Peace Action is a peace organization formed through the merger of The Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy and the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign (also known as "The Freeze"). The organization's focus is on preventing the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, thwarting weapons sales to countries with human rights violations, and promoting a new United States foreign policy based on common security and peaceful resolution to international conflicts.

Peace Action believes that every person has the right to live without the threat of nuclear weapons, that war is not a suitable response to conflict, and that the United States has the resources to both protect and provide for its citizens. Peace Action has over 100,000 members who belong to over 70 autonomous affiliate and chapter organizations.

Currently, Kevin M. Martin is the executive director and Paul Kawika Martin is the political director.

Current campaigns

In 2003, Peace Action launched the Campaign for a New Foreign Policy, an initiative to build grassroots support and congressional pressure for a U.S. foreign policy based on human rights and democracy, nuclear disarmament and international cooperation.

Peace Action opposes the U.S. occupation of Iraq as well as any potential future action within that state to impose permanent military bases, any attempt to control Iraqi oil through U.S. government or corporate institutions, or any action on the part of the U.S. government to further influence the domestic policy of elected Iraqi officials. They lobby their activist network to demand a complete withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible.

To prevent future wars Peace Action lobbies its grassroots network to demand peaceful diplomacy with Iran. In December 2006 Peace Action began a petition to prevent war with Iran to date there are over 44,000 names.

On the nuclear front Peace Action took part in a coalition lobby effort with organizations like the Arms Control Association and the Council for a Livable World to zero out funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead and Complex 2030. Efforts of the collation helped stir the Senate Arms Services Committee to zero out the Administration’s $15 million RRW request for Navy research and development.

Grassroots work

Peace Action has 100 chapters nationwide with a network of over 100,000 paying members. They send bi-weekly Action Alerts to almost 100,000 people worldwide, keeping them up to date on legislation regarding the Iraq war, nuclear disarmament, and preventing future wars with countries the Bush administration deems "rogue nations," like Iran. They also run a forum blog concerning issues of peace, nuclear abolition, and justice.

Their motto is "Peace Demands Action" and work on issues like Iraq, missile bases in Europe, or cutting the funding of new nuclear warheads . Peace Action’s goal is to organize the nation around issues of peace and justice through protests, congressional action, and lobby days. They recently organized a petition to let our leaders know that any war with Iran, particularly one that involves nuclear weapons, should not be an option.

Peace Action initiated the Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) in 1995 to bring the voices of young activists into the forefront of the peace movement. Youth actively engaged in peace issues lacked a systematic tool to unite and organize with other young people. SPAN addresses this problem by providing advocacy tools, a nationwide network of like-minded youth, information about the issues, and support for affiliate chapters. Through coordinated direct actions, demonstrations, teach-ins, letter-writing campaigns, dissemination of materials, and other tactics, SPAN activists all over the country challenge unjust policies and work for non-violent, constructive alternatives.

History

Peace Action, was originally founded as SANE in 1957 by Lenore Marshall and Norman Cousins and others in response to the nuclear arms race and the Eisenhower administration's policies on the production and testing of nuclear weapons. William Sloane Coffin, former Pastor of Yale University and political activist, retired from Riverside Church to become President of SANE/FREEZE in 1987. The name "SANE" came from the concepts put forth by Erich Fromm in his book ''The Sane Society''. The group's aim was to alert Americans of the threat of nuclear weapons. A full-page advertisement placed in ''The New York Times'' in November 1957 provoked a nationwide response, and by 1958 the membership of the organization had grown to 25,000. SANE was formally incorporated in July of that year.

Various influential people and celebrities began to get involved with the organization and show support for their cause . In 1959, Steve Allen hosted a meeting that founded the Hollywood SANE. Members included Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller, Harry Belafonte, and Ossie Davis. In 1960, a SANE rally was held at Madison Square Garden that attracted 20,000 to hear Eleanor Roosevelt, Norman Cousins, Norman Thomas, A. Philip Randolph, Walter Reuther, and Harry Belafonte call for an end to the arms race. International sponsors of SANE (including Martin Buber, Pablo Casals, Bertrand Russell and Albert Schweitzer) petitioned President John F. Kennedy to maintain a moratorium on testing in the atmosphere. Graphic Artists for SANE was also organized, with members that included Jules Feiffer, Ben Shahn, and Edward Sorel.

The group launched campaigns and rallies to drum up support for its cause and to put pressure on political figures. In 1961, SANE hosted an eight day, 109-mile march from McGuire Air Force Base to the United Nations Plaza that was attended by more than 25,000 people. They organized a rally of over 10,000 people on "Cuba Sunday" to express concern and outrage over the Cuban Missile Crisis. Dr. Spock became a national sponsor and appeared in an ad stating "Dr. Spock is worried." The ad was printed in 700 papers worldwide.

Early political influence

As a way of seeing their goals archived, SANE began working through its political lobbying programs. The organization began by pushing for the election of congressional candidates whose positions reflected those of the organization. In 1966, SANE formed the "Voter's Peace Pledge Campaign" to urge Congressional candidates to work for peace in Vietnam. They became one of the first national organizations to advocate removal of President Lyndon B. Johnson from office. They went on to endorse Eugene McCarthy as the Democratic presidential candidate in 1968.

SANE's Norman Cousins acted as an unofficial liaison between President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on the Partial Test Ban Treaty negotiations. The organization helped secure the passage of the War Powers Resolution. As the Vietnam War began to escalate, SANE organized a rally at Madison Square Garden that attracted 18,000 people opposing the war, as well as a march on Washington in November 1965 drawing 35,000. Three days after the march, Vice-president Hubert Humphrey met with SANE leaders Dr. Spock, Sanford Gottlieb, and Homer Jack "to openly, responsibly, and frankly discuss their proposals" to end the war. Many more SANE marches on Washington would occur throughout the war.

SANE would go on to criticize the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and SALT agreements for ignoring offensive strategic weapons. Following Richard Nixon's re-election, SANE advocated Congressional cut-off of funds for the Vietnam war. After the end of the Vietnam War, SANE lobbied to have Congress end the bombing of Cambodia, and helped lead a successful effort to pass the War Powers Act. SANE would also take on the military budget, and produced the "America Has a Tapeworm" ad. Despite the end of the war, SANE continued actions throughout the 1970s that promoted its purpose.

Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign

During the 1980s, SANE continued to monitor the political and military actions of the U.S. government and beyond. In 1981, The Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign began with the purpose of pressuring the government to stop the nuclear arms build-up. The campaign was initiated by Randall Forsberg's call to "freeze and reverse the nuclear arms race." Many SANE leaders participated in the creation of 'the Freeze', as it was sometimes called, which was a grassroots-based confederation of groups spanning the country. Freeze leaders included Randall Forsberg, Pam Solo, and Randy Kehler. Elected officials such as Rep. Patricia Schroeder and Sen. Ted Kennedy helped to lead the movement in Congress. The Freeze's grassroots network pushed for nuclear reductions through ballot initiatives in towns and cities across the nation.

Specifically, the Freeze's goal was to get the U.S. and the Soviet Union to simultaneously adopt a mutual freeze on the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons and of missiles, as well as new aircraft designed primarily to deliver nuclear weapons. Much emphasis was put on the MX and Pershing II missiles. Randall Forsberg was the organizer who initiated this idea of the "mutual, verifiable" Freeze.

During 1982, the SANE political action committee was formed for the political election year. Aside from working to get selected candidates elected it became a driving force behind many proposed nuclear freeze referendums. In a victory for both the Freeze campaign and SANE, Ronald Reagan proposed START I, part of a two phase treaty between the U.S. and the USSR that would reduce overall warhead counts on any missile type.

In roughly the 1983-84 period, when the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign was planning expansively around mass-movement fund raising, lobbying, and Political Action Committees (PACs), SANE was merged into that entity, though local SANE chapters would continue to hold meetings for some time to come. Specific congressional races were targeted, and some of the pro-Freeze candidates credited the movement—and the grass-roots funds it raised—with their success in getting elected, or re-elected, to Congress. From 1984 on, the movement had three actual legal entities, the 'Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign', with both public education and lobbying arms (501.C-3 and 501.C-4 corporations), and the Freeze Voter PAC (501.C-5).

