Michael Lee Aday
(born Marvin Lee Aday;)
(September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022),
known professionally as
Meat Loaf
was an American
singer and actor.
He was known for his
powerful,
wide-ranging voice
and
theatrical live shows.
His Bat Out of Hell
album trilogy
Bat Out of Hell
(1977),
Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell
(1993),
and
Bat Out of Hell III:
The Monster Is Loose
(2006)
has sold more than
100 million records worldwide,
making him one
of the best-selling
music artists of all time.
The first album
stayed on the charts
for over nine years
and is one of the
best-selling albums
in history,
still selling an
estimated
200,000 copies
annually
Despite the commercial success of
Bat Out of Hell
and
Bat Out of Hell II:
Back Into Hell,
and earning a
Grammy Award
for Best Solo
Rock Vocal Performance
for the song
"I'd Do Anything for Love",
Meat Loaf
experienced some difficulty
establishing a
steady career
within the United States.
However,
his career still saw
success due to his
popularity in Europe,
especially in
the United Kingdom
and Ireland.
He received the
1994 Brit Award
in the United Kingdom
for best-selling album
and single,
and was ranked 23rd
for the number of weeks
spent on the
UK charts in 2006.
He ranks 96th
on VH1's
"100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".
Meat Loaf
also acted in over
50 films and television shows,
sometimes as himself
or as characters
resembling his stage persona.
His notable film roles
include Eddie
in
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
(1975),
Dennis the bus driver
in Spice World
(1997),
and
Robert "Bob" Paulsen,
a cancer patient,
in Fight Club
(1999).
he also appeared
in the musical
Hair,
both on
and Off-Broadway.
