To Hell and Back: An Autobiography

Amazon.com

Who'd have guessed that the man credited with bringing rock & roll to a whole new level of garishness would pen such a vastly entertaining, funny, touching, and plainspoken autobiography? But Meat Loaf (christened Marvin Lee Aday) and coauthor David Dalton succeed by skillfully modifying the tongue-in-cheek hyperbole and the bombastic befuddlement of the man's Wagner-crossed-with-the-Shangri-Las music to fit the printed page. Meat Loaf grew up in Dallas, Texas, the son of a schoolteacher (she penned a locally popular textbook on Communism) and an alcoholic cop (who happened to be an acquaintance of Jack Ruby). Meat--he earned the nickname early on--got in touch with his theatrical side as a teen and was soon off on his haphazard way, stumbling from misadventure to misadventure, and taking more than his fair share of knocks along the way. (Literally--he's suffered 17 concussions thus far, which provide an oddly effective narrative device.) He lurched into the middle of the JFK assassination scene, picked up a hitchhiking Charlie Manson, earned a part in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and recorded one of the most successful albums of the '70s, Bat out of Hell. His ample fame inevitably tied to his ample frame, Meat Loaf quickly became something of an amped-up Fatty Arbuckle. Then came the colossal excesses and flop follow-ups, capped by a rebound called--you guessed it--Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell. Yes, it's a familiar framework, but the telling of Meat Loaf's rise, fall, and recovery is never anything less than fresh and absorbing. --Steven Stolder

Book Description

"poor fat marvin can't wear levi's!"a radio advertisement boomed as a 240-pound seventh grader named Marvin Lee Aday shuddered in humiliation. Parents said he was "too fat" to play with their children, and his classmates picked on him, even ganging up to lock him in a storage box. Unflatteringly nicknamed "Meat Loaf" by his alcoholic father, prone to getting concussions (seventeen in all), and drawn to musical theater, no one pegged this misfit kid to become a rock star. That is, until he recorded the third best-selling album of all time.In To Hell and Back, Meat Loaf reveals his amazing story--a rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches life that would rival most fiction. As a boy, he had to face down lowlifes straight out of Deliverance in order to fetch his drunken father out of gutbucket saloons--the same father who would later try to kill him with a butcher knife. He was at Parkland Hospital when JFK was declared dead, picked up a hitchhiker who happened to be Charles Manson, got recruited for the musical Hair while trying to get a job as a parking attendant, and starred in a movie that became the biggest cult film of all time, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. From there, he collaborated with Jim Steinman to make a record called Bat Out of Hell, which went from being laughed at and rejected by every music executive in the industry to selling more than 28 million copies and launching Meat Loaf into international superstardom. Meat's story would be incredible if it stopped right there. But that's just the beginning.

The heights to which Meat had soared were matched only by the depth of his plunge back into the abyss. In a swirl of devious managers, drugs, lawyers, guns, money, nervous breakdowns (including the psychosomatic loss of his voice), and more lawsuits than he could count, Meat Loaf lost it all. He was bankrupt, his relationship with best friend and collaborator, Jim Steinman, turned ugly, and his wife, having a nervous breakdown of her own, was considering a divorce.

But the hardest-working man in rock and roll would not stay down. Returning to his family he set out with them to conquer the world again, club by club and through word of mouth--a struggle that culminated in a reunion with Steinman, the Grammy Award-winning release of Bat out of Hell II, and a return to the limelight. Illustrated with dozens of previously unpublished photographs, Meat Loaf's story is--like Meat Loaf himself--larger than life.

Customer Reviews:

A must for every ML fan.......2005-03-12

To Hell and Back: An Autobiography is an absolute must for every ML fan.

this is great, entertaining and inspirational!

Great read.......2004-09-21

This book is written in short, very entertaining spurts. It might be a good one to keep in your bathroom or at the office where you can only get a few pages read every now and then. There are incredibly funny and touching anecdotes scattered within, and you get a good look at Meat's personality and history.

My only complaint was that, besides his money troubles, he tended to skip over the tougher aspects of his life. Drug use, infidelity and the harshness of life on the road are treated as minor blips on the radar.

Otherwise, this is a fun and entertaining read. Meatloaf is a great storyteller, and one of America's great rock and rollers. If you're a fan of Meatloaf or a rock enthusiast, you'll enjoy this autobiography.