During the 1980s, SANE/FREEZE expanded its work to oppose U.S. military intervention in El Salvador and to end U.S. military aid to the Contras in Nicaragua. The organization promoted its agenda in different ways. An ad was placed in Variety magazine signed by over 250 celebrities including Jack Lemmon, Burt Lancaster, James Earl Jones, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, and Ed Asner supporting its causes. A weekly radio program by SANE/FREEZE, "Consider the Alternatives", reaches 140 radio stations. Their door canvassing campaign reached 250,000 households.

The Gulf War and the War on Terror

Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, SANE/FREEZE opposed the U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf. Throughout the Gulf War, the organization coordinated anti-war marches in Washington, DC, helping to mobilize 500,000 protesters. Soon after, In 1993, SANE/FREEZE renamed itself Peace Action.

Of great concern to Peace Action in 1995 was the conference for review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The signatories to the treaty decided by consensus to extend the treaty indefinitely and without conditions. The year also marked the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The next year Peace Action launched Peace Voter '96, the organization's largest nationally-coordinated campaign since the mid-1980s. Over one million Peace Voter Guides were distributed for the November elections. Also that year, Peace Action joined human rights groups to stop major weapons sales to Indonesia and Turkey. In 1997, Indonesia withdrew its request for U.S. fighter jets due to "unwarranted criticism" of their human rights record.

In 1999, Peace Action opposed the NATO bombing of Kosovo, which it described as "cruise missile humanitarianism", and founded the National Coalition for Peace and Justice, a body uniting most of the major peace groups in the country. Also that year, Peace Action commemorated the bombing of Nagasaki by staging a demonstration at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The demonstration was led by actor Martin Sheen.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Peace Action responded to the war on terrorism and the bombing of Afghanistan with a call for justice, not war. The group went on to participate in two national coalitions: Win Without War and United for Peace and Justice.

See also

Committee for Non-Violent Action

Department of Peace

Nuclear weapons

References

Further reading

Milton S. Katz, ''Ban the Bomb: A History of SANE, 1957-1985'' (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986). ISBN 0-313-24167-8

Pam Solo, ''From Protest to Policy: Beyond the Freeze to Common Security'' (Ballinger, 1988). ISBN 978-0-88730-112-4

Glen Harold Stassen and Lawrence S. Wittner, eds., ''Peace Action: Past, Present and Future'' (Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2007). ISBN 978-1-59451-333-6

External links

Official site

Student Peace Action

Peace Voter official site

Peace Action West official site (formerly California Peace Action)

Records of Sane Inc., Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Category:Anti–nuclear weapons movement Category:Peace organizations

name	Anthony "Tony" Robbins
birth date	February 29, 1960
birth place	North Hollywood, California,United States
occupation	Author Actor Professional speaker Peak Performance Coach
years active	1978–present
height
spouse	}}

Anthony "Tony" Robbins (born February 29, 1960) is an American self-help author and motivational speaker. He became well known through his infomercials and self-help books, ''Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement'' and ''Awaken The Giant Within''. Robbins writes about subjects such as health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication, and enhancing relationships. Robbins began his career learning from many different motivational speakers, and promoted seminars for his personal mentor, Jim Rohn. He is deeply influenced by neuro-linguistic programming and a variety of philosophies. Robbins' books include ''Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement'' and ''Awaken The Giant Within''.

Robbins's work has been featured in major media including Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, Life, GQ, Vanity Fair, Business Week, Tycoon and Success magazines, the CBS Evening News, NBC News, ABC's Prime Time Live, Fox News, CNN and A&E; as well as newspapers, radio programs, and Internet media worldwide. Robbins has been mentioned or featured in 15 major motion pictures, including a cameo role in the hit movie "Shallow Hal." In 2007, he was named to Forbes magazine's "Celebrity 100" list.

His programs have reached over 4 million people from 100 countries around the world.

Anthony Robbins was ranked among the “Top 50 Business Intellectuals in the World” by Accenture’s Institute for Strategic Change. Robbins has spoken at Harvard Business School and was ranked by the school among the “Top 200 Business Gurus” (Harvard Business School Press, 2003).

Early life

Robbins was born Anthony Jay Mahavorick in North Hollywood, California. He later moved to Azusa, California, and attended Glendora High School. Robbins says that he lived in a small low-rent apartment in the Los Angelos area during his early twenties and had dreamed of living in a mansion for years. In 1984, as his career began to take off, he bought Del Mar Castle for $1.7M. He sold the property in 1988 for $3.25M.

Career

Robbins began his career promoting seminars for Jim Rohn. According to Robbins, Jim Rohn taught him that "happiness and success in life are not the result of what we have, but rather of how we live. What we do with the things we have makes the biggest difference in the quality of life."

Later Robbins began his own work as a self-help coach. He taught neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and Ericksonian Hypnosis after training with NLP co-founder John Grinder. In 1983, Robbins learned to firewalk from Tolly Burkan and began to incorporate it into his seminars.

Robbins promoted his services as a "peak performance coach" through his books and TV infomercials, gaining strong public recognition and lucrative sales. He conducts a large range of seminars and live events around the world dedicated to achieving greatness in his participants by unleashing their personal power and helping them align their values with their individual life goals. In 1997, Robbins began the ''Leadership Academy'' seminar, in which participants learn to ''"[c]reate an identity for them self as someone who can help 'anyone', no matter what his/her challenge may be."'' Robbins is a featured speaker on the seminar circuit sponsored by Learning Annex. Robbins appeared as a featured speaker at the 2007 Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference. His talk is among the TOP TEN TED TALKS.

Seminars

Robbins also conducts seminars, including his four-day ''Unleash the Power Within'' (UPW) seminar, ''Mastery University'' and ''Business Mastery''.

The UPW is also known as his firewalk seminar, during which the participants walk barefoot over hot coals at the end of the first evening. The aim of the seminar, demonstrated in the firewalk, is to illustrate that the main quality shared by those who achieve greatness is the ability to take action ('Personal Power').

Mastery University is promoted at the UPW seminar. Life Mastery, espouses Robbins' ideas about what makes for a healthy lifestyle, and has in the past featured guest lecturers including Deepak Chopra and John Gray. Date With Destiny, the only Mastery event at which Robbins is present for the entire event, is said to be designed to help participants align their values so that they are not in conflict, but rather are aligned with the participant's individual goals.

In 1997, Robbins initiated his Leadership Academy seminar, in which he invites participants to learn the skills he uses, with the stated goal of the program to enable the participant to "[c]reate an identity for yourself as someone who can help 'anyone', no matter what his/her challenge may be"

In 2009 Robbins created his Business Mastery program, designed to provide business leaders with tools to manage and grow their businesses. The seminar is conducted live by Robbins and features entrepreneur guest speakers. Past speakers have included Steve Wynn, CEO of Wynn Resorts, Peter Guber (Chairman & CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group) and Tony Hsieh (CEO and Founder of Zappos.com).

Books

Tony Robbins has published two best-selling books, ''Unlimited Power'' and ''Awaken the Giant Within''.

Unlimited Power, published in 1987, discusses the topics of health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication, and enhancing relationships. One reviewer called the book "uplifting and idealistic" and referenced the “dynamic enthusiasm" of the book;" and another describes Robbins as “a persuasive communicator who spends more linage on step-by-step details of his recommendations than in self-boosterism." while another reviewer said it's "too wordy" and "reads like a transcript of a series of talks." Other reviewers dispute the book's originality, pointing to ideological similarities with Maxwell Maltz, Norman Vincent Peale, Napoleon Hill, and Dale Carnegie, all of whom Robbins acknowledges in his book. Some have criticized the chapter called "Energy: The Fuel of Excellence" which includes information on food combining, lymphology, and deep breathing to promote health. Robbins makes reference to the book Fit for Life and its authors, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, whom he refers to as his "former partners". The National Council for Reliable Health Information wrote a critical review of the chapter and called his sources unreliable.

