'Bat Out of Hell' Rock Legend Meat Loaf Dead at 74 After a Serious Illness

Meat Loaf, the 74-year-old rock icon whose 1977 debut “Bat Out of Hell” became one of the best-selling albums of all time, died Thursday after a serious illness, with his family by his side.

He passed away in a hospital outside Nashville, where he lived. His wife Deborah and two daughters were at his side. In a statement, the family said their "hearts are broken."

Meat Loaf also appeared in classic movies, including “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Wayne’s World” and “Fight Club.” 

In 2011, he had an epic meltdown on “Celebrity Apprentice” in a face-off with Gary Busey.

Meat Loaf was an outspoken critic of vaccine and mask mandates and was recently quoted as saying, “If I die, I die, but I'm not going to be controlled."

“He was kind of tired of the restrictions with COVID,” Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette music critic, told Inside Edition. “He said that he had to go on a plane. He was wearing an N95 mask and it was so uncomfortable and a nuisance and how the flight attendants were just real strict about keeping the masks on.”

Last week Meat Loaf’s daughter, Pearl, revealed on social media that several of her family members had tested positive for COVID-19, however she did not reveal any names.

“Positive but doing OK,” she wrote. “They’re all vaxxed, otherwise they’d be way worse.”

In recent years, Meat Loaf was in failing health.  

“This is not the life of Riley, let me tell you. I get to go to bed and I get to come and sit in this chair,” he said in a video.

He suffered from skin cancer, a rare heart condition and asthma. In 2016, he collapsed on stage.

His family posted a final message from him for his fans: “From his heart to your souls — don’t ever stop rocking.”

At the time of his death, Meat Loaf was working on a reality show based on his hit song “I'd Do Anything for Love."

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