Jim Steinman

Though Jim Steinman began in the theatre, he was best known as a songwriter/producer whose records sold more than 96 million copies.

The L.A. Times described him as the Richard Wagner of rock. At Amherst College he wrote and starred in the epic musical The Dream Engine. It caused a sensation, and N.Y. Shakespeare Festival's Joe Papp bought the rights at intermission. His first professional musical was More Than You Deserve at the Public Theater. When a singer named Meat Loaf auditioned for him, Spin Magazine called the meeting "one of the top ten most important moments in the history of rock and roll." Then came his first record, the legendary Bat Out of Hell, with Meat Loaf, the biggest debut ever and the third best-selling disc of all time, well over 30 million. Sixteen years later, in 1993, the sequel, Back Into Hell, topped the charts in 38 countries. Number One songs include “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” (twice, 1983 and 1995), along with “Paradise By The Dashboard Light,” “Making Love Out Of Nothing at All,” “Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad,” “I'd Do Anything For Love But I Won't Do That" (biggest rock single sales ever), “It's All Coming Back To Me Now” (Celine Dion, 1996). He made one platinum album as a singer, Bad For Good. Film music: Footloose, Streets of Fire, The Shadow.

Steinman has written Neverland, a musical; lyrics for Whistle Down the Wind, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber; and music for Dance of the Vampires, a rock opera for director Roman Polanski. Bat Out of Hell—The Musical made its world premiere in the U.K. in 2017 and is currently touring the globe.