A Toast to Jim Steinman: The Songwriting Powder Keg Who Kept Giving Off Sparks
RIP to the self-proclaimed Little Richard Wagner who redefined rock melodrama
Rob Sheffield, provided by
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In a better time for the world, we’d all be hitting the karaoke bar tonight to mourn the late great Jim Steinman. This man was more than just the composer behind mega-bombastic hits by Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Air Supply, and so many others. He was the patron saint of karaoke singers. His idea of the perfect song was a powder keg giving off sparks, one that anybody could belt out loud. Think of a karaoke anthem “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” and chances are Steinman wrote it. Even before the art form was invented, he composed as if he saw it all coming. That’s why karaoke fans everywhere are grieving for him tonight, even if we’re cryin
Rolling Stone Menu A Toast to Jim Steinman: The Songwriting Powder Keg Who Kept Giving Off Sparks
RIP to the self-proclaimed “Little Richard Wagner” who redefined rock melodrama
By Niels van Iperen/Getty Images
In a better time for the world, we’d all be hitting the karaoke bar tonight to mourn the late great Jim Steinman. This man was more than just the composer behind mega-bombastic hits by Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Air Supply, and so many others. He was the patron saint of karaoke singers. His idea of the perfect song was a powder keg giving off sparks, one that anybody could belt out loud. Think of a karaoke anthem “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” and chances are Steinman wrote it. Even before the art form was invented, he composed as if he saw it all coming. That’s why karaoke fans everywhere are grieving for him toni
The American rock’n’roll star died during the afternoon of Easter Sunday April 17 1960. Eddie and Gene Vincent had been touring the UK. His own songs ‘Summertime Blues’ and ‘C’mon Everybody’, had been huge hits and today are regarded as classics. After the end of a long tour on Saturday April 16 a Ford Consul driven by George Martin, with Eddie, Gene, Sharon and tour-manager Pat Thompkins, set off for London. They went down the old A4 through Bath, taking a short cut on the outskirts of Chippenham. Thompkins later recalled: “Well, he saw the A4 and turned right, going the wrong way. When he saw the milestone, he realized he was going the wrong way and hit the brakes.”