile. At the same time, information appeared that the artists sat down in a recording studio and would soon release a full-length LP.
In 1993, Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell was released. The sixth studio album made a lot of noise. The collection has sold 14 million copies worldwide. 5 tracks from this album were released as singles, one of them brought the musician a Grammy for the best rock solo vocal performance.
A couple of years later, the artist presented the Welcome to the Neighborhood compilation. The record did not repeat the success of the previous album. He tried to revive the situation with the release of the LP Live Around the World, but this collection did not affect the situation either. Before the beginning of the "zero" he released two more records. We are talking about the collections The Very Best of Meat Loaf and VH1 Storytellers.
Creativity Meat Loaf in the "zero"
In the new century, Meat continued to record tracks and act in films. In 2003, Meat Loaf released the compilation Couldn't Have Said It Better. Later, the singer will say that this record, we quote: "the most perfect album that he has made since Bat Out of Hell." Alas, from a commercial point of view, it cannot be called successful. The album was a minor commercial success worldwide and reached No. 4 in the UK charts. The record was accompanied by a worldwide tour.
A year later, he presented the LP Bat Out of Hell Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The collection was released at the end of October 2006. The album was produced by Desmond Child. The first single of the compilation It's All Coming Back to Me Now was released on October 16, 2006. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number six. In support of the record, the artist went on a tour of America and Europe.
Until 2016, he released three more full-length LPs, namely Hang Cool Teddy Bear, Hell in a Handbasket and Braver Than We Are. The records were not commercially successful, but the fans somehow supported the efforts of the idol.
In 2020 he gave an interview to The Mirror. The artist dropped: “I’m not old. I have songs for the new LP and I'm reading the script." He later said that he had 5 new tracks, including What Part of My Body Hurts the Most, along with the original 1975 demos from the Bat Out of Hell album.
Meat Loaf: details of personal life
At the end of the 70s, he met the charming Leslie Aday. They were connected by working moments. A month later, they legalized the relationship. In the 80s, the couple had a common daughter. Family life cracked in the "zero". In 2001, the couple officially filed for divorce. In 2007, Meath married Deborah Gillespie.
Interesting Meat Loaf Facts
- For about 10 years he refused meat products.
- By religion, the artist was a Christian.
- In 1999, he played Robert "Bob" Paulson in the cult film Fight Club.
- As for the creative pseudonym, Meatloaf is a traditional meat dish in Germany, Scandinavia, and also North America. There is a version that the nickname "stuck" to the artist due to obesity in adolescence.
- Meat Loaf - tenor (male high singing voice).
Death Meat Loaf
He passed away on January 20, 2022. At the time of his death, the artist was 74 years old. His death was announced by his relatives on social media. The post indicated that the artist passed away in the circle of relatives and friends. Neither his family nor representatives reported the cause of death, but a TMZ source claims that the cause of death was COVID-19.
