Jim Steinman, composer of bombastic hit records for Meat Loaf, dies at 73 Matt Schudel Jim Steinman, a songwriter who composed chart-topping hits for Celine Dion and Bonnie Tyler, but was best-known for creating the bombastic music for Meat Loaf’s popular “Bat Out of Hell” recordings, died April 19 in Danbury, Conn. He was 73. The death was confirmed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Connecticut, which did not provide additional details. A brother, Bill Steinman, told the Associated Press that the cause of death was kidney failure after strokes. Mr. Steinman, nothing if not eccentric, woke up late in the day and worked all night, writing songs that combined the power of opera, Broadway extravaganzas and the rock-and-roll wall of sound of producer Phil Spector.