January 21, 2022

“Goodbye”

By Jim Culp

 I first heard the record “Bat Out of Hell” in 1985 when I arrived in the Republic of Korea as a young and extremely green soldier. My roommate had the record on a 33 rpm turntable, and he played it anytime we were in the barracks. I didn’t know Marvin Lee Aday at the time, and wondered why he called himself ‘Meat Loaf. “Bat Out of Hell” was a multi-platinum record…selling millions of copies worldwide. The record spoke volumes to me. When I told my roommate that I had never heard it, he asked me if I had been living in a cave in Africa before I joined the Army. I laughed and said “Pretty close, dude.” In 1984, I bought my first car, and it only had a radio in the dash. Once I obtained a cassette tape player in it, life was way better. I could only listen to Rock and Roll when I was in my car, or at other guy’s houses…Rock and Roll was forbidden in my home, because it was “Of the Devil.”

When I told Army buddies that, they would laugh out loud. Replies like “dude, that is fu%$*&% insane!!” I listened to a ton of rock and roll music in my Olds ’98, but never heard Meatloaf before. It was the same for Pink Floyd and many others. I was turned on to all of them in Korea, where you could buy cassette tapes in a little store for $2.00. They were dubbed from an LP, but who cares. You could build a massive collection in the year that you were there.

Meat Loaf belted out songs like “Two Out of Three Ain't Bad,” and “For Crying’ Out Loud.” I was sold like a farmer’s wife sniffin’ produce.

Meat Loaf entertained us for 50 years. Yesterday, he passed to the beyond the barrier of life. We will miss him.

-Jim

 

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