Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through

Last updated

"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through"
Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through by Jim Steinman US single side-A.png
Side A of the US single
Single by Jim Steinman
from the album Bad for Good
B-side "Love and Death and an American Guitar"
ReleasedMay 22, 1981 (1981-05-22)
Length
  • 4:00 (radio edit)
  • 6:23 (album version)
Label Epic
Songwriter(s) Jim Steinman
Producer(s) Jim Steinman and Jimmy Iovine
Music video
Video on YouTube
"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through"
RRD.jpg
Single by Meat Loaf
from the album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell
B-side
ReleasedJanuary 1994 (1994-01)
Studio Ocean Way Recording (Los Angeles)
Length
  • 5:50 (album version)
  • 4:02 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s) Jim Steinman
Producer(s) Jim Steinman
Meat Loaf singles chronology
"Bat Out of Hell"
(1993)		"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through"
(1994)		"Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are"
(1994)
Music video
Video on YouTube

"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is a song written by American composer Jim Steinman. It was first featured on Steinman's 1981 solo album Bad for Good , with lead vocals by an uncredited Rory Dodd. It was later recorded by American singer Meat Loaf and released in 1994 as the third single from the album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell .

Contents

Both the Steinman original and the Meat Loaf remake were top-40 hits. Steinman's version hit number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 14 on the Billboard Rock Top Tracks chart and number 29 on the Cash Box Top 100; it is Steinman's lone top-40 hit as an artist. In New Zealand, the song spent two weeks at number six. It matched this position 12 years later with the Meat Loaf version. Also, the Meat Loaf version reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart in early 1994.

Music and lyrics

"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is a paean to rock music, celebrating how it is always there to help you through troubled times. One of its lyrics is "You're never alone, 'cause you can put on the 'phones and let the drummer tell your heart what to do."

Music videos

Jim Steinman version

The Steinman version's video features an empty, dark stage with two dancers, one male and one female, both in dancing suits and dancing performance art with a prop electric guitar. Steinman is seen throughout in a dark suit and aviator sunglasses standing still on a platform and lip synching the song. Scenes of a black bird of prey are seen at the beginning and end of the video.

Meat Loaf version

The video for the Meat Loaf version was directed by Michael Bay, who had also directed the videos for "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" and "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are".

In the music video, Meat Loaf stands as a fortuneteller who comforts a recently runaway teenager (played by an 18 year old Angelina Jolie). Meat Loaf's character also protects a young boy from joining a gang and other people who are lost and lonely. Jolie's character, after the song ends, returns to her family.

Release

Several versions of the "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" have been released. The European and UK version included live versions of "Heaven Can Wait" and "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". A second UK version had "Wasted Youth" and "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", while the 7" picture disc contains just "Wasted Youth". The US singles contained edited, live and acoustic versions of "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)".

Live variations

The song has been performed live various times since the release of Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell. The song was featured on Live Around the World and a live soundcheck appeared on the MAXI single. It was performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2004 as a sound test, but was not in the actual concert (Its audio can be heard on a special edition of the Bat Out of Hell Live CD). It was showcased in the DVD 3 Bats Live with performance by Meat Loaf in London, Ontario in 2007. It can also be found on the special two-CD edition of Bat Out of Hell II and most recently on the live album Casa De Carne, a bonus CD with the Special Edition (US) Deluxe and Super Deluxe versions (UK) of Meat Loaf's 2010 album Hang Cool Teddy Bear .

Charts

Jim Steinman version

Meat Loaf version

Release history

RegionVersionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United KingdomJim SteinmanMay 22, 19817-inch single Epic [4]
United StatesMeat LoafJanuary 1994
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 MCA [34]
United KingdomFebruary 7, 1994 Virgin [35]
February 14, 1994CD digipak [36]
JapanApril 8, 1994Mini-CD [37]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meat Loaf</span> American singer and actor (1947–2022)

Michael Lee Aday, known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on the list of bestselling music artists. His Bat Out of Hell 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. The first album stayed on the charts for over nine years, as of 2016 still sold an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and is on the list of bestselling albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Steinman</span> American composer, lyricist and record producer (1947–2021)

James Richard Steinman was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, musical theater, and film score genres. He wrote songs for Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf, including Bat Out of Hell, and also wrote and produced Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell and Tyler's Faster Than the Speed of Night.

