Jim Steinman: Top 25 Songs

Jim Steinman Image from BBC.com

Composer, lyricist, playright, and record producer born 11/1/1947 in New York City, NY. Died 4/19/2021. Started in musical theatre, but found his greatest fame when he teamed with Meat Loaf to write songs for the legendary Bat Out of Hell in 1977. He also returned to Broadway, teaming with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the musical Whistle Down the Wind. His repertoire has sold more than 190 million records. Click here to see other best-of lists from performers and here to see other best-of lists from songwriters and/or producers. Spotify Podcast: Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast The Best of Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman based on this list. It debuts January 25, 2022, at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards:

Top 25 Songs Written by Jim Steinman Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. This list is focused only on songs which charted in some fashion so it doesn’t include any album cuts. Also – only the highest-ranked version of the each song is included. #1 songs are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.) DMDB Top 1%: 1. Meat Loaf “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” (1993) #1 US, CB, UK, CN, AU 2. Bonnie Tyler “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (1983) #1 US, CB, RR, UK, CN, AU DMDB Top 2%: 3. Meat Loaf “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights” (1977) #1 CL 4. Celine Dion “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” (1996) #1 CB, AC, CN DMDB Top 5%: 5. Meat Loaf “Bat Out of Hell” (1977) 6. Meat Loaf “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” (1977) 7. Air Supply “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” (1983) DMDB Top 10%: 8. Boyzone “No Matter What” (1997) #1 UK 9. Meat Loaf “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth” (1977) 10. Meat Loaf “Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through” (1993) 11. Barry Manilow “Read ‘Em and Weep” (1983) #1 AC DMDB Top 20%: 12. Bonnie Tyler “Holding Out for a Hero” (1984) 13. Meat Loaf “Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are” (1993) 14. Sisters of Mercy “More” (1990) #1 MR Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 15. Fire Inc. “Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young” (1984) 16. Meat Loaf & Cher “Dead Ringer for Love’ (1981) 17. Meat Loaf “I’m Gonna Love Her for Both of Us” (1981) 18. Meat Loaf “Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back” (1993) 19. Barbra Striesand “Left in the Dark” (1984) 20. Bonnie Tyler & Todd Rundgren “Loving You’s a Dirty Job But Somebody’s Gotta Do It” (1985) 21. Meat Loaf “Nowhere Fast” (1984) 22. Tina Arena “Whistle Down the Wind” (1997) 23. Meat Loaf “Is Nothing Sacred” (1998) 24. Taylor Dayne “Original Sin” (1995) 25. Bonnie Tyler “Faster Than the Speed of Night” (1983) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Jim Steinman DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Meat Loaf DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Bonnie Tyler First posted 4/29/2021; last updated 1/25/2022.

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Album Inductees (May 2020)

Originally posted 5/22/2020. January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog. To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This month marks the sixth group of album inductees. There have been 38 albums in history with reported sales (officially and unofficially) of 30 million or more. 21 of those featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time. 11 have already been inducted: The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles Abbey Road (1969), Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977), Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987), Michael Jackson Thriller (1982), Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Metallica Metallica (aka ‘The Black Album’) (1991), Nirvana Nevermind (1991), Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973), U2 The Joshua Tree (1987), and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (1977). That leaves 10 albums to be inducted in this batch. See the full list of album inductees here.

AC/DC Back in Black (1980) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

The Australian group was on the cusp of “worldwide breakthrough success” AMG when leader singer Bon Scott died from choking on his own vomit after a drinking spree. The band mourned for two days and then went right back into action, recruiting Brian Johnson as their new lead singer and roaring back into action months later with what All Music Guide’s Greg Prato called “one of hard rock’s greatest achievements.” AMG Read more.

Dire Straits Brothers in Arms (1985) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

When most albums were still being recorded on analog equipment, Dire Straits embraced new digital techniques, making this a “must-have record for serious audiophiles.” ZS It become the first album to sell one million copies in the CD format. WK Industry insiders suggested anyone who owned a CD player owned this album. PR Of course, the album was also helped by the huge #1 hit “Money for Nothing.” Anyone who had MTV saw the song’s inescapable video. Read more.

