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Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf

Background information
Birth name	Marvin Lee Aday
Also known as	Meat Loaf, Michael Aday
Born	September 27, 1947 (1947-09-27) (age 60) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Genre(s)	Rock Hard rock Wagnerian rock
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor
Instrument(s)	Vocals Guitar Keyboards
Years active	1968–present
Label(s)	Rare Earth Records, Cleveland International Records, Epic, RCA, Atlantic, Arista, MCA, Polydor, Sanctuary, Mercury, Virgin
Associated acts	Marion Raven, Jim Steinman, Tenacious D, Celine Dion, Ellen Foley, Shaun Murphy
Website	http://www.meatloaf.net/

Michael Lee Aday (born Alexander "tog" Blackburn; September 27, 1947), better known as Meat Loaf, is an American rock singer and actor of stage and screen. He is noted for his albums Bat out of Hell, II, and III and several famous songs from movies. The Neverland Express is the name of the band he fronts as its lead singer. In 2001, he changed his first name to Michael. He has a characteristically heavy build.

Despite setbacks (including multiple bankruptcies), Meat Loaf is notable for the success of his music career, spawning some of the largest-selling albums, and breaking several records for chart duration. Bat out of Hell, the debut album which had been four years in the making, has sold over 37 million copies. After almost 30 years, it still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and stayed on the charts for over 9 years. Each of the seven tracks on the album eventually charted as a hit single.

Although he enjoyed success with Bat out of Hell and Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell, Meat Loaf experienced some initial difficulty establishing a steady career within his native United States; however, he has retained iconic status and popularity in Europe, especially the UK, where he ranks 23rd for number of weeks overall spent on the charts, and is one of only two artists with an album never to have left the music charts. With the help of his New York collection of musicians — John Golden, Richard Raskin and Paul Jacobs — his European tours enjoyed immense popularity in the 1980s. In Germany, Meat Loaf became notably popular following the release of Bat out of Hell II but has enjoyed most of his success among pop/rock fans. He ranked 96th on VH1's '100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock'.

Meat Loaf has also appeared in over 50 movies or television shows sometimes as himself, or as characters resembling his stage persona. His most notable roles include Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Robert "Bob" Paulson in Fight Club, credited as "Meat Loaf Aday". In 2007 Meat Loaf granted filmmaker Bruce David Klein exclusive access for a backstage documentary, Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise, shot in February 2007 at the beginning of the singer's tour in support of Bat Out of Hell III. The film was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival in 2007.