Awaken the Giant Within, published in 1992, was an expansion of his personal development techniques and strategies taught through a motivational self-help type approach. Robbins made the distinction between his techniques, coined as Neuro-Associative Conditioning as unique from Neuro-Linguistic Programming because the trademarked difference is defined by the application of "conditioning" to a newly learned personal development technique and/or skill or strategy rather than "being programmed" and suggest-ably fixed once and for all by someone else who had more power than the individual to make a change.

Movie Appearances and TV Show

Robbins had a pivitol story-line setting cameo role in the 2001 Jack Black box office hit movie "Shallow Hal.". Robbins also had cameo rolls as himself in the 1994 movie "Reality Bites," in three episodes of "Roseanne" (TV series - 1997 season and 1998 season), and in an episode of hit HBO series "The Sopranos" (TV series - 2004 season).

In July 2010, NBC debuted ''Breakthrough with Tony Robbins'', a reality show that followed Robbins as he helped the show's participants face their personal challenges. NBC canceled the show after airing two of the planned six episodes, due to low viewership.

Anthony Robbins Foundation

In 1991, Robbins launched a charity, the Anthony Robbins Foundation. It is dedicated to empowering students and prisoners through food drives and learning programs based on his teachings. According to the official website, the foundation has "products and programs in more than 2,000 schools, 700 prisons, and 100,000 health and human service organizations." The Foundation and the validity and success of its programs have been written about and featured in many dozens of articles, appearing on various websites. Examples include the following source sites. Despite this, the independent charity watchdog, Charity Navigator, gives the foundation a rating of one out of four stars. The official website states that "''the Foundation is committed to make a difference in the quality of life for children, the homeless, the prison population, and the elderly through its various programs''". The foundation has subsequently led to the forming of "Basket Brigades" across the world that occur each Thanksgiving. Individuals and groups have joined together to assemble and deliver dinner baskets to needy families.

Lawsuits

Federal Trade Commission: In May 1995, Robbins Research Internal (RRI) responded to Federal Trade Commission charges of misrepresentation of potential earnings to franchise investors. RRI and the FTC entered into a stipulated settlement agreement, in which RRI agreeed to pay $221,260 (USD) in consumer redress. There were no findings or admissions of wrong doing on the part of RRI.

Wade Cook: Financial seminar guru Wade Cook also sued Robbins for copyright infringement and plagiarism, alleging that Robbins used proprietary terms in his seminars and in his book, ''Wall Street Money Machine''. In 1998, a Tacoma, Washington, jury ordered Robbins to pay Cook US$650,900 in damages. The order to pay damages was later withdrawn, but the allegations remained.The ninth circuit court ruled in 2000 that the trial judge has misinterpreted the statutes, and the verdict and damages were reinstated, stating, "The Court found that U.S. District Court Judge, Jack Tanner, erred in "finding a conclusion contrary to the jury award," and sent instructions to reinstate the award. "This is a landmark decision by the 9th Circuit Court because of the high profile players and issues at stake," said lead attorney and Wade Cook General Counsel, Troy Romero. "The Court is telling individuals that, no matter who you are, the protection of copyrightable material will be preserved." Robbins was forced to pay the entire amount.

Vancouver Sun Defamation suit: In 2001, Robbins filed a lawsuit against the newspaper the ''Vancouver Sun'', alleging defamation and libel. The judge determined the ''Vancouver Sun'' defamed Tony Robbins when it called him a hypocrite. Awarding Robbins $20,000 in damages, the judge wrote "While damages are presumed, the plaintiff's failure to take the witness stand and to testify about his feelings and the impact of the defamation upon his reputation leaves the court somewhat in the dark about these matters". The court awarded Robbins his attorneys' fees and costs in addition to damages.

Celebrity status

In his book, ''Awaken the Giant Within'', Robbins recalls meetings with various celebrities, saying he was a student of their success. People he mentioned were Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, François Mitterrand, and Princess Diana. During Robbins' infomercials, he had celebrity appearances by Fran Tarkenton, Pamela Anderson, Quincy Jones, Erin Brockovich and Anthony Hopkins. Robbins stated that they came without any compensation.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton invited Robbins, Marianne Williamson and Dr. Steven R. Covey to a meeting at Camp David. All parties "refused to divulge the substance of their meeting with the Clintons".

Personal life

In 1984, Robbins and his ex-girlfriend, Liz Acosta, gave birth to Jairek Robbins.

In 1997, Robbins and his first wife of 15 years, Becky Robbins (née Jenkins), were divorced.

In June 2001, Robbins married Bonnie Humphrey (now known as Sage Robbins) and is the father of four children.

Tony Robbins started his career working for a medium size publishing company in the states. Having a natural gift for sales and communicating he soon rose to the position of director before embarking on peak performance speaking.

Robbins alludes to his personal belief in God in ''Unlimited Power'', giving the grand complexity of life as evidence of an intelligent designer.

See also

Kaizen

Self-help

References

Publications

Books

CD/DVDs

| accessdate = 2007-09-20}} |accessdate = 2009-12-20}} |accessdate = 2009-12-20}} |accessdate = 2009-12-20}}

Other

''Living Health

''The Time of Your Life

''Mastering Influence

''The Ultimate Relationship Program (Robbins-Madanes)

''Leadership In Times of Crisis (Robbins-Madanes)

''Reclaiming Your True Identity (Robbins-Madanes)

''Conquering Overwhelming Loss (Robbins-Madanes)

''Personal Training System

''Unleash The Power Within

External links

Tony Robbins official website

''Breakthrough'' with Tony Robbins on NBC

Category:1960 births Category:American motivational speakers Category:American motivational writers Category:American self-help writers Category:Life coaches Category:Living people Category:Neuro-Linguistic Programming writers Category:People from the San Gabriel Valley Category:Popular psychology

ar:أنتوني روبنز da:Anthony Robbins de:Anthony Robbins eo:Anthony Robbins fa:آنتونی رابینز fr:Anthony Robbins it:Anthony Robbins he:אנתוני רובינס lt:Anthony Robbins nl:Tony Robbins pl:Tony Robbins pt:Tony Robbins ru:Роббинс, Энтони sl:Anthony Robbins yi:טאני ראבינס

name	Sage Francis
background	solo_singer
birth name	Paul Francis
born	November 18, 1976 Providence, Rhode Island
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, Spoken Word Artist
years active	1996–present
associated acts	Non-Prophets, Joe Beats, B. Dolan, Sole, Alias, Art Official Intelligence
label	Strange Famous RecordsEpitaphAnticonANTI-
website	Official Website
notable instruments	}}

Paul "Sage" Francis (born November 18, 1976) is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.

Biography

Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records. This label first began as a way for Francis to bootleg his unreleased songs in the late 90's and has since evolved into an official enterprise with an expanding roster of like-minded artists. Francis won the Scribble Jam Emcee battle in 2000 and released several CDs available only on his tours and website (''Still Sick'', ''Sick Of Waiting'', ''Sick of Waging War'', ''Sickly Business'', ''Still Sickly Business'', ''Sick of Wasting included''). In 2001 his song "Makeshift Patriot" became an internet hit for its critique of American media during, and immediately following, the September 11 attacks. After releasing his critically acclaimed ''Personal Journals'' album in 2002 he signed to Epitaph Records, making Francis the first hip-hop artist to sign with the punk-rock label. He subsequently released three albums with Epitaph; ''A Healthy Distrust'' (2005), ''Human the Death Dance'' (2007), and ''Li(f)e'' (2010)

Francis is also part of the contemporary spoken word movement. Francis' relationship with the Providence Poetry Slam community (he was on their 1998, 1999 and 2002 national poetry slam teams) led to it being called "The House that Sage Francis Built." From 2000 - 2002, he also DJ-ed for the NYC-Urbana Poetry Slam, a weekly slam series held at the legendary punk rock venue CBGB.

Discography

''The Known UnSoldier "Sick of Waging War'' (Strange Famous Records, 2001)

''Sage Frenchkiss'' (Strange Famous Records, 2002)

''Personal Journals'' (Anticon, 2002)

''A Healthy Distrust'' (Epitaph, 2005)

''Human the Death Dance'' (Epitaph, 2007)

''Sick Of Wasting'' (Strange Famous Records, 2009)

''Li(f)e'' (Anti-, 2010)

References

External links and further reading

Official Sage Francis website

Strange Famous Records

Strange Famous Forum

KnowMore: The People's Corporation Watch Project

Interview for Slap Magazine (Dead Link)

Interview for Scene Missing Magazine

Sage Francis Interview with Chuck D.

