MYSTERIOUS AMERICA

the ceMetery froM Bat out of hell! A little roAd trip to A piece of iconic rock & roll history

The year 1977 and late in November a bunch of us made our way down to Greenwich Village and the famed Bottom Line. After a bit of a wait, the lights dimmed and the stage lit up.

We had scored front row seats for this much-anticipated event as the artist’s album hit us motorcycle riders square in the head.

As the band began with a bolero-style snare drum beat, The Great Bolero of Fire, the music and instruments adding and building in that bolero way. Finally, the crescendo and then the four power chords that began the intro to the title track of the album that brought us here. Then, as the piano carried, on all eyes were on the stage as the lead singer, a large man with long hair spilling over his shoulders came to the mike. It was a full 7 minutes before Meatloaf came out belting Bat Out of Hell, the beginning of one of the most amazing shows at The Bottom Line since Bruce.

As the show continued Meatloaf gave it his all – sweat slinging off the stage and everybody in the front seats went home with a bit of Mr. Loaf’s DNA that night.

Then he collapsed. Holy shit, is he okay? I mean he was down just five feet in front of me.

He was … a little H20 and a few minutes and he was back out for the encore. I am pretty sure his hitting the stage was not an act. Meatloaf gave everything he had in the tank each time he hit the stage.

The fourteen-time Platinum album Bat Out of Hell sold over 43,000,000 copies and stayed on the British charts for 522 weeks – the second-longest run by an album and the longest for an American band.

It was the best-selling album in Australia.

Meatloaf and Bat Out Of Hell affected folks more than they know. It is hard not to know the words and to sing along whenever you heard one of the tracks.

On January 20 of this year, the Rock & Roll world reeled from the loss of Meatloaf, whose real name was Michael Lee Aday, and I was happily shocked at how many news services, talking heads, and even a billboard had good thoughts for Meatloaf’s travel into the arms of the universe.

As great as the album was, with classics like Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, For Cryin’ Out Loud and Paradise by the Dashboard Light, so was the cover artwork created by Richard Corbin. Corbin was a well-known illustrator famous for his art for Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, and the film Heavy Metal. He was heavily influenced by Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Age (Conan), Edgar Rice Burrough’s Barsoom (Princess of Mars) and the artwork of Neal Adams. Sticking with the motorcycle theme Corbin also had a run with Marvel comics illustrating Ghost Rider the surreal demon biker.

All these masters that can be found on the shelves at Backroads Central and the artwork of Richard Corbin now sit next to them.

But our friends at Weird New Jersey had more to add about this.

The week Meatloaf passed they posted this missive

from issue #21of Weird NJ about the artist, the singer, and their connection with New Jersey submitted by Paulie Rizzo.

When the art directors decided on what they wanted for a cover they went in search of the perfect graveyard and they turned to New Jersey for this. Howard Case, of the Sussex County Historical Society at the time, said the group’s agent called from New York, asking if there were any old cemeteries suitable for the picture. Five cemeteries in the area were scouted out, and a small cemetery in Sussex County was chosen.

Reference photos for the album cover illustration for Meat Loaf’s famous 1977 album, Bat Out of Hell were shot in a section of the Deckertown Union Cemetery in Wantage, NJ. Locals may be able to recognize the tombstones if they look closely enough.

Deckertown Union was chosen because of the tree lines. The photo session took six hours to complete. A fog machine was used to create a smoky atmosphere but broke down during the shooting. A local volunteered the use of his lawnmower filled with kerosene, which made enough smoke suitable for the picture. The group also brought along its own grave marker, a silver tombstone with “Meat Loaf” inscribed on it. In return for the use of the cemetery, Meat Loaf and Co. donated to the cemetery association.

The cover was then illustrated by Richard Corben.

The rest is Rock & Roll history.

We’ll start this quick run from Town & Country Cycles, on Route 23 north, in Hamburg, New Jersey. The Bat Out of Hell Cemetery is very close, but, because we can we’ll bring you to a few other cemeteries, one in Hope, New Jersey that was key in the first Friday the 13th movie, and a great lunch at Lodge at Mountain Lakes in Belvidere, NJ. We know – this will be fun. Heck, I was just gonna say that, but you took the words right out of my mouth! , www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/082lvk