Eagles Hotel California (1976) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

By their fifth album, the Eagles had shifted from country-rock to mainstream rock. While they lost two founding members along the way, they gained a larger audience than ever before. The album sported two #1 hits with “New Kid in Town” and the title cut, a classic rock staple, but the entire album got played on album rock stations. Read more.

Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

This is Elton John’s “commercial and creative apex.” ZS It “plays like a greatest hits album, overflowing with classic songs” RV which “remain standards more than 30 years later thanks to Bernie Taupin’s sharpest lyrics, John’s propulsive keyboard skills and vocals that leap into falsetto without losing any of their power.” TL Read more.

Bob Marley & the Wailers Legend (compilation: 1973-83, released 1984) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

“Ask someone to name a reggae artist, and the first name that comes to mind is always Bob Marley.” NO “For many Marley embodied the music to the exclusion of all other artists.” PR “Often called Reggae 101,” VU this compilation is “the classic Marley album, the one that any fair-weather reggae fan owns.” AMG “To many, this compilation is the reggae album,” NO setting “the standard by which all other reggae albums are judged.” VU Read more.

Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell (1977) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

“There is no other album like Bat Out of Hell, unless you want to count the sequel” AMG which came out in 1993. This collection of “mini-epics” AMG makes for “one of rock’s most theatrical, grandiose records” RS and one of the genre’s “least likely hit albums.” AZ It is “overwrought and undeniable;” AZ “gothic, operatic, and silly – and it’s appealing because of all of this.” AMG Read more.

Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill (1995) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

After two dance-pop albums released in her native Canada, Alanis partnered with producer and songwriter Glen Ballard and tapped into her bitter diary entries of teen angst to transform into an “angry rocker chick.” ZS She was savvy enough, however, to give the songs enough pop gloss to churn out multiple hits from the album and inspire “a generation of soundalikes to bare their souls on record.” PR Read more.

Pink Floyd The Wall (1979) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

This is “a narcissistic, double-album rock opera” AMG which “has become synonymous with, if not the very definition of, the term ‘concept album.’” BU Roger Waters, the band’s bassist and lyricist, crafted a story of “an emotionally crippled rock star” AMG and the “implications of self-imposed isolation, symbolised by the metaphorical wall of the title.” WK Ironically, the album made Pink Floyd bigger than ever thanks to the anthemic #1 hit “Another Brick in the Wall Part II.” Read more.

Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. (1984) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

Prior to Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen was as close to cult status as an artist could get who’d had platinum-selling, top-10 albums and the occasional top-40 hit. However, his seventh album transformed him to pop icon on the strength of seven top-10 hits and a slew of well-received videos on MTV – all while still keeping his core album-rock audience. Read more.

Various Artists (including Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta) Grease (soundtrack, 1978) Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

This “high-camp classic” ZS whisked listeners away “to the ‘50s teeny-bopper days” ZS by boasting “summer-loving hits that will be on karaoke playlists until the end of time.” ZS “Grease was a huge success as a Broadway musical prior to hitting the big screen in 1978…It was a runaway box office success, and then became a TV, cable, and video favorite.” AMG The soundtrack produced three top-5 hits and spent a dozen weeks atop the album chart in the U.S. Read more.

2012 Inductees for the Songwriters Hall of Fame

The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its 2012 class of inductees. To see more about the Hall and the full list of inductees from 1970 to 2012, check here. Here’s a bit more about each of this year’s inductees:

Gordon Lightfoot, a singer and songwriter, “is credited for helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s.” ^SH Among his best known work are songs “Sundown,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” He has also had songs recorded by Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Sarah McLachlan, Barbra Streisand, Peter Paul & Mary, Harry Belafonte, Jane’s Addiction, Richie Havens, Glen Campbell, Toby Keith, Anne Murray, Nana Mouskouri and George Hamilton IV. ^SH “He has received five Grammy® nominations and seventeen Juno Awards in his native Canada, and was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, among his many other distinctions.” ^SH