Interview with Sage Francis 2010

Interview: Sage Francis | The Find Magazine (2010)

Category:1976 births Category:American vegetarians Category:Epitaph Records artists Category:Living people Category:People from Providence, Rhode Island Category:Rappers from Rhode Island Category:Slam poets Category:Spoken word poets Category:Underground rappers

de:Sage Francis fr:Sage Francis it:Sage Francis nl:Sage Francis pl:Sage Francis fi:Sage Francis sv:Sage Francis

Name	Meat Loaf
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Marvin Lee Aday
Birth date	September 27, 1947
birth place	Dallas, Texas
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, keyboards, saxophone
Genre	Rock, hard rock, rock and roll, rock opera
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, actor
Years active	1967–present
Label	Rare Earth, Cleveland International, Epic, RCA, Arista, MCA, Polydor, Sanctuary, Mercury, Virgin, Loud & Proud
Associated acts	Jim Steinman, Neverland Express, Floating Circus, Stoney & Meatloaf
Website	}}

Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947), better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American rock musician and actor. He is noted for the ''Bat Out of Hell'' album trilogy consisting of ''Bat Out of Hell,'' ''Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell'' and ''Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose.'' ''Bat Out of Hell'' has sold more than 43 million copies. After more than 30 years, it still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually and stayed on the charts for over nine years, making it one of the best selling albums of all time.

Although he enjoyed success with ''Bat Out of Hell'' and ''Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell'' and earned a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo for a track on the latter album, Meat Loaf experienced some initial difficulty establishing a steady career within his native US. However, he has retained iconic status and popularity in Europe, especially the UK, where he ranks 23rd for the number of weeks overall spent on the charts. He ranked 96th on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock."

Meat Loaf has also appeared in over 50 movies or television shows, sometimes as himself or as characters resembling his stage persona. His most notable roles include Eddie in the American premiere of ''The Rocky Horror Show'' and ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' and Robert "Bob" Paulson in ''Fight Club.''

Early life

Meat Loaf was born Marvin Lee Aday in Houston, Texas. He was the first child of Wilma Artie (''née'' Hukel), a school teacher and a member of the Vo-di-o-do Girls gospel quartet, and Orvis Wesley Aday, a police officer. His father was an alcoholic who would go on drinking binges for days at a time. Marvin and his mother would drive around to all the bars in Dallas, looking for Orvis to take him home. Because of this, Marvin often stayed with his grandmother, Charlsee Norrod.

Meat Loaf relates a story in his autobiography, ''To Hell and Back'', about how he, a friend, and his friend's father drove out to Love Field to watch John F. Kennedy land. After watching him leave the airport, they went to Market Hall, which was on Kennedy's parade route. On the way they heard that Kennedy had been shot, so they headed to Parkland Hospital, where they saw Jackie Kennedy get out of the car and Governor John Connally get pulled out, although they never saw the president taken out.

In 1965, Marvin graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, having already started his acting career via school productions such as ''Where's Charley?'' and ''The Music Man.'' After attending college at Lubbock Christian College, he transferred to North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas in Denton).

After Marvin received his inheritance from his mother's death, he rented an apartment in Dallas and isolated himself for three and a half months. Eventually a friend found him. Marvin bought a car and drove to California

Music career

In Los Angeles, Marvin formed his first band, "Meat Loaf Soul". During the recording of their first song, he hit a note so high that he managed to blow a fuse on the recording monitor. He was immediately offered three recording contracts, which he turned down. Meat Loaf Soul's first gig was in Huntington Beach at the Cave, opening for Them, Van Morrison's band. While performing their cover of the Howlin' Wolf song "Smokestack Lightning," the smoke machine they used made too much smoke and the club had to be cleared out. Later, the band was the opening act at Cal State Northridge for Renaissance, Taj Mahal and Janis Joplin. The band then underwent several changes of lead guitar, changing the name of the band each time. The new names included Popcorn Blizzard and Floating Circus. As Floating Circus, they opened for The Who, The Fugs, The Stooges, MC5, Grateful Dead, and The Grease Band. Their regional success led them to release a single, "Once Upon a Time," backed with "Hello." Meat Loaf joined the Los Angeles production of ''Hair.'' During an interview with New Zealand radio station ZM, Meat Loaf stated that the biggest life struggle he had to overcome was not being taken seriously in the music industry. He compared his treatment to that of a "circus clown."

''Stoney & Meatloaf''

With the publicity generated from ''Hair,'' Meat Loaf was invited to record with Motown. They suggested he do a duet with Shaun "Stoney" Murphy, who had performed with him in ''Hair,'' to which he agreed. The Motown production team in charge of the album wrote and selected the songs while Meat Loaf and Stoney came in only to lay down their vocals. The album, titled ''Stoney & Meatloaf'' (Meatloaf being shown as one word), was completed in the summer of 1971 and released in September of that year. A single released in advance of the album, ''What You See Is What You Get,'' reached number thirty six on the R&B; charts and seventy-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. To support their album, Meat Loaf and Stoney toured with Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers, opening up for Richie Havens, The Who, The Stooges, Bob Seger, Alice Cooper and Rare Earth. Meat Loaf left soon after Motown replaced his and Stoney's vocals from the one song he liked, "Who Is the Leader of the People?" with new vocals by Edwin Starr. The album has been re-released after Meat Loaf's success, with Stoney's vocals removed. Meat Loaf's version of "Who Is the Leader of the People?" was released, but the album failed.

''More Than You Deserve''

After the tour, Meat Loaf rejoined the cast of ''Hair,'' this time on Broadway. After he hired an agent, he auditioned for the Public Theater's production of ''More Than You Deserve.'' It was during the audition that Meat Loaf first met his future collaborator Jim Steinman. He sang a former Stoney and Meatloaf favorite of his, "(I'd Love to Be) As Heavy as Jesus" (On VH1 Storytellers, Meat Loaf shares his first introduction with Jim Steinman. Meat would revive Steinman's reaction to his intimate audience, "Well, I think you're heavy as two Jesuses to be a matter of fact!"), and with that, got the part of Rabbit, a maniac that blows up his fellow soldiers so they can "go home." Also in the show were Ron Silver and Fred Gwynne. After it closed, he appeared in ''As You Like It'' with Raúl Juliá and Mary Beth Hurt.

He recorded a single of "More Than You Deserve" and had a cover of "In the Presence of the Lord" as its B-side. He was only able to save three copies of it because the record company would not allow its press release. With those three copies he released many rare CDs featuring the two songs, which can occasionally be spotted at CD outlets. He later recorded it again (1981) in a slightly rougher voice.

''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''

During the winter of 1973, after returning from a short production of ''Rainbow in New York'' in Washington, D.C., Meat Loaf received a call asking him to be in ''The Rocky Horror Show'' asking him to play the parts of Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott. The success of the play led to the filming of ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' where Meat Loaf played only Eddie, a decision he has said he felt was "a huge mistake." About the same time, Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman started work on ''Bat out of Hell.'' Meat Loaf convinced Epic Records to shoot videos for four songs, "Bat Out Of Hell," "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," "You Took the Words Right out of My Mouth" and "Two out of Three Ain't Bad." He then convinced Lou Adler, the producer of ''Rocky Horror,'' to run the "Paradise" video as a trailer to the movie. Meat Loaf's final show in New York was Gower Champion's ''Rockabye Hamlet,'' a Hamlet musical. It closed two weeks into its initial run. Meat would later return occasionally to perform ''Hot Patootie'' for a special Rocky Horror reunion or convention and rarely at his own live shows (one performance of which was released in the 1996 ''Live Around the World'' CD set).

During his recording of the soundtrack for Rocky Horror, Meat Loaf recorded two more songs: "Stand By Me" (a Ben E. King cover), and "Clap Your Hands." They remained unreleased until 1984, when they appeared as B-sides to the "Nowhere Fast" single.