Hell is honest and humorous.......2003-02-02

I got this book when it first came out, while I was in college. I remember driving my roomie crazy because I had also ordered a couple of Meat CDs and all I did all day was listen to Meat Loaf and read this book. I didn't go to class, I didn't go get food, I just read. GOD DAMN was this book a great read! Lucky for me I was going to college in Philly and Mr. Loaf was coming to a store nearby to do a signing...I'll never forget that!

I really can't say much about the book, except that it's an incredible story about an incredible man. I loved the book and I've told my friends time and again to read it; I'd recommend it even to people who aren't too keen on Meat Loaf. It's just a damn good book!

the best biogarphy/autobiography every wrote.......2002-03-25

this is the best book that (i think) was every wrote becuase i am 13 years old i hate reading books in or out of school with a passion (and i mean i hate reading). this is the only book that i liked to read i got it from the library and some how i got it stolen out of my locker and i was realy mad becuase that is the only book that i every realy wanted to read.

Decades of Decadence.......2001-09-18

This is the tale of Marvin Lee Aday. AKA Meat Loaf. This fills in all the blanks in his life. You see where he came from, where he went and how he got there. It is told with comic irreverence. It shows you hte hell it is to be a struggling musician, and the hell it is to be a successful one. If you hve never read a Rock biography, I recommend this one because Meat is not your typical strung our junkie that most Rock bio's exault.
Thanx for your time, T

Meatloaf: Recipes for Everyone's Favorite

Average customer rating:

Everyone's Favorite!?!

Meatloaf: Recipes for Everyone's Favorite
Maryana Vollstedt
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Pizza | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0811847179

Book Description

Everyone loves meatloaf. It's the ultimate in homey comfort food, easy to make and, with a fluffy mound of mashed potatoes and some gravy, about as close to heaven as a meal can get. Maryana Vollstedt, author of such comforting favorites as Big Book of Casseroles and Big Book of Easy Suppers, presents her favorite recipes, including a classic loaf using a mixture of ground beef and sausage; a lively version with a horseradish-crumb topping; and an Asian-style meatloaf with a hoisin-soy sauce (and a spicy touch of wasabi for more adventurous folks). Others showcase poultry, lamb, or fish and there are also vegetarian selections. Recipes for the perfect side dish accompaniment round out this satisfying book.

Customer Reviews:

Everyone's Favorite!?!.......2007-03-04

I always hated Meatloaf - it always looked like SPAM to me - BUT - this book does some fun stuff with Meatloaf - and so I just couldn't resist!!!

One of my favorite recipes is Frosted Meatloaf!!! What's that you ask?!? That's Meatloaf topped with Mashed Potatoes - the best part of that being that the potatoes actually hide the Meatloaf - the second best part is the title's tie in with dessert - you can't go wrong with that!!!

Anyway - I know a lot of people really do love Meatloaf - so if I love this book - I'm sure a real lover - would like it even more!!!

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell (Piano-Vocal-Guitar)

Average customer rating:

BAD
BAD
Very good
I loved it

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell (Piano-Vocal-Guitar)
Meat Loaf
Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0793507650

Book Description

Matching folio to the classic album. 7 songs including the title track and: Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad * Paradise By The Dashboard Light * You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night).

Customer Reviews:

BAD.......2003-08-28

I thought that the book would have the full beginning of Bat Out Of Hell but it is shortened straight down to the start of the song. It's not an accompniament u play the actual song and it is the same through the whole book.It's very very poor!

BAD.......2003-08-28

Very good.......2003-06-25

I wanted to play my guitar to songs I grew up with. This record was a big hit here, so I thought it would be good to be able to sing some of the songs with my frinds. I was disappointed that many of the songs are so bombastic that when sung just with guitar/vocal they sound dreadful. TWO OUT OF THREE AINT BAD is manageable, but many others aren't. This isn't really a criticism of this book, which is very good, but of its utility to those of us (most?) who don't have Meatloaf's huge voice.

I loved it.......2000-08-28

Meatloaf, Bat out of Hell, 1977 with Songs by Jim Steinman Easyt to read guitar notes also work with any wind instrument

Average customer rating:

Best mystery EVER read!
Secrets and Meat Loaf
Pretty good culinary mystery
Not exactly comfort food . . .
A Tasty Entree for Mystery Buffs!

Dial M for Meat Loaf
Ellen Hart
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 034542154X
Release Date: 2001-10-30

Book Description

RECIPE FOR MURDER

As Minnesota housewives race to meet the deadline for the Times Register?s meat loaf contest, an unsavory small-towner named Kirby Runbeck is blown to smithereens by a car bomb.

