Jim Steinman - Responsible For Meat Loaf, Celine Dion, Bonnie Tyler Hits - Passes Away

Composer, lyricist and producer Jim Steinman has passed away, age 73. 

The news was confirmed by Steinman's brother Bill who said that he had passed away from kidney failure on Monday near his home in Ridgefield, Connecticut. 

Steinman was born in Hewlett, New York in 1947 and would go on to be responsible for some of the biggest pop hits of the '80s and '90s. 

Most famously was Meat Loaf's 1977 debut album, Bat Out Of Hell, which went on to be one of the best selling albums of all time. The album features tracks like Paradise By The Dashboard Light, You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night), Bat Out Of Hell, Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad and more. 

The album would eventually be followed by two sequels - 1993's Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell and 2006's Bat Out Of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose - as well as Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical which debuted in 2017 and has found success around the globe. 

In addition to his work with Meatloaf and his own solo career as an artist, Steinman also collaborated with artists like Barbra Streisand (1985's Left In The Dark), Barry Manilow (1983's Read 'Em & Weep with Meatloaf), The Sisters Of Mercy (1990's More), Celine Dion (1996's It's All Coming Back To Me Now), Air Supply (1983's Making Love Out Of Nothing At All) and more. 

Steinman was also a key player in Bonnie Tyler's biggest hit - 1983's Total Eclipse Of The Heart - which landed at #1 on charts in Australia, the UK, US and more. 

Tyler has made tribute to Steinman today saying, "I am absolutely devastated to learn of the passing of my long term friend and musical mentor Jim Steinman".

"Jim wrote and produced some of the most iconic rock songs of all time and I was massively privileged to have been given some of them by him," she said in a statement today. 

"I made two albums with Jim, despite my record company initially thinking he wouldn't want to work with me, thankfully they were wrong, and can say without any doubt that Jim was a true genius. 

"He was also a funny, kind, supportive, and deeply caring human being and the world is a better place for his life and his work and a worse one for his passing. I will always be grateful to him for the opportunity to work with him and also to know him too."