Jim Steinman

USA, 1969–2021

American songwriter and producer (1947-2021) who wrote rock as if it were opera - seven-minute songs, motorcycles and adolescence treated with a straight face and a full orchestra. Bat Out of Hell, 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and 'Holding Out for a Hero' are all his; he was called the Richard Wagner of rock and roll and did not object.

MusicRoots documents 3 artists who influenced Jim Steinman and 2 artists Jim Steinman influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Jim Steinman?

• Richard Wagner — Steinman wrote rock on an operatic scale, and the Wagner comparison was made so often that it became his nickname - the Richard Wagner of rock and roll.
• Phil Spector — Spector's wall of sound is the production model behind Steinman's records - everything played at once and mixed as one mass.
• Little Richard — Little Richard is the rock and roll Steinman grew up on, under the Wagner.

Which artists did Jim Steinman influence?

• Meat Loaf — Steinman wrote and shaped almost everything Meat Loaf is remembered for; the Bat Out of Hell records are his conception, sung by the voice they were written for.
• Bonnie Tyler — Steinman wrote and produced 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and 'Holding Out for a Hero', and it is his operatic scale, not her earlier soft rock, that Tyler's rasp is remembered inside.