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Meat Loaf will be remembered as a rock legend.
Following news of the 74-year-old singer’s death on Thursday, friends and fans of Meat Loaf have been streaming his music and flooding social media with touching photos and memories — but if you’ve been hoping to find his autobiography, you’re in luck.
To Hell and Back details Meat Loaf’s life and career from growing up in Texas to the release of his 1993 comeback album Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell. The memoir shares some of the turbulent and triumphant chapters in Meat Loaf’s life story: his struggles with alcoholism and depression, being physically abused by his alcoholic father, the death of his beloved mother, the release of his Bat Out of Hell debut LP, and starring in the The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Throughout his career, Meat Loaf appeared in dozens of films including Fight Club, Wayne’s World, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, Leap of Faith and Out of Bounds.
Also featured in the book are his run-ins with popular figures like President John F. Kennedy, whom he saw land in Dallas hours before he was assassinated (he was also at Parkland Hospital when Kennedy was declared dead), and that time he picked up a hitchhiking Charles Manson.
The best-selling memoir, which was originally released in 1999, was adapted into a TV film, Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back starring W. Earl Brown. The film debuted in 2000.
Although Meat Loaf’s memoir is no longer in print, we found a couple of places where die-hard fans can get their hands on a used copy, the first being Amazon. The site carries a selection of out-of-print and used books, which includes To Hell and Back in hardcover and paperback (expect to pay more than $100 though). Elsewhere on the Web, Abe Books has copies available that range in price from around $17 all the way up to $67.
In his final interview with Billboard, Meat Loaf shared plans to head back on tour after undergoing numerous back surgeries over the years. “I’m figuring out how to do shows without moving, with [props] being brought out and doing weird stuff, creative stuff… I keep calling my agent,” he explained at the time. “I left him a message, ‘Let’s do five weeks, 16 shows in America, take a little break, do 16 shows in Europe, take a break, do another 16, then see how we like it. I’m ready to get out there.”
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Tagged: Books, Culture, entertainment blog, Meatloaf, music blog, Product Recommendations