Days later, the town?s former mayor, John Washburn, near death from a stroke, confesses to the killing. His wife and two children vehemently deny it, but when Sophie Greenway, food maven and friend of the family, happens upon an old snapshot, a bundle of letters, and a tattoo of a red-eyed snake, she wonders about Washburn?s innocence. Unlike the recipe for a prize meat loaf, this murder is seasoned with spicy secrets and a generous portion of scandal, which Sophie dares to bring to a roiling boil. . . .

Customer Reviews:

Best mystery EVER read!.......2007-10-04

I enjoy mysteries with a heavy dash of WHY-done-its, surprise revelations along the way, and psychological profiling. I enjoy reading things that make me think "Oh Yes! I knew that" and "Oh yes, I have known people like that" and "Oh yes! I can see how that would happen!"

I also love getting so enmeshed in a story that I need to keep reading, and eating can wait, sleep can wait, bathroom breaks can wait-LOL That doesn't often happen to me, but it happened with THIS book. I had read one other book in the series, and that explained a bit about the characters, however this book certainly could stand alone as a first read.

I like getting so enmeshed that as the story goes along, I already know who I DON'T want to die at the end, even though I think they MIGHT. I enjoy having opinions on characters and happenings as they go along, without the author having to laboriously explain them. I enjoy characters that are multidimensional and aren't all-good or all-bad. (that mirrors real humans LOL) I enjoy seeing into characters that aren't exactly as they want to portray themselves to the world...along with the smattering of what-you-see-is-what-you-get.

Secrets and Meat Loaf.......2003-09-02

Sophie Greenway is the new restaurant review editor at the Times Register. She shares the job with her son Rudy. Her husband Bram Baldric is a radio personality. Bram interviews Bernice Washburn, author of the forthcoming All That Glitters, a study of café society in America. She is also the food editor at the Times Register. She would not agree to do the interview unless Sophie agreed to come too. Bernice was terrified of radio interviews.

During the interview, Bernice announced that the Times Register was holding a statewide competition and asking everyone to send in their favorite meat loaf recipe.

Cora Runbeck, recently widowed when Kirby's truck blew up in the garage when he started it, new she had the best meat loaf recipe. She'd recently had catarac surgery and hadn't used her recipes for ages. When she went looking for her recipe box, she found Kirby had moved it. After much searching, she found it. But inside were a couple surprises Kirby had hidden there.

John Washburn, former mayor, had a stroke and was near death. In the hospital he finally regains consciousness and writes a cryptic note to his family. Unfortunately he is confessing to a murder and his doctor happens to be standing there and sees the note. So, the police are called. The family keeps saying he didn't know what he was writing. They wouldn't let him write any more notes.

Bernice is John's son. Sophie gives her a ride to the hospital one day and ends up spending the night due to a terrible storm. Through some information she finds, she starts questioning John's identity. As she begins looking into it, things are definitely not what they seem. What should she do with this information.

Sophie and Bram own the Maxfield Plaza and live in an apartment there. Her parents sold it to them for $1 when they decided to retire.

I like this series because Sophie always gets herself into some situations. Bram doesn't play a major role in the investigations, but is always an integral part in the story. Their relationship always adds to the story line. Then there's her gay son Rudy and his grown daughter Margie. Both play important roles in most of the stories.

This story was well crafted. She had enough people involved to keep you wondering which one did it. I wasn't disappointed with the ending, nor could I figure it out too early.

The Minneapolis setting is interesting too. I like the fact they live in the hotel. It really adds character to the story.

I highly recommend this book and series. If you like food, you will like this fun series.

Pretty good culinary mystery.......2002-04-05

Sophie Greenway is a restaurant reviewer with a newspaper in the Twin Cities. Her husband is a popular radio talk show host. When her friend Bernice's father suffers a stroke, she offers to drive her home. John Washburn confesses to a murder while in the hospital, and that's only the beginning.

This series is entertaining and the mystery has many twists and turns. Not bad, I would definitely read another of the series.

Not exactly comfort food . . ........2002-02-15

Anyone who thinks coincidence has no place in fiction has obviously not read the books of Ellen Hart. She uses coincidence to trigger the plot in several of her books, but none better than the totally believable set-up here.

Sophie Greenaway is now, in addition to general manager and owner of the Maxfield Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis, the restaurant reviewer for the Star-Tribune. Her immediate supervisor, the food editor, Berniece Washburn, is also a friend. When Berniece needs to go home to Rose Hill to visit her father, ill in the hospital from a severe stroke, Sophie offers to drive. A sudden summer storm results in her having to stay the night in the home of Berniece's parents. There, Sophie stumbles over a photo of a young couple, dating from years earlier. Obviously, the photo is of Berniece's parents, but-wait! Sophie recognizes the man from her own youth, and his name then was not John Washburn.