In 1976, Meat Loaf recorded lead vocals for Ted Nugent's ''Free-for-All'' album when regular Nugent lead vocalist Derek St. Holmes quit the band. Meat Loaf sang lead on five of the album's nine tracks.

Major success

''Bat Out of Hell''

Meat Loaf and friend/songwriter Jim Steinman started ''Bat Out of Hell'' in 1972, but did not get serious about it until the end of 1974. Meat Loaf decided to leave theatre, and concentrate exclusively on music. Then, the ''National Lampoon Show'' opened on Broadway, and it needed an understudy for John Belushi, a close friend of Meat Loaf since 1972. It was at the Lampoon Show that Meat Loaf met Ellen Foley, the co-star who sang "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" with him on the album ''Bat Out of Hell.''

After the ''Lampoon'' show ended, Meat Loaf and Steinman spent time seeking a record deal. Their approaches were rejected by each record company, because their songs did not fit any specific recognized music industry style. Finally, they performed the songs for Todd Rundgren, who decided to produce the album, as well as play lead guitar on it (other members of Todd's band Utopia also lent their musical talents). They then shopped the record around, but still had no takers until Cleveland International Records decided to take a chance. On October 21, 1977, ''Bat Out of Hell'' was released.

Meat Loaf and Steinman formed the band The Neverland Express to tour in support of ''Bat Out of Hell.'' Their first gig was opening for Cheap Trick in Chicago. He gained national exposure as musical guest on ''Saturday Night Live'' on March 25, 1978. Guest host Christopher Lee introduced him by saying, "And now ladies and gentlemen I would like you to meet Loaf. (pauses, looks dumbfounded) I beg your pardon, what? (he listens to the director's aside) Oh! Why...why I'm sorry, yes, of course...ah... Ladies and gentlemen, Meat Loaf!" The huge success of the album caused a rift to open up between Meat Loaf and Steinman: the group, named after Meat Loaf for ease of labeling, seemed to Steinman to sideline his work as creator, and Steinman started to resent the attention that his partner was getting.

During a show in Ottawa, Meat Loaf fell off the stage and broke his leg. He toured with the broken leg, performing from a wheel chair. During this time, Meat Loaf began heavy use of cocaine, had a nervous breakdown and threatened to commit suicide by jumping off the ledge of a building in New York. In the middle of recording his second album, ''Bad for Good'', Meat Loaf lost the ability to sing; it is unclear as to the exact cause - the tour was a punishing one, and the vocals are energy intense. However, his doctors said that physically he was fine and that his problem was psychological. Nevertheless, Steinman decided to keep recording ''Bad for Good'' without Meat Loaf.

Bat Out of Hell has sold over 43 million copies worldwide, making it one of the highest selling albums of all time. In the UK alone, its 2.1 million sales put it in 38th place. Despite peaking at #9 and spending only two weeks in the top ten in 1981, it has now clocked up 474 weeks on the UK album chart, a figure bettered only by ''Rumours'' by Fleetwood Mac - 478 weeks. In Australia, it knocked the Bee Gees off the number #1 spot and went on to become the biggest-selling Australian album of all time (by a non-Australian). ''Bat Out of Hell'' is also one of only two albums that has never exited the Top 200 in the UK charts; this makes it the longest stay in any music chart in the world, although the ''published'' chart contains just 75 positions.

Life after ''Bat Out of Hell''

In 1976, Meat Loaf appeared in the short-lived Broadway production of the rock musical ''Rockabye Hamlet.'' In 1980, he started working on ''Dead Ringer.'' Steinman wrote all of the songs, but had little else to do with the album. The tour they planned, to support the album, was cancelled after one show, because they ran out of the money that the studio advanced them. Sonnenberg also convinced CBS to advance more money for the making of the movie ''Dead Ringer,'' which was shown at the Toronto Film Festival and won some favorable reviews, but was poorly considered after Sonnenberg re-edited the movie.

On December 5, 1981, Meat Loaf and the Neverland Express were the musical guests for ''Saturday Night Live'' where he was reunited with fellow ''Rocky Horror Picture Show'' alum Tim Curry. Curry and Meat Loaf teamed up in a skit depicting a One-Stop Rocky Horror Shop. Later, Tim Curry performed "The Zucchini Song" and Meat Loaf & The Neverland Express performed "Bat Out of Hell" and "Promised Land." In 1983, he released the self written ''Midnight at the Lost and Found.'' Meat Loaf, a poor songwriter by his own admission, did not care for the songs he wrote for the album.

In 1984, Meat Loaf went to England, to record the album ''Bad Attitude,'' which included a duet with Roger Daltrey and two songs written by Jim Steinman; the recording of the album was rushed. During the tour to support the album, Leslie (Meat Loaf's girlfriend) had a nervous breakdown and had to check into the Silver Hill Hospital rehab facility in Connecticut. Things finally looked like they were going to turn around in 1986, when Meat Loaf found a new writer, John Parr, and started recording a new album, ''Blind Before I Stop.'' Unfortunately, the producer put a dance beat underneath every song, which resulted in critical failure and Meat Loaf going bankrupt, eventually losing everything. His relationships with lifelong friend Jim Steinman and Leslie also deteriorated. In 1985, Meat Loaf did some comedy sketches in England with Hugh Laurie. At some point, Meat Loaf tried stand-up comedy, appearing several times in Connecticut.

Meat Loaf performed "Thrashin" for the soundtrack of the 1986 skateboarding cult classic film ''Thrashin''' (directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin).

To try to get his career back off the ground, Meat Loaf started touring small venues, such as pubs and clubs. Slowly, he developed a faithful following which grew to the point where they were unable to fit into the venues that Meat Loaf was playing, and then they too began to grow. This carried on until the late '80s, where he began to sell out arenas and stadiums again, including over 10,000 tickets at Ohio State University. Leslie studied to be a travel agent, so they could save on travel expenses, and they toured all over the United States, Germany, England, Scandinavia, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Bahrain. With the help of his New York collection of musicians — John Golden, Richard Raskin and Paul Jacobs — his European tours enjoyed immense popularity in the 1980s. Because of the success of the touring, Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman began to work on ''Bat Out Of Hell II'' which was finally released in 1993, sixteen years after ''Bat Out Of Hell''. The album was a huge success and is considered one of the greatest comebacks in music history.

''Dead Ringer''

Songwriter Jim Steinman started to work on ''Bad for Good'', the album that was supposed to be the follow-up to 1977's ''Bat out of Hell'', in 1979. During that time, a combination of touring, drugs and exhaustion had caused Meat Loaf to lose his voice. Without a singer, and pressured by the record company, Steinman decided that he should sing on ''Bad for Good'' himself, and write a new album for Meat Loaf; the result was ''Dead Ringer'', which was later released in 1981, after the release of Steinman's ''Bad for Good''.

After playing the role of Travis Redfish in the movie ''Roadie'', Meat Loaf's singing voice returned, and he started to work on his new album in 1980. Steinman had written five new songs which, in addition to the track "More Than You Deserve" (sung by Meat Loaf in the stage musical of the same name) and a reworked monologue, formed the album ''Dead Ringer'', which was produced by Meat Loaf and Stephan Galfas, with backing tracks produced by Todd Rundgren, Jimmy Iovine, and Jim Steinman. (In 1976, Meat Loaf appeared on the track "Keeper Keep Us", from the Intergalactic Touring Band's self-titled album, produced by Galfas.) The song "Dead Ringer for Love" was the pinnacle of the album, and launched Meat Loaf to even greater success after it reached #5 in the UK and stayed in the charts for a surprising 19 weeks. Cher provided the lead female vocals in the song, which contributed to the success of the single.

The album reached #1 in the UK, and three singles were released from the album: "Dead Ringer for Love" (with Cher), "I'm Gonna Love Her for Both of Us," and "Read 'Em and Weep".

Struggle

''Midnight at the Lost and Found''

Following a dispute with his former songwriter Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf was contractually obliged to release a new album. Struggling for time, and with no resolution to his arguments with Steinman seemingly on the horizon (eventually, Steinman would sue Meat Loaf, who subsequently sued Steinman as well), he was forced to find songwriters wherever he could. The resulting album was ''Midnight at the Lost and Found''.