<i>Bat Out of Hell</i> 1977 studio album by Meat Loaf

Bat Out of Hell is the 1977 debut album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. The album was developed from a musical, Neverland, a futuristic rock version of Peter Pan, which Steinman wrote for a workshop in 1974. It was recorded during 1975–1976 at various studios, including Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York, produced by Todd Rundgren, and released in October 1977 by Cleveland International/Epic Records. Bat Out of Hell spawned two Meat Loaf sequel albums: Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993) and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradise by the Dashboard Light</span> Single by Meat Loaf and Ellen Foley

"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was released in 1977 on the album Bat Out of Hell, with vocals by the American musician Meat Loaf alongside Ellen Foley. An uncommonly long song for a single, it has become a staple of classic rock radio and has been described as the "greatest rock duet".

<i>Bad for Good</i> 1981 studio album by Jim Steinman

Bad for Good is the only studio album by American songwriter Jim Steinman. Steinman wrote all of the songs and performed on most, although Rory Dodd contributed lead vocals on some tracks.

<i>Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell</i> 1993 studio album by Meat Loaf

Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell is the sixth studio album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and was written and produced by Jim Steinman. It was released on September 14, 1993, sixteen years after Meat Loaf's first solo album Bat Out of Hell. The album reached number 1 in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Five tracks were released as singles, including "I'd Do Anything for Love ", which reached number 1 in 28 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Total Eclipse of the Heart</span> 1983 single by Bonnie Tyler

"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was written and produced by Jim Steinman, and released on Tyler's fifth studio album, Faster Than the Speed of Night (1983). The song was released as a single by CBS/Columbia in 1983.

<i>Welcome to the Neighbourhood</i> (Meat Loaf album) 1995 studio album by Meat Loaf

Welcome to the Neighbourhood is the seventh studio album by American rock singer Meat Loaf, released in 1995 as the follow-up to his successful comeback album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell. It went platinum in the United States and United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)</span> 1993 single by Meat Loaf

"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" is a song written by Jim Steinman, and recorded by American rock singer Meat Loaf featuring Lorraine Crosby. The song was released in August 1993 by MCA and Virgin as the first single from the singer's sixth album, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993). The last six verses feature Crosby, who was credited only as "Mrs. Loud" in the album notes. She does not appear in the accompanying music video, directed by Michael Bay, in which her vocals are lip-synched by Dana Patrick. Meat Loaf promoted the single with American singer Patti Russo.

<i>Bat Out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra</i>

Bat out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is a live album released by singer Meat Loaf in 2004 on the Mercury and Sanctuary labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Give Love a Bad Name</span> 1986 single by Bon Jovi

"You Give Love a Bad Name" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi, released as the first single from their 1986 album Slippery When Wet. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child about a woman who has jilted her lover, the song reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on November 29, 1986, and became the band's first number one hit. In 2007, the song reentered the charts at No. 29 after Blake Lewis performed it on American Idol.

"It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad written by Jim Steinman. According to Steinman, the song was inspired by Wuthering Heights, and was an attempt to write "the most passionate, romantic song" he could ever create. The Sunday Times posits that "Steinman protects his songs as if they were his children". Meat Loaf had wanted to record the song for years, but Steinman saw it as a "woman's song". Steinman won a court case, which prevented Meat Loaf from recording it. Girl group Pandora's Box went on to record it, and it was subsequently made famous through a cover by Celine Dion, which upset Meat Loaf because he was going to use it for a planned album with the working title Bat Out of Hell III. Alternately, Meat Loaf has said the song was intended for Bat Out of Hell II and given to the singer in 1986, but that they both decided to use "I'd Do Anything for Love " for Bat II, and save this song for Bat III. Steinman at one point offered it to Bonnie Tyler, who was recording her album Hide Your Heart with producer Desmond Child. Confident that it would be a hit, she asked her record company to include it in the album; they declined, citing cost reasons for using Jim Steinman to produce it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Making Love Out of Nothing at All</span> 1983 single by Air Supply

"Making Love Out of Nothing at All" is a power ballad written and composed by Jim Steinman and first released by the British/Australian soft rock duo Air Supply for their 1983 compilation album Greatest Hits. It reached number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. The song has been covered by other artists.