From this ordinary beginning, a tale of multiple lies begins and takes over the waking hours of Sophie and her son, Rudy. Not to mention several of the inhabitants of Rose Hill, and other towns scattered through the upper Great Lakes area. Throughout is the back story of the newspaper's contest for the best meatloaf recipe--the top three are included in the book, and look delicious!

Unfortunately, the ending of the book and solution of the mystery, while tying up all the loose ends, etc., seems awfully rushed. The epilogue almost doesn't even belong to this book, it's so 'out-of-left-field' in content. And that's the only reason for the four star rating, as this author is usually 5 stars, just like the very best restaurants!

A Tasty Entree for Mystery Buffs!.......2001-11-01

Having grown up in Minneapolis, I've always enjoyed the way in which Ellen Hart capitalizes on what I think of as the uniquely Minnesotan mindset to provide a logical albeit somewhat locally-skewed rationale for her characters' attitudes and behaviors. That's why I found it not at all unusual that irascible Cora Runbeck...her ne'er-do-well husband's sudden demise from a car bomb starts the plot action of the book off with a bang!...would take time out from her own somewhat nefarious plans for blackmail and mayhem to sit down and submit her special "No-Nonsense Meatloaf" recipe to the Minneapolis Times-Register's contest. Like the dish that this delightful read celebrates, it's exactly that kind of marvelous mixture of off-beat humor and action-intense realism that makes Ellen Hart's novels such fun!

Series heroine Sophie Greenway (wife of radio personality Bram Baldric, owner of the historic Maxwell Plaza hotel in St. Paul and recently-appointed restaurant critic for the Times-Register) together with her friend, Bernice Washburn, its food editor, are supposed to serve as judges for this event, but tasting takes a backseat to detecting when (spoiler). Plato, his son, is especially distraught, but it is Bernice who begs Sophie to draw upon her talents as an amateur sleuth to try and unravel the why's behind this unlikely scenario and uncover the real murderer. Her only starting point? A series of puzzling letters that (spoiler). Ms. Hart's ingenuity and clever plotting provides clues aplenty, but unraveling former Mayor Washburn's past almost leads to another tragedy before the trail leads Sophie to the heart of the matter and justice can be served up piping hot! As always, character-driven plotting and a tight, suspenseful pace kept me happily involved in the lives of Sophie and her family and friends, and the included recipes are pure lagniappe. Meatloaf may be plain cooking, but Ellen Hart dishes up haute cuisine in cozies.

Average customer rating:

Funniest material I ever read online. I'm still laughing!

Perfection Uncanned

Great humor book, cute poetry book

Sad sad day....

17 silly syllables

Spam-Ku: Tranquil Reflections on Luncheon Loaf

Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Limericks & Humorous Verse | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0060952784

Amazon.com

"I hear the Spam ball. / It bounces--porqua, porqua. / A haiku of spring." John Nagamichi Cho--self-described Spam Haiku Archive Master, or "S.H.A.M." for short, and researcher at MIT--has compiled a treasure-trove of uniquely delicious poetry from more than 40 porkphile poets. With piggy prose on everything from Americana: "perfection uncanned / like a beautiful redhead / fresh from her trailer" to philosophy: "I'm pink, therefore I'm Spam," Spam-ku: Tranquil Reflections on Luncheon Loaf is a perfect accouterment for those with a taste for the quirky. --Rebekah Warren

Book Description

Since 1995, John Cho has faithfully harvested and preserved SPAM-related haiku for future generations. Now, for the first time in print, the SPAM Haiku Archive Master (or S.H.A.M.) offers more than 150 of the most delectible SPAM-ku ever prepared--selected from his collection of thousands.

Anyone who likes to eat SPAM luncheon meat, sing about SPAM with Monty Python, or simply relish the poetry that is SPAM's very existence will love sinking his or her teeth into SPAM-ku.

Customer Reviews:

Funniest material I ever read online. I'm still laughing!.......2004-07-24

On August 22, 1995, I happened across spamhaiku.com, the source of this wonderful book, and was hooked in the first few minutes. I was roaring with laughter, tears streaming down my cheeks, in awe of the creativity that had been unleashed. Naturally, I had to try my hand at this art, beginning with Spam-Ku number 552:

I can't stop laughing.
SPAM has become a can of
worms. Please help yourself.

