Meat Loaf

A larger than life figure - in both a literal and figurative sense - on the rock and pop scenes, Grammy-winning singer and actor Meat Loaf unleashed some of the most bombastic and beloved tunes of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," and "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)," which appeared on 1977's Bat of Out Hell and its two sequels. Massive in figure and voice, Meat Loaf, a.k.a. Marvin (later Michael) Meat Loaf, and chief songwriter/nemesis Jim Steinman embraced the excesses and overwrought romanticism of classic rock in their music, crafting prodigious, ear-splitting tributes to everlasting love and the glories of youth. Their crowning achievement, Bat Out of Hell, became one of the best-selling albums of the 20th century, with some 20,000 copies sold each year after its release. His rise and fall and resurrection to the heights of fame was an epic unto itself, with illness, drug abuse and the tides of popular favor crashing against him time and again, only to be cast aside each time he reunited with Steinman for a new Bat album. While fighting the good fight in the rock world, Meat Loaf also carved out an impressive career as a character actor in features and on television, with carefully tuned performances in "Fight Club" (1999), among others. His passionate commitment to rock music, as well as his considerable body of material, made him one of the most iconic figures in pop culture for over three decades.