According to Meat Loaf, Steinman had given the songs "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Making Love (Out of Nothing At All)" to Meat Loaf for this album. However, Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay for Steinman. This was hard luck for Meat Loaf, as Bonnie Tyler's version of "Eclipse" and Air Supply's version of "Making Love" would top the charts together, holding #1 and #2 for a period during 1983.

Meat Loaf is credited with being involved in the writing of numerous tracks on the album, including the title track, "Midnight at the Lost and Found". However, when the album was released in 1983, it was regarded by many as being poor. Fans were disappointed to see that the iconic pictures on the covers of ''Bat out of Hell'' and ''Dead Ringer'' were replaced by a black-and-white photograph of Meat Loaf (on some later re-releases, a color image of a screaming Meat Loaf was used as the cover image).

The title track still regularly forms part of Meat Loaf concerts, and was one of very few 1980s songs to feature on the 1998 hit album ''The Very Best of Meat Loaf''. This was the last album that Meat Loaf did with the record label Epic until the 'best of' album.

''Bad Attitude''

''Bad Attitude'', released 1984, features two songs by Jim Steinman, both previously recorded, and was mainly an attempt to keep Meat Loaf from going bankrupt during this period of lawsuits. It concentrated more on the hard rock side of Meat Loaf, was a minor success around the globe and released a few hit singles, the most successful being "Modern Girl". It also holds some of Meat Loaf's favorite songs that include "Jumpin' the Gun" and "Piece of the Action". It was recorded in England. The US release on RCA Records was on April 1985 and features a slightly different track list, as well as alternate mixes for some songs.

"Modern Girl" was taken from this album and was the biggest hit. "Piece of the Action", "Sailor to a Siren" is the b side and "Nowhere Fast" were also released singles with extended mixes and exclusive songs: "Take a Number", "Stand by Me" (a Ben E. King cover) and "Clap Your Hands". The latter two songs were recorded during the sessions for the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack.

''Blind Before I Stop''

''Blind Before I Stop'' was released in 1986. It features production, mixing, and general influence by Frank Farian. Meat Loaf gave songwriting another shot with this album and wrote three of the songs on the album. Released as a single (in the UK) was "Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries," which was a duet with rock singer John Parr. another single released on the UK was, 'Special Girl'.

According to Meat Loaf's 1998 autobiography, the album sold poorly because of the production of the album. Meat Loaf would have preferred to cancel the project and wait to work with more Steinman material. The album, however, has gained a cult following over the years, citing the songs "Execution Day" and "Standing on the Outside" as standout tracks on the record. "Standing on the Outside" was also featured during the third season of the 1980s TV show ''Miami Vice''; it was used several times during the episode titled "Forgive Us Our Debts" (first aired December 12, 1986).

The song "Masculine" was the only song off the record to be a Live Show mainstay from 1987 to 1992. This then was omitted in favor of "Life is a Lemon And I Want My Money Back" with the success of ''Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell''.

Return to popularity

''Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell''

Because of the success of Meat Loaf's touring in the eighties, he and Steinman began work during the Christmas of 1990 on the sequel to ''Bat out of Hell''. After two years, ''Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell'' was finished. The artist's then manager, Tommy Manzi, later told HitQuarters that music industry insiders were wholly unenthusiastic about the idea of a comeback, and considered the project "a joke". The immediate success of "Bat out of Hell II" quickly proved any doubters wrong, with the album going on to sell over 15 million copies, and the single "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" reaching number one in 28 countries. Meat Loaf won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo in 1994 for "I'd Do Anything for Love." This song stayed at #1 in the UK charts for seven consecutive weeks. The single features a female vocalist who was credited only as "Mrs. Loud." Mrs. Loud was later identified as Lorraine Crosby, a performer from North East England. Meat Loaf promoted the song with American vocalist Patti Russo who performed lead female vocals on tour with him. In Germany, Meat Loaf became notably popular following the release of ''Bat out of Hell II'' but has enjoyed most of his success among pop/rock fans.

Also in 1994, he was honored by singing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, something he says was one of the two biggest highlights of his career. Meat Loaf attempted to follow the success of "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by releasing "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" as a follow-up; this song reached #13 in the US.

''Welcome to the Neighborhood''

In 1995, Meat Loaf released his seventh studio album, ''Welcome to the Neighborhood''. The album went platinum in the United States and the UK. It released three singles which all hit the top 40, including "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" (which reached #13 in the US and #2 in the UK charts) and "Not a Dry Eye in the House" (which reached #7 in the UK charts). "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" was a duet with Patti Russo (who had been touring with Meat Loaf and singing on his albums since 1993).

Of the twelve songs on the album, two are written by Jim Steinman. Both are covers, the "Original Sin" from Pandora's Box's Original Sin album (it was also heard in the movie The Shadow, where it was performed by Taylor Dayne) and "Left in the Dark" first appeared on Steinman's own Bad for Good. The video, which had a bigger budget than any of his previous videos, helped the single in its success. Other big hits, namely "I'd Lie for You" and "Not a Dry Eye in the House", were written by Diane Warren.

''The Very Best of Meat Loaf''

In 1998, Meat Loaf released ''The Very Best of Meat Loaf''. Although not reaching the top ten in the UK, it recently went platinum, and was already platinum around the rest of the world just after its release. The album featured all of Meat Loaf's best-known songs, a few from his less popular albums from the 1980s, and three new songs. The music on the two Steinman songs was written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The single from the album was "Is Nothing Sacred", written by Jim Steinman with lyrics by Don Black. The single version of this song is a duet with Patti Russo, whereas the album version is a solo song by Meat Loaf. The album did not feature any songs from his 1986 album Blind Before I Stop.

''Couldn't Have Said It Better''

In 2003, Meat Loaf released his album ''Couldn't Have Said It Better''. Only for the third time in his career, Meat Loaf released an album without any songs written by Jim Steinman (not counting live bonus tracks on special edition releases). Although Meat Loaf claimed that Couldn't Have Said It Better was "the most perfect album [he] did since ''Bat out of Hell''", it was not quite as successful. However, the album was a minor success worldwide and reached #4 in the UK charts, accompanied by a sellout world tour which was used to promote the album and some of Meat Loaf's biggest hits. One such performance on his world tour was at Sydney's 2003 NRL grand final. There were many writers for the album including Diane Warren and James Michael, who were both asked to contribute his 2006 album ''Bat out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose''. Diane Warren has written for Meat Loaf in the past and had some very big hits. James Michael had never written for Meat Loaf before and it was only his songs that were released as singles from the album. The album featured duets with Patti Russo and Meat Loaf's daughter Pearl Aday.

Hair of the Dog and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

On February 20–22, 2004, during Meat Loaf's Australian tour, Meat Loaf did his classics with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, titled ''Bat out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra''. He went as far as to bring in the Australian Boy's Choir to do back-up on a ''Couldn't Have Said It Better'' track, "Testify". The show went on to spawn a DVD and a CD "Meat Loaf and The Neverland Express featuring Patti Russo Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra". The CD had few songs from the concert placed on it and were edited.

Meat Loaf sold out over 160 concerts during his 2005 tour, "Hair of the Dog". On November 17, 2003, during a performance at London's Wembley Arena, on his ''Couldn't Have Said It Better'' tour, he collapsed of what was later diagnosed as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. The following week, he underwent a surgical procedure intended to correct the problem. As a result, Meat Loaf's insurance agency did not allow him to perform for any longer than one hour and 45 minutes.

As well as singing all the classics, he sang a cover version of the hit single "Black Betty". During this tour Meat Loaf also sang "Only When I Feel", a song meant to appear on his then-upcoming album ''Bat out of Hell III''. The song subsequently turned into "If It Ain't Broke (Break It)".