Not content with mere haiku, I upped the ante with this, number 558:

SPAMAPSPAMAPSPAM
SPAMAPSPAMAPSPAMAPSPAM
APS. A palindrome.

Eventually I became thematic, which was inevitable, really. Herewith, a small sample of the output:

16673
New year, new diet.
Cake, pie, bread, whipped cream are banned.
All I eat is SPAM.

16674
SPAM diet works great.
Ninety days with nothing else.
Now on life support.

16675
Doc says, "Do Adkins!"
Prescribes the little blue can.
Then calls mortician.

Years later after much practice and honing of skills, I called for reinforcement, luring another hapless victim into the Spam-Ku lair. Hours of study and a lunchmeat mind meld produced the world's only three-word, 17-syllable Spam-Ku, number 16379:

Postmasticated
porcinitudicity:
Extravaganza!

You asked for my advice, so here goes:

Buy the book and see
you'll be laughing just like me,
then switch to turkey.

Perfection Uncanned.......2004-02-01

John Cho must be a profoundly unusual man to combine the concepts of Japanese verse and Spam. This book is an utter delight for anyone who cherishes the unusual, strange, or surreal. The book contains 162 poems (technically, many are not haiku, but are senryu, but since 'ku' means 'verse' in Japanese, the title is still appropriate) about the most popular spiced pork luncheon meat product the world has ever known.

The book is actually divided into chapters such as "Dreams and Nightmares", Obsession and Addiction", and "Philosophy and Deep Thought." In all cases Mr. Cho, who is the 'Spam Haiku Archive Master' (SPAM) for his Spam-ku website (http://www.spamhaiku.com/spamhaiku/site/), has selected only the tastiest poetic morsels for us to feast on. I have many favorites, but will cite two examples of the finest of the Spam poetry genre. In the section "Epiphany and Portent" there is this gem:

Roseate pork slab,
How you quiver on my spork!
Radiant light, gelled.

While in the section "Anticipation and Desire", this little greasy gem lurks:

How my hands tremble
Applying a light coat of
SPAM-colored lipstick.

All in all this book is perfect for those with a well developed or offbeat sense of humor, or alternately, it is tailor made to annoy anyone who takes poetry way too seriously (which can be fun in and of itself). I am pleased to see Mr. Cho's important contribution to literature in print, and hope for a sequel at some point in the future.

Great humor book, cute poetry book.......2002-05-20

If you want to have a good laugh, try this one out. A book of haikus about Spam can't be anything but funny, and the book's daring makes it somewhat refrshing for a poetry book. The only "meat" an actual poet may draw from it is the invigorating notion that a poem can be about anything if you set your pen to it. Beyond that, it's a humor volume I like to punish poets with at open mics.

Sad sad day...........2002-03-28

It depresses me when a book like this can get such rave reviews form people. This isn't even poetry.

17 silly syllables.......2001-07-02

What a whacky idea to mix spam and the Japanese Haiku! If you are looking for a way to wile away the hours writing sometimes profound and sometimes worthless words, use this little book for inspiration. Then you can go to the spamku's web site and submit some of your best/worst efforts for others to read.

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100 Best Selling Albums of the 70's

Manufacturer: Amber Books Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 076075652X

Product Description

A celebration of the 100 best selling albums of the 1970s based on recording industry figures. Each album featured with sleeve artwork. Complete track listings, musician line-ups, and production credits.

Monday Is Meat Loaf and Burgers and Pork Chops and Steaks and More (Everyday Cookbooks)

Average customer rating:

Mommy Made and Daddy too

Monday Is Meat Loaf and Burgers and Pork Chops and Steaks and More (Everyday Cookbooks)
Time-Life Books
Manufacturer: Time-Life Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Quick & Easy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0809491869

Customer Reviews:

Mommy Made and Daddy too.......2000-05-16

I thought the book was very informative and helpful. Great receipes!

The Great American Meatloaf Contest Cookbook: Great Meatloaf Recipes by Great Americans

Average customer rating:

The Great American Meatloaf Contest Cookbook: Great Meatloaf Recipes by Great Americans
Peter "Meatloaf" Kaufman , and T. K. Woods
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Pizza | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0688126464

Average customer rating:

America Loves Hamburger
Linda West Eckhardt
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0517118432
Release Date: 1994-06-04

Average customer rating:

Bat Out of Hell Spec Ed

Manufacturer: Sony Music Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 5558113898

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