1983 Songs: Total Eclipse of the Heart

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That big sigh of relief I just heard was y’all saying, “Oh, finally, she’s using a #1 song from 1983!” I think, in terms of chart success, this is the biggest hit on the list this month as we look back 40 years. That’s right, this song is now 40. Wow. Sing along. Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler Those days were good to Jim Steinman. He wrote the classic Bat Out of Hell album that Meat Loaf did. He had his own hit, “Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through.” And there were three, count ‘em three, hits in this era (1983-84) that he wrote: “Read ‘Em and Weep” (which Meat Loaf originally recorded on Dead Ringer, and I recommend far above and beyond the Barely Manilow version), “Making Love Out of Nothing At All” (Bonnie Tyler recorded that as well, so you can enjoy it over the Air Supply hit), and this one. This song has been on my 100 favorites list (which I’m in the process of re-evaluating). Yeah, everything Steinman did sounded like an opera (or as Tim Wilson said to me one night, “All of Meat Loaf’s songs sound like a bunch of bridges” [music geek joke]). But you know what? Bat Out of Hell came out 45 years ago and I still enjoy listening to it. This song isn’t quite that old, but I enjoy it, too. Trivia: the “turn around, bright eyes” line is sung by Rory Dodd, a singer with a long connection to Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman. He sang on Steinman’s album as well as albums by Meat Loaf and Ellen Foley (who sang the “stop right there!” part of “Paradise By the Dashboard Lights”). Oh, and two members of the E Street Band — drummer Max Weinberg and pianist Roy Bittan — are on this song. Dang, it’s a good’n. Total Eclipse of the Heart Written by Jim Steinman Recorded by Bonnie Tyler From Faster Than the Speed of Light, 1983 Now I’m only falling apart: