Having forgotten to bring my ipod to work last Friday, I was left at the mercy of internet radio and the easy 70's station that I had selected. Midway through the afternoon the song "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" by Air Supply came on and Heather remarked that the artist should be sued for copying Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of The Heart". I listened closely and realized that is was structurally a carbon copy of TEOTH, one that I had often likened to Meat Loaf's bombastic style.
It turns out that both songs were penned by Jim Steinman, who had written most of Meat Loaf's material (Paradise by The Dashboard Lights et al.) Steinman had given the song, along with "Total Eclipse of the Heart, to Meat Loaf for his Midnight at the Lost and Found album, but Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay Steinman for the material and neither song was recorded. Steinman's songs were then offered to Bonnie Tyler & Air Supply, who scored #1 and #2 hits respectively, the same week. Meat Loaf's Album, on the other hand, produced no hit singles.
Steinman, known for his dramatic, rock-opera-ish type productions, used Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band members Roy Bittan on keyboards and Max Weinberg on drums to musically underscore the recording with like energies. 70's glam-rock icon Rick Derringer, supplied the electric guitar solo that made the sound of Making Love Out Of Nothing At All stand so drastically apart from most other Air Supply productions.
The track is a true curiosity, and Meat Loaf must have kicked himself hard for turning down what would surely have been two back to back number one singles.
Making Love Out of Nothing At All
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