Singer Meat Loaf performs in support of Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at the Defiance High School football stadium in Defiance, Ohio on Thursday, October 25, 2012.

Charles Dharapak/AP File Photo

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Charles Dharapak/AP File Photo

Singer Meat Loaf performs in support of Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at the Defiance High School football stadium in Defiance, Ohio on Thursday, October 25, 2012.

Charles Dharapak/AP File Photo

Meat Loaf, the Grammy-winning American singer and actor, has died aged 74. An official announcement was posted on his Facebook page early Friday morning.

Meat Loaf, born Marvin Lee Aday, was best known for the 1977 album Bat out of hell, one of the best-selling albums of all time, having sold 43 million copies worldwide. Meat Loaf won a Grammy Award in 1994 for the song “I’d Do Anything For Love”.

Meat Loaf has also appeared in over 65 films, with iconic roles on The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club, among others.

“We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all the love and support we are going through this time of grief at losing such an inspiring artist and a beautiful man,” the statement read. “We appreciate your understanding of our need for privacy at this time. From her heart to your souls…never stop swaying!”

The cause of death is unknown at this time.

Bat out of hell was a landmark album for the singer and rock n’ roll in general, with one reviewer describing it as “like Springsteen on Broadway on steroids.” rolling stone listing the album at 343 on his list of the 500 greatest albums of all time released in 2003 and 2012, but was left out of its 2020 revision.

Meat Loaf’s death comes a year after composer, lyricist and record producer Jim Steinman, his creative partner on Bat out of hell and many other projects, died of kidney failure.

After a long falling out with Steinman, the duo reunited to work on 1993’s Bat Out of Hell II: Back to Hell, which spawned Meