Ten Albums "Everybody" Owned -- Including Me: Bat Out of Hell (#1)

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There's nothing like an 8 AM doctor's appointment on your day off to discombobulate you. My dermatologist is great, but by 9 AM he's running behind on his appointments, so I snagged the first appointment in the morning. The upside is that I was home by 8:30. The downside is I went back to bed and now I'm discombobulated. Today's finale of the list of mega-selling albums that I bought might discombobulate you, too. Here it is. #1: Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf This isn't #1 because I love it so much (although I do, but this isn't better than Rumours or Tapestry); rather, because it's probably a surprise to people who think of me as the hillbilly music lover. More shocking, I still have this! I was 17 when this came out in 1977. Although I hadn't suffered the angst that Meat Loaf (ne Marvin Lee Aday) sang about and Jim Steinman wrote about, it hit a chord with me...and about 43 million others. Yes, it's sold over 43 million copies in the 41 years since its release. It's a rock opera of the teenage set, no doubt, from the desire to be a motorcycle rider only to die like James Dean (the title track) to love found ("Heaven Can Wait") and lost ("Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"), and even lust lost ("All Revved Up With No Place to Go") and found ("Paradise By the Dashboard Lights"). When Meat Loaf toured in support of the album he sang the songs in the order they appeared on the album (I remember one review saying that he said at a concert, "It's time for side two" ). Meat Loaf's had his shares of ups and down (I recommend his autobiography, To Hell And Back), and he's survived, looking better now at 70 than he did in those days. Thanks for reading. Bat Out of Hell Recorded by Meat Loaf Produced by Todd Rundgren Released in 1977 The smokin' "All Revved Up With No Place to Go":