Michael Lee Aday, known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American 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.
Ellen Foley is an American singer and actress who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the hit NBC sitcom Night Court during its second season. In music, she has released five solo albums, but she is best known for her collaborations with rock singer Meat Loaf, particularly the 14× Platinum selling 1977 album Bat Out of Hell.
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.
The Originals, often called "Motown's best-kept secret", were a successful Motown R&B and soul group during the late 1960s and the 1970s, most notable for the hits "Baby I'm for Real", "The Bells", and the disco classic "Down to Love Town." Formed in 1966, the group originally consisted of baritone singer Freddie Gorman, tenor/falsetto Walter Gaines, and tenors C. P. Spencer and Hank Dixon. Ty Hunter replaced Spencer when he left to go solo in the early 1970s. They had all previously sung in other Detroit groups, Spencer having been an original member of the (Detroit) Spinners and Hunter having sung with the Supremes member Scherrie Payne in the group Glass House. Spencer, Gaines, Hunter, and Dixon were also members of the Voice Masters. As a member of the Holland–Dozier–Gorman writing-production team, Gorman was one of the co-writers of Motown's first number 1 pop hit "Please Mr. Postman", recorded by the Marvelettes. In 1964 the Beatles released their version and in 1975 the Carpenters took it to number 1 again. This was the second time in pop history that a song had reached number 1 twice as "The Twist" by Chubby Checker, reached number 1 in both 1960 and 1961. In 2006, "Please Mr. Postman" was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Shaun Murphy is an American blues and R&B singer songwriter, best known for her powerhouse singing style. Sometimes credited as Stoney, her recording career started in 1971 with Motown Records.
"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.
Patricia Russo is an American singer and songwriter. She is perhaps best known as Meat Loaf's former female lead vocalist, as she toured the world with his band Neverland Express between 1993 and 2013. Since then, she has embarked on a solo career.
The Very Best of Meat Loaf is a 1998 album spanning the first 21 years of Meat Loaf's recording career. Although not reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom, it was certified double platinum there in 2013. The album features many of Meat Loaf's best-known songs as well as a few from his lesser known albums of the 1980s.
Stoney and Meatloaf is the only album by Stoney & Meatloaf, a collaboration between Meat Loaf and female vocalist Shaun Murphy, released in 1971 on the Motown subsidiary label Rare Earth. Meat Loaf and Murphy met while performing with the Detroit cast of Hair.
Simon Climie is an English singer-songwriter and producer. He is best known as the former lead singer of the UK duo Climie Fisher.
"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.
"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".
John Jansen is an American recording engineer and music producer. He worked with a wide variety of artists over the years, mostly in the rock genre: Joe Cocker, the Who, Spencer Davis Group, Cat Mother, Paul Winter Consort, Roger Daltrey, Supertramp, Henry McCullough, Pavlov's Dog, Procol Harum, Blue Öyster Cult, the Dictators, Alice Cooper, Frankie Miller, Meatloaf, Yipes, the Motors, Television, Barry Manilow, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, the Bongos, Billy Squier, Britny Fox, Eric Clapton, Warrant, Tom Verlaine, Faster Pussycat, Bang Tango, Love/Hate, Cinderella, Alias, Judge Mercy, Jimi Hendrix, The Producers and Orchestra
"What You Get Is What You See" is a song by recording artist Tina Turner from her album Break Every Rule (1986). The 12" single included three versions of the song, the Extended Dance Mix, the Extended Rock Mix and a live version recorded in London in November 1986. A different live recording of the song was later used as the opening track on Turner's 1988 album Tina Live in Europe. She also included it in her 2009 live album Tina Live. It was recorded during Turner's hugely successful 50th Anniversary Tour. The track is from the March 21, 2009 live show at the GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands.
Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers was an American funk band, signed to Ubiquity Records. They toured with Stoney Murphy and Meat Loaf in the early 1970s. Their song, "Searching for Soul", was sampled in the 2006 Beyoncé song, "Suga Mama".
"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.
The Shaun Murphy Band is a "Blues" musical band. The group was founded in early 2009 by veteran blues and soul singer Shaun Murphy. Within a matter of a few weeks after release of the band's first album, Livin' The Blues', the album jumped to position 10 on the Roots Report Top 50 Blues Weekly Chart. This chart is a composite of the number of "spins" or radio play throughout the United States.
"What You See Is What You Get" is the first single by duo Stoney & Meatloaf. It was released ahead of the release of the duo's only album Stoney & Meatloaf in 1971.
Michael Edward Campbell Champion was an American singer and actor who started his public career in Detroit. In 1967, with a short-lived band called 'The Abstract Reality', he released a 45 rpm single called Love Burns Like A Fire Inside. With Bob 'Babbitt' Kreinar, Ray Monette and Andrew Smith he formed Scorpion. His name appears as Mike Campbell on the album Scorpion and Meat Loaf's debut album Stoney & Meatloaf (1971). For this recording, apart from having co-written four songs, he played the harmonica on Lady Be Mine.
Ray Monette is an American musician born May 7, 1946.
