Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Jim Steinman (1947-2021)

 The list of artists that Jim Steinman wrote and/or produced hit albums and singles for would read like a wing of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Barry Manilow. Celine Dion. Def Leppard. Meat Loaf. There's an unreleased demo circulating online of a track recorded by Bette Midler early in her career.

And that just scratches the surface.

Best remembered for his decades long association with Meat Loaf, Steinman also produced or wrote songs for Air Supply (i.e. "Making Love Out of Nothing at All") and Bonnie Tyler ("Total Eclipse of The Heart" hit #1 in 1983). Steinman passed away on Monday, cause unknown, at 73.

In 1981, Steinman released his own single, "Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through", which would be covered by Meat Loaf 13 years later (the video featured a young Angelina Jolie). The modest set for the video for Steinman's version has just him and 2 dancers. Studio singer Rory Dodd is the actual vocalist, with Steinman simply lip-syncing, years before a scandal erupted that would torpedo studio acts like Black Box, Milli Vanilli, and C & C Music Factory. That's a story for another day.

Here's "Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through", circa 1981.


Rest in peace.

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