Bob Seger has rocked the world with a slew of favorites including “Old Time Rock and Roll,” “Night Moves,” “Turn the Page,” and “Against the Wind.” While immensely successful at recording his own work and selling more than 51 million records worldwide, ^SH he has also been covered by Metallica, Kid Rock, Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Rod Stewart, Cher, Johnny Hallyday, Martina McBride, Waylon Jennings, Dottie West, The Pointer Sisters, Barry Manilow, Brooks & Dunn, Conway Twitty and Keb’ Mo’. ^SH In its 17-year history, Seger’s Greatest Hits album has been a continuous presence on either the Billboard Top 200 Albums or Catalog Albums charts. ^SH It was named the #1 Catalog Album of the Decade (2000-2010). ^SH Seger is also a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

Don Schlitz made his name as a country songwriter with his first recorded song. Kenny Rogers’ recording of “The Gambler” took home the Grammy for Country Song of the Year in 1978. A decade later, Randy Travis’ recording of “Forever and Ever, Amen” garnered Schlitz another such award. With songs sung by Garth Brooks, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Judds, Alison Krauss, Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker, and Keith Whitley, Schlitz can boast a catalog of 24 #1 hits. He has been named ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year four times won the CMA Song of the Year Award three times, and took home the ACM Song of the Year trophy twice.

Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones combined as the composer and lyricist team for the 1960 musical, The Fantasticks. “Try to Remember” became the show’s most beloved song, being recorded by hundreds of artists including Ed Ames, Harry Belafonte, Placido Domingo, and Barbra Streisand. The pair also earned Tony Award nominations for Best Composer and Lyricist for 110 in the Shade and I DO! I DO!. They’ve also been inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame and the Broadway Hall of Fame.

Jim Steinman started in musical theatre, but found his greatest fame when he teamed with Meat Loaf to write songs for the legendary Bat Out of Hell in 1977. With worldwide sales of more than 40 million, that album is one of the top 5 all-time best sellers worldwide. Steinman also wrote the #1 hits “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”, and “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” as recorded by Bonnie Tyler, Meat Loaf, and Celine Dion resepectively. He also returned to Broadway, teaming with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the musical Whistle Down the Wind. His repertoire has sold more than 190 million records. ^SH

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Resources and Related Links:

• Tom Jones’ DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
• Gordon Lightfoot’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
• Bob Seger’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
• Don Schlitz’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
• Harvey Schmidt’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
• Jim Steinman’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
• Tom Lane’s music blog: 2012 Songwriters Hall Inductees (3/21/12)
• ^SH Songwriters Hall of Fame: Songwriters Hall of Fame Announces 2012 Inductees (3/8/12)
• full list of Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees

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Meat Loaf hit #1 with “I’d Do Anything for Love”

I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) Meat Loaf

Writer(s): Jim Steinman (see lyrics here) Released: September 15, 1993 First Charted: September 5, 1993 Peak: 15 US, 16 CB, 11 GR, 3 RR, 9 AC, 10 AR, 17 UK, 12 CN, 18 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.4 US, 0.79 UK, 2.83 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 157.0 video, 124.44 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The debut album from Meat Loaf (born Marvin Lee Aday), 1977’s Bat Out of Hell, has been estimated at 50 million in worldwide sales, making it one of the three best-selling albums of all time. Subsequent releases over the next decade didn’t even reach a million in sales in the U.S., and by the 1990s it looked like his career was over. However, he reteamed with Jim Steinman, who’d written the songs on Bat Out of Hell, and they created Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell in the same “bombastic, piano-driven style.” SF The original album charted three top-40 hits, but his highest charting song had been “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” at #11. With “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” the first single from Bat Out of Hell II, Meat Loaf didn’t just chart again, he went all the way to the top. In addition to spending five weeks at the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., the song reached #1 in 27 other countries. WK The song was the UK’s best seller in 1993 and earned a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo. Meat Loaf and Steinman had talked about reuniting as far back as 1984, but Meat Loaf’s record label at the time wasn’t interested. When he moved to MCA, Steinman was busy working with the group Pandora’s Box, who released an album in 1989. They did finally reunite and Steinman played “I’d Do Anything for Love” for Meat Loaf in 1990. It had all the traits of a Steinman song: “power chords, the pseudo-classical piano sequences, [and] the tearful verse followed by a triumphant chorus.” LW The version that they recorded for the album was 12-minutes long, but was cut down to a five-minute version for the single. As he did for all his songs, Meat Loaf assumed the role of a character. In this case, he said he imagined he “was a 14-year-old looking at this girl trying to figure out how to get up the nerve…to ask her out.” FB Listeners seemed puzzled over what it was that Meat Loaf wouldn’t do for love, but he said the answer’s right there in the song. “I’ll never forget the way you feel right now…I’ll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life.” FB At the end of the song, the female singer, Lorraine Crosby, declares “You’ll see that it’s time to move on” and “You’ll be screwing around” to which Meat Loaf responds, “I wont do that!” Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Jim Steinman FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 821. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 172. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/8/2021; last updated 11/24/2022.

