Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Mr. Loaf, as he is known in certain discreet circles, was a star football player at North Texas State University until eleven concussions, a twisted knee, and a dislocated shoulder introduced him to a two-year career of "doing nothing." For the next several years he was a singer in California and Michigan, Then he auditioned for Hair and was accepted on the spot. He appeared in both the Broadway and road show productions.
"For three years I had tried all I knew to get a recording contract, but nobody was interested. One week after Hair opened in Detroit I received four offers including Motown and Atlantic." He and his leading lady from Hair signed with Motown; billing themselves as Stoney and Meatloaf they released "What You See Is What You Get."
As an actor and a singer, Meatloaf has appeared in a wide variety of productions, including Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park, off Broadway's Rainbow and Silver Queen, and Rock-a- Bye Hamlet on Broadway. He played both the role of Eddie and that of Dr. Scott in the Los Angeles production of The Rocky Horror Show, and appeared as Eddie on Broadway. The film version was his screen debut.
Since Rocky Horror, he has concentrated on his singing career. His first album -- it went platinum -- is Bat Out of Hell, which contained the hit single, "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," on which he is accompanied by Ellen Foley. Bat is also a short film featuring Meat and Karla DeVito (who replaced Ellen Foley here and in Meatloafs concert tour). The short is met with enthusiasm, not to mention its very own audience participation script. ("Sing it, you fat fool!") His second album, Renegade Angel, will soon be released.