''Bat out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose''

Meat Loaf and Steinman had begun to work on the third installment of ''Bat out of Hell'' when Steinman suffered some health setbacks, including a heart attack. According to Meat Loaf, Steinman was too ill to work on such an intense project while Steinman's manager said health was not an issue. Steinman had registered the phrase "Bat Out Of Hell" as a trademark in 1995. In May 2006, Meat Loaf sued Steinman and his manager in federal District Court in Los Angeles, seeking $50 million and an injunction against Steinman's use of the phrase. Steinman and his representatives attempted to block the album's release. An agreement was reached in July 2006. According to Virgin, "the two came to an amicable agreement that ensured that Jim Steinman's music would be a continuing part of the 'Bat Out Of Hell' legacy."

The album was released on October 31, 2006, and was produced by Desmond Child. The first single from the album, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (featuring Marion Raven) was released on October 16, 2006. It entered the UK singles chart at #6, giving Meat Loaf his highest UK chart position in nearly 11 years. The album debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 and sold 81,000 copies in its opening week, but after that did not sell well in the U.S. and yielded no hit singles, although it was certified gold. The album also featured duets with Patti Russo and Jennifer Hudson.

In the weeks following the release of ''Bat III'', Meat Loaf and the NLE (The Neverland Express) did a brief tour of America and Europe, known as the Bases Loaded Tour. In 2007, a newer, bigger worldwide tour began, the Seize the Night tour, with Marion Raven, serving as a supporting act, throughout the European and US tour. Portions of the tour in February 2007 were featured in the documentary ''Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise'', directed by Bruce David Klein. The film was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival in 2007. It opened in theaters in March 2008 and was released on DVD in May 2008.

During a performance at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK on October 31, 2007, at the opening of "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" he suggested that the crowd of thousands should enjoy the performance as it was the last of his career. He attempted to sing the first line of the song, but instead said "Ladies and gentlemen, I love you, thank you for coming, but I can no longer continue." Removing the jacket he was wearing, he thanked the audience for 30 years, said "goodbye forever" and left the stage. His tour promoter, Andrew Miller, denied that this was the end for Meat Loaf and said he would continue touring after suitable rest. The next two gigs in the tour, at the NEC and Manchester Evening News Arena were cancelled because of "acute laryngitis" and were rescheduled for late November. The concert scheduled for November 6, 2007 at London's Wembley Arena was also cancelled. Meat Loaf cancelled his entire European tour for 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal cords. After releasing a statement he said "It really breaks my heart not to be able to perform these shows" adding "I will be back".

On June 27, 2008, Meat Loaf returned to the stage in Plymouth, England for the first show of his ''Casa de Carne Tour'' alongside his longtime duet partner Patti Russo, who debuted one of her own original songs during his show. The tour continued through July and August with twenty dates throughout England, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. Six U.S. showdates were also added for October and December 2008.

''Hang Cool Teddy Bear''

In May 2009, Meat Loaf began work on the album ''Hang Cool Teddy Bear'' in the studio with Green Day's ''American Idiot'' album producer Rob Cavallo, working with such writers as Justin Hawkins, Rick Brantley, Tommy Henriksen and Jon Bon Jovi. Though not much was revealed officially to begin with, Meat Loaf gave away some information through videos he posted on Twitter and Youtube. The album is based on the story of a fictional soldier, whose "story" furnishes the theme. During his March 19, 2011 concert held outside of Vancouver, BC, Canada, Meat explained that he had wanted an inset put with the album to explain what the premise of the album was, but he said there were too many "bleeping" record label politics and it did not get done. He went on to tell the audience that the story was of a soldier who being wounded, had his life flash forward before his eyes, and the songs were telling the story of his life.

The album is based on a short story by L.A.-based screenwriter and director Kilian Kerwin, a long-time friend of the singer. Hugh Laurie and Jack Black both perform on the album, Laurie plays piano on the song "If I Can't Have You", while Black sings a duet with Meat Loaf on "Like A Rose". Patti Russo and Kara DioGuardi also duet on the album. Meat Loaf himself describes the album as the "most important of his career", not as good as ''Bat out of Hell'' but in the same ball park. The guests, he says were not planned but he says the idea of using his friends came only when he saw them fit in a song and not as a commercial gimmick. Queen's Brian May features on guitar along with Steve Vai. It received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The first single from the album, "Los Angeloser", was released for download on April 5 with the album charting at number 4 in the official UK album chart on April 25, 2010.

The Hang Cool Tour followed in the US, UK and Canada with rave reviews from fans and critics. Patti Russo accompanied him on the tour, continuing through the summer of 2011.

''Hell in a Handbasket''

In May 2011, Meat Loaf confirmed in a video on his YouTube account, that he was in the process of recording a new album called ''Hell In A Handbasket''. According to Meat, the album is being recorded and produced by Paul Crook; Dough McKean will mix with input from Rob Cavallo. The album will feature songs called "All of Me", "Blue Sky", "The Giving Tree", and a duet with Patti Russo called "Our Love And Our Souls". On July 6, the album had to be finished for the record company. It is scheduled for release in October 2011 for Australia/New Zealand, and February 2012 for the rest of the world.

''Future Albums''

Meat Loaf has eight songs for an album after ''Hell in a Handbasket'' and he is coming up with a Christmas album in 2012, called "Hot Holidays". It will feature guest vocals by Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire, plus a few other famous names, including “different rock people and some actors,” he tells Billboard.. He recently said he is going to work with Jim Steinman again, but that Steinman "doesn't know it yet".

Other work

In 2000, he appeared as the viral meningitis addled Confederate Colonel Angus Devine in the sixth season episode "Gettysburg" of ''The Outer Limits'' who is accidentally transported forward in time 150 years in a failed attempt to prevent the assassination of the President in 2013.

He also appeared in the ''South Park'' episode "Chef Aid". In a flashback, Meat Loaf claims that he started out as an unsuccessful artist named Cous-cous. After being booed off stage and almost deciding to quit, Chef tells him that his name might be the problem, and then hands him a plate of meatloaf to cheer him up.

Meat Loaf appears (uncredited) as Jack Black's father in the 2006 film ''Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny'', providing vocals on the film's opening song ''Kickapoo''. In the special features and commentary of the film's DVD release, it is noted that this is the first time Meat Loaf has sung for a movie soundtrack since ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''.

Along with his daughter Pearl Aday, and longtime duet partner Patti Russo, he taped an episode of the FOX game show ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' which aired on May 22, 2009. In mid-2009, Meat Loaf appeared in TV commercials for A1 Steak Sauce, in conjunction with the product's new slogan "A1 – Makes beef sing". In his commercial for the product, the slogan is "Makes Meat Loaf sing". On October 26, 2010, Meat Loaf appeared (credited as "Meat Loaf Aday") on the Fox show ''Glee'', in "The Rocky Horror Glee Show," their tribute episode to ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''.

Meat Loaf recorded a song, Stand in the Storm, with country singer John Rich, rapper Lil Jon, and rocker Mark McGrath with whom he appeared on Celebrity Apprentice. The song is being sold on iTunes, with proceeds going to charity.

Personal life

In 1984 Meat Loaf changed his first name to Michael.

Meat Loaf is a registered Republican.

Family

In December 1978, he went to Woodstock to work with Steinman. It was at the Bearsville studio that Meat Loaf met his future wife, Leslie G. Edmonds; they were married within a month. Leslie had a daughter from a previous marriage, Pearl, who has since followed in her stepfather's footsteps to become a singer.

Aday and his family moved to Stamford, Connecticut in 1979. In 1981, Leslie gave birth to Amanda Aday, now a television actress. For a brief time after Amanda's birth, they moved to nearby Westport. According to Meat Loaf, Pearl, then in the fifth grade, came home crying "because she had the wrong type of jeans and I said, 'That's it. We're gone.'" The family then moved to Redding, Connecticut, "which is much more of a blue-collar, working-class kind of town, and it really didn't make any difference what kind of jeans you were wearing. I really liked it there." Meat Loaf coached children's baseball or softball in each of the Connecticut towns he lived in. In 1998, Meat Loaf relocated to California. Meat and Leslie divorced in 2000 and he has since remarried.

Meat Loaf's daughter, Pearl, is married to Scott Ian, rhythm guitar & songwriter for thrash metal band Anthrax. Their first child, Revel Young Ian, was born on June 19, 2011.

