Watch out!
THIS IS WHAT MAKES AMERICA THE
GREATEST NATION THE WORLD HAS
EVER KNOWN.
>> NO IT HERE WE GO.
DON’T JUMP IT, I’VE GOT TO BREAK
THIS DOWN.
WELCOME TO THE PURSUIT.
A RIDDLE WRAPPED IN A MYSTERY
INSIDE AN ENIGMA.
THAT’S HOW I WOULD DESCRIBE MY
GUEST.
THE ONE IN ONLY, MEATLOAF.
THIS HAS DEFINED GENERATIONS IN
HIS PERFORMANCES AND INTENSITY
EARNED HIM HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS
OF FANS ALL AROUND THE WORLD.
IT MIGHT MEAN A ROCKSTAR HAS HAD
AN EASY PATH TO PURSUING
HAPPINESS BUT NOTHING COULD BE
FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
CONJURED UP BY THE MUSIC
INDUSTRY FROM THE BEGINNING BUT
SONGS LIKE TWO OUT OF THREE
AIN’T BAD.
PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT,
I DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE.
MEATLOAF HAS PROVEN HIS
NAYSAYERS WRONG TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
♪
NEVER BEEN DUPLICATED AND NEVER
PURSUE PAST. MEATLOAF.
♪ THE FACT THAT NOBODY EVER BRINGS
THE FACT THAT NOBODY EVER BRINGS
IN, I WOULD TOTALLY DESPISE.
>> YOU HAVE TO PUSH THROUGH
PEOPLE TELLING YOU YOU CAN’T DO
THAT, I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT
YOU’RE DOING, GET THE TRASH OUT
OF THE RADIO.
ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
HOW I KNEW THEY WERE ALL WRONG,
JIMMY AND I WERE PLAYING AT A
CLUB WITH 60 PEOPLE.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE SUPPER
CLUB IN NEW YORK?
OH, THAT’S VERY NICE.
THESE PEOPLE, IT WAS LIKE A
METALLICA CONCERT.
SCREAMING AND YELLING AND THAT’S
HOW I KNEW THEY WERE ALL WRONG
BECAUSE IT WASN’T THOSE PEOPLE
IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY TO HEAR
IT.
IT WAS THE PEOPLE, YOU, FOR
PEOPLE ARE AND THAT’S WHY GAVE
IT TOO.
>> THERE ARE SINGERS AND
ARTISTS.
I WILL MAKE AN ANALOGY.
SINGERS, MUSIC INDUSTRY
NEWSLETTER SIDEWINDER STINK
SNAKE LIKE THIS.
SINGERS FOLLOW-UP.
THEY JUST WANT TO FOLLOW THE TAIL CAN FOLLOW.
TAIL CAN FOLLOW.
THERE’S A LOT OF GREAT SINGERS,
VERY POPULAR.
ARTISTS CUT STRAIGHT LINE, THEY
JUST CUT STRAIGHT, THAT’S IT.
THEY DO THEIR THING AND THAT’S
IT.
IT NONREDUNDANT, THEIR
FINGERPRINT AND THE SIDELINE OR
SNAKE WILL CROSS OVER EVERY NOW
AND AGAIN AND GET REAL POPULAR
AND IT SWINGS BACK OUT AND THE
PHONE DOESN’T RING AND GO BACK
OUT AND BACK AGAIN.
YOU ARE AN EXAMPLE BECAUSE YOU
ARE A REAL ARTIST.
>> THAT’S VERY INTELLIGENT.
>> WHEN YOU COME BACK AROUND AND HERE IT COMES AGAIN, ANOTHER
HERE IT COMES AGAIN, ANOTHER
TIDAL WAVE AND SEE AND AGAIN
WITH MORE THINGS ON THE HORIZON.
THE ESSENCE OF THE PURSUIT OF
HAPPYNESS.
IF THIS IS THE PURSUIT, IT’S
GOING DOWN THE ROAD AND YOU
CONTINUALLY DO IT TODAY.
IT’S INEVITABLE THINGS ARE GOING
TO GET IN THE WAY I LOOK BACK
EVEN WHEN YOU WERE A YOUNG KID
READING SOME STORIES, OLD
INTERVIEWS YOU DID GROWING UP
ABOUT EVEN YOUR FAMILY LIFE.
IT WAS A LITTLE ROUGH, PRETTY
DYNAMIC.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT IT WAS LIKE
GROWING UP AS A LITTLE MEATLOAF?
>> TWELVE, 13 YEARS OLD, MY
FATHER WAS LIKE THAT MOVIE WHERE
HE WAS A DRUNK AND GONE ALL THE
TIME, THAT WAS MY FATHER.
HE WOULD BE GONE.
MY FATHER THROUGH A WINDOW, A
SCREEN DOOR AND I WAS BIG BUT HE
WAS BIGGER.
AFTER MY MOTHER DIED, FOUR DAYS
AFTER MY MOTHER DIED, I WAS
SITTING WITH MY BEST FRIEND, MY
ROOMMATE IT COLLEGE AS WELL IN
THE DINING ROOM AND HE COMES IN
DRUNK SCREAMING, GET THESE
[BLEEP] OUT OF HIS HOUSE.
I SAID BILLY AND HE SAID I’M
GOING.
I WENT TO MY BEDROOM AND SHUT
THE DOOR AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE
DOOR KICKED OPEN AND MY FATHER,
HE’S GOT A BUTCHER KNIFE IN HIS
HAND AND HE’S COMING AT ME AND I
ROLL OFF THE BED AND AS FAR AS I
KNOW, I BROKE TWO RIBS OF HIS
AND I GUESS PUT HIM IN THE
HOSPITAL BECAUSE I WAS FIGHTING
FOR MY LIFE.
I’VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO BEAT HIM
BEFORE BUT I WAS FIGHTING FOR MY
LIFE.
I WALKED OUT OF MY HOUSE WITH A
PAIR OF GYM SHORTS FROM FOOTBALL
AND FOOTBALL T-SHIRT AND WALKED
TO BILLY’S HOUSE AND NEVER WENT
BACK.
>> HOW OLD WERE YOU?
>> I WAS 18.
A CRUCIAL TIME TO BE A PERSON.
>> IN L.A. HOMELESS BECAUSE MY