Hit Parade: Turn Around, Bright Eyes, Part 1
b"Hit Parade is back for non-Slate Plus listeners! Upcoming episodes will be split into two parts, released two weeks apart. For the full episode right now, sign up for Slate Plus and you'll also get The Bridge, our Trivia show and bonus deep dive into our subjects. slate.com/hitparadeplus.\\nProducers and songwriters have a major impact on how a finished pop song sounds, and feels. But it\\u2019s possible no hitmaking mastermind\\u2014not even Phil Spector\\u2014has had a more specific pop sound than Jim Steinman. His songs have an unmistakable signature: pounding pianos, revving motorcycles, sometimes literal thunder. And power-vocalists singing passionate lyrics that don\\u2019t always make sense but always sound like the fate of the world depends on this song.\\nChris Molanphy tells the story of a fervent, headstrong songwriter who fused with a singer who called himself Meat Loaf, creating a blockbuster song cycle called Bat Out of Hell. Steinman then went on to spread his pomp-rock to other artists: Bonnie Tyler\\u2019s \\u201cTotal Eclipse of the Heart.\\u201d Air Supply\\u2019s \\u201cMaking Love Out of Nothing at All.\\u201d Celine Dion\\u2019s \\u201cIt\\u2019s All Coming Back to Me Now.\\u201d Every song sounded like a hallelujah chorus and a Broadway show\\u2014even though Steinman\\u2019s actual Broadway show was a notorious flop. But nothing keeps Jim Steinman down. Forever\\u2019s gonna start tonight.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices"