In 1978 a friend of mine decided I needed to know just how talented Meatloaf was, and after dinner he put the album on and described all of the roles in this particular song, including who Phil Rizzuto was. The song wasn't written by Aday, it was written by Jim Steinman, but it was a helluva performance and made the album a huge bestseller. (Our dinner was not akin to the dashboard lights part, my friend was a gay man who was my roommate for two years.)

Paradise by the Dashboard Light

Whether their relationship was collaboration or partnership or just sublime good luck, Steinman was the writer of a lot of hit songs and Meatloaf was the perfect kind of performer for his compositions. Take a look at Steinman's obit from last spring:

Steinman fully embraced the epic, operatic-style rock of the 1970s, and once stated, "If you don't go over the top, you can't see what's on the other side." A bio on his website calls him "The Lord of Excess," and notes that the L.A. Times once referred to him as "the Richard Wagner of rock." In addition to Bat Out of Hell and further projects with Meat Loaf, Steinman's credits include Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" and Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back To Me Now."

Jim Steinman, Writer Of Operatic Rock Hits For Meat Loaf And Celine Dion, Dies At 73