Bonnie Tyler hit #1 in the U.S. with “Total Eclipse of the Heart”

Total Eclipse of the Heart Bonnie Tyler

Writer(s): Jim Steinman (see lyrics here) Released: February 11, 1983 First Charted: February 19, 1983 Peak: 14 US, 14 CB, 15 GR, 13 RR, 7 AC, 23 AR, 12 UK, 12 CN, 16 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 1.0 UK, 6.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 928.66 video, 434.94 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: After Bonnie Tyler had a top-5 hit with “It’s a Heartache” in 1978, she disappeared from the charts for five years. After signing to new management, she wondered if Jim Steinman, the guy who produced Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, an album she loved, would be available to produce. Stereogum’s Tom Breihan described him as “aspiring Broadway guy who doesn’t come from the rock ecosystem and who…uses ever tool at his disposal to achieve full [Phil] Spector/ [Bruce] Springsteen grandiosity.” SG Tyler also loved the kind of sound that Phil Spector used to get and said, “The only producer who can get that epic sound nowadays is Jim Steinman…I didn’t really think he’d do it.” FB When he agreed, she flew to New York to meet him. He played her “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” a song he’d written for the movie Small Circle of Friends. As she said, “when he plays, he practically knocks [the piano] through the floor.” FB He assembled an all-star band for her album Faster Than the Speed of Night which included guitarist Rick Derringer, drummer Max Weinberg, and keyboardist Roy Bittan. Not only were the latter two part of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, but they’d played on Bat Out of Hell. Faster Than the Speed of Night debuted at #1 in England, making Tyler the first woman to accomplish that feat. The lead single, “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” reached #1 in March 1983. Seven months later the song topped the charts in the U.S. as well. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is “pop music as heart-pounding, chest-thumping, blood-gargling, heavens-falling passion explosion.” SG “The term ‘power ballad’ doesn’t adequately describe…[the song] if only because the word ‘power’ just doesn’t have enough power.” SG Tyler is “pleading and wailing and howling and screaming like she’s standing on a mountaintop and demanding answers from God.” SG “Nobody’s entirely sure what…[it] is about, and nobody needs to know. ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ overwhelms the idea of songwriting specificity in the same way that a tidal wave overwhelms a rowboat.” SG Steinman once described it as “a Wagnerian-like onslaught of sound and emotion.” SG “Tyler went on to a long career of howling power ballads…but…never made it into the US top 10 again…But people will always need songs to dramatically bellow when they’re drunk, which means ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ will live on forever.” SG Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bonnie Tyler DMDB encyclopedia entry for Jim Steinman FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 578. KL Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh (2005). 1000 UK Number One Hits: The Stories Behind Every Number One Single Since 1952. London, Great Britain: Omnibus Press. Page 289. SG Stereogum (7/27/2020). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan WK Wikipedia First posted 11/29/2021; last updated 12/27/2022.