Near-death experiences

Meat Loaf is said to have cheated death on numerous occasions, crashing in a car which rolled over, being struck on the head with a shot during a shot put event, jumping off of a stage during a concert and breaking both of his legs, and being afflicted with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome. In October 2006, his private jet had to make an emergency landing at London's Stansted Airport after his plane's forward landing gear failed.

Activism

Meat Loaf is a baseball fan and supporter of the New York Yankees. He is an avid fantasy baseball player and participates in multiple leagues every season.

Meat Loaf is a supporter of the northern English football team Hartlepool United and, in 2003, the BBC reported he was seeking a residence in the nearby area. Meat Loaf currently resides just outside of Calabasas, California, near Saddle Peak and Calabasas Peak.

He also does a considerable amount of charity work, and in June 2008, he took part in a football penalty shootout competition on behalf of two cancer charities in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK. He auctioned shots to the 100 highest bidders and then took his place between the goal posts. He also participates in celebrity golf tournaments.

Tours

Bat Out Of Hell Tour 1977-1979

Dead Ringer Tour 1981

Meat Loaf & The NLE Euro Tour '82

Meat Loaf World Tour 1983

Bad Attitude Tour 1984-1985

20/20 Tour 1987-1988

Lost Boys & Golden Girls 1988-1989

1990 Tour

1991-1992 Tour

Everything Louder Tour 1993-1995

Born To Rock Tour 1996

The Very Best Of Tour 1999

Storytellers Tour 1999-2000

Night Of The Proms Tour 2001

Just Having Fun Tour 2002

Couldn't Have Said It Better 2003-2004

The Hair Of The Dog Tour 2005

The Three Bats Tour 2006-2007

The Casa de Carne Tour 2008

The Hang Cool Tour 2010-2011

The Guilty Pleasure Tour 2011-?

Discography

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" width="40%"| |- !Title !Release Year !Character |- |''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' |1975 |Eddie "An ex-delivery boy" |- |''Americathon'' |1979 |Oklahoma Devil, Roy Budnitz |- |''Scavenger Hunt'' |1979 |Scum |- |''Roadie'' |1980 |Travis W. Redfish |- |''Dead Ringer'' |1981 |Meat Loaf, Marvin |- |''Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams'' |1981 |Cameo |- |''Out of Bounds'' |1986 |Gil |- |''The Squeeze'' |1987 |Titus |- |''Motorama'' |1991 | |- |''Wayne's World'' |1992 |Tiny |- |''Leap of Faith'' |1992 |Hoover |- |''To Catch a Yeti'' |1993 |Big Jake Grizzly |- |''Angels in the Outfield'' |1993 |Angel |- |''Bean'' |1997 |Cameo |- |''Spiceworld: The Movie'' |1997 |Dennis |- |''Black Dog'' |1998 |Red |- |''The Mighty'' |1998 |Iggy Lee |- |''Crazy in Alabama'' |1999 |Sheriff John Doggett |- |''Fight Club'' |1999 |Robert 'Bob' Paulson |- |''Blacktop'' |2000 |Jack |- |''The Ballad of Lucy Whipple'' |2001 |Amos "Rattlesnake Jake" Frogge |- |''Face to Face'' |2001 |Driver |- |''Rustin'' |2001 |Coach Trellingsby |- |''Focus'' |2001 |Fred |- |''The 51st State'' |2002 |The Lizard |- |''Wishcraft'' |2002 |Detective Sparky Shaw (as Michael Aday) |- |''The Salton Sea'' |2002 |Bo |- |''A Hole in One'' |2004 |Billy |- |''BloodRayne'' |2005 |Leonid |- |''The Pleasure Drivers'' |2005 |Dale (as Meat Loaf Aday) |- |''Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny'' |2006 |JB's father |- |''Pelts Masters of Horror'' |2006 |Jake Feldman |- |''History Rocks'' |2007 |Himself |- |''Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise'' |2008 |Himself |- |''Tiger Force Forever: Unleashed'' |2009 | |- |''Burning Bright'' |2010 |Howie |- |''Beautiful Boy'' |2010 | |}

Television

{|class="wikitable" width="40%"| |- !Title !Episode Title !Release Year !Character |- |''Strike Force'' |"MIA" |1985 |Adams Family 1971 |- |''The Equalizer'' |"Bump and Run" |1985 | |- |''Tales from the Crypt'' |"What's Cookin'?" |1992 | |- |''The Dead Man's Gun'' |"The Mail Order Bride" |1997 | |- |''Nash Bridges'' |"Wild Card" |1997 | |- |''South Park'' |"Chef Aid" |1998 |Cameo |- |''The Outer Limits'' |"Gettysburg" |2000 | |- |''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' | |2007 | |- |''Private Sessions'' | |2007 | |- |Go-Phone Commercial | |2007 |Singing Father |- |''The F Word'' | |2008 |Himself |- |''Hannity'' | |2009 |Member of Panel |- |''Tiger Force Forever: Unleashed'' | |2009 | |- |''Masters of Horror'' |"Pelts" |2009 |Jake |- |''House, M.D.'' |"Simple Explanation" |2009 |Patient |- |''Don't Forget the Lyrics'' | |2009 | |- |''Ghost Hunters'' |"Bat Out of Hell" |2009 |Himself |- |''Monk'' |"Mr. Monk and the Voodoo Curse" |2009 |Reverend Hadley Jorgensen |- |''Citizen Jane'' | |2009 |Detective Jack Morris |- |''Popstar to Operastar'' | |2010 |Judge |- |''WWE Raw'' | |2010 |Himself |- |''Glee'' |"The Rocky Horror Glee Show" |2010 |Barry Jeffries (Credited as: Meat Loaf Aday) |- |''Ghost Hunters'' |"Sloss Furnaces" |2010 | |- |''This Week'' | |2010 |Himself |- |''The Celebrity Apprentice'' | |2011 |Himself |}

References

Books

External links

Meat Loaf talks about meeting John Lennon, new album 'Hang Cool Teddy Bear' and more on The Rock radio station

Behind The Music: Meat Loaf on VH1classic.com

Meat Loaf's YouTube channel

MeatLoaf on Twitter

Category:1947 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Texas Category:American film actors Category:American male singers Category:American members of the Churches of Christ Category:American television actors Category:American vegetarians Category:Arista Records artists Category:Epic Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Motown artists Category:MCA Records artists Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Musicians from Dallas, Texas Category:Neverland Express members Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:The Apprentice (U.S. TV series) contestants Category:University of North Texas alumni Category:Pseudonymous musicians

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Sarah Burke (born 1982) is a Canadian freestyle skier who grew up in Midland, Ontario, Canada. She now resides in Whistler, British Columbia.

Skiing career

Burke won first place in the 2001 US Freeskiing Open in the half-pipe and second place in slopestyle. She won the first ever world championship half-pipe event. Burke is also a four-time Winter X Games gold medalist in freestyle skiing.

She won ESPN's 2001 Award for female skier of the year and was voted 2007's Best Female Action Sports Athlete at the ESPY awards as well as BERT, the first skier to be so honored.

She regularly participates in skiing films, including ''Propaganda'', in which she showcased her skills by sliding huge rainbow rails, spinning a huge 540 in the pipe and throwing back-flips with ease.

Off the Slopes

She was voted number 91 on the FHM-U.S.'s 100 Sexiest Women 2006 list.

Burke also enjoys knitting, cooking and baking, mountain biking, going to the gym, painting, and climbing.

On September 25, 2010 Burke married fellow freeskier Rory Bushfield in Pemberton, B.C.

Sources

External links

Official Website

Sarah Burke, Game Designer - The Ski Channel wrote a story on 06/18/09 about Sarah's new video game, LittleBigPlanet.

EXPN Profile

Interview by Powdermag.com

Sarah Burke on Go211.com Exclusive photos, videos and blogs submitted by Sarah.

References

Category:Living people Category:1982 births Category:People from Midland, Ontario Category:Sportspeople from Vancouver Category:X-Games athletes Category:Canadian freeskiers

it:Sarah Burke pl:Sarah Burke