<i>VH1: Storytellers</i> (Meat Loaf album) 1999 live album by Meat Loaf

VH1: Storytellers is a live album by Meat Loaf. Meat Loaf told humorous stories of his career as a singer and how he unfolded into rock stardom. The DVD version has two additional songs. Some songs on the CD are taken from Meat Loaf's Hard Rock Live performance. Others were taken from the pre-show soundcheck. The album peaked at No. 129 on the Billboard 200, making it his lowest charting album in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bat Out of Hell (song)</span> 1979 single by Meat Loaf

"Bat Out of Hell" is a song written by Jim Steinman, for the 1977 album Bat Out of Hell and performed by Meat Loaf. In Australia, the song was picked as the second single from the album in May 1978, accompanied by a music video. In January 1979, the song was released as a single in the UK and other European countries, and re-released in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are</span> 1993 song by Meat Loaf

"Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" is a song composed and written by Jim Steinman, and recorded by Meat Loaf. The song was released in 1994 as the third single from the album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell and it reached number 38 on US's Billboard Hot 100, and number 26 in the UK Top 40. With its chart success, this song became the hit with the longest un-bracketed title at fifty-two characters as of 2007. The title is derived from the safety warning on car side mirrors in the US, "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Out of Three Ain't Bad</span> 1978 single by Meat Loaf

"Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" is a power ballad performed by the American musician Meat Loaf. It is a track off his 1977 album Bat Out of Hell, written by Jim Steinman. It spent 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #11, and earned a million-selling Gold single from the RIAA, eventually being certified platinum. It remains his second-highest charting hit in the US, behind "I'd Do Anything for Love " (1993), and stands as one of his career signature tunes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth</span> 1977 single by Meat Loaf

"You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" (also known as "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)") is the first solo single by the American singer Meat Loaf, released in 1977. It is a track from his album Bat Out of Hell, written by Jim Steinman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Not a Dry Eye in the House</span> 1995 single by Meat Loaf

"Not a Dry Eye in the House" is a song composed and written by Diane Warren, and recorded by Meat Loaf. The song was released on January 15, 1996, as the second single from the album Welcome to the Neighborhood. It peaked at number seven in the UK, becoming Meat Loaf's last top-10 hit there until "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" in 2006. It was the last US charting single to be released in Meat Loaf's lifetime before his death in January 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead Ringer for Love</span> 1981 single by Meat Loaf featuring Cher

"Dead Ringer for Love" is a song performed by American rock singer Meat Loaf and American singer-actress Cher from Meat Loaf's second studio album, Dead Ringer. The song was written by Jim Steinman and one of only two tracks on the album produced by Steinman and Jimmy Iovine.

References

  1. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  2. 1 2 "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. January 4, 1982. p. 7. Retrieved January 11, 2022– via Imgur.
  3. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0356." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Jim Steinman – Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  5. ↑ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989" . Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Jim Steinman Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Jim Steinman Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cash Box . Vol. XLIII, no. 13. August 15, 1981. p. 4. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  10. ↑ "End Of Year Charts 1981". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  11. ↑ "1981 Year End". www.bullfrogspond.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Meat Loaf – Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Meat Loaf – Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Meat Loaf – Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2414." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2429." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 11. March 12, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Meat Loaf – Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (27._02.02.'94)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 27, 1994. p. 20. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  20. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 10, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Meat Loaf – Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Meat Loaf – Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Meat Loaf – Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Meat Loaf Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  28. ↑ "Meat Loaf Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  29. ↑ "Meat Loaf Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  30. ↑ "Meat Loaf Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  31. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1994". RPM . Library and Archives Canada . Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Årslista Singlar, 1994" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1994" . Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  34. ↑ "The Great Rock Discography". p. 538.
  35. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week . February 5, 1994. p. 29.
  36. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. February 12, 1994. p. 21.
  37. ↑ "ロックンロール・ドリームス | ミートローフ" [Rocknroll Dreams | Meat Loaf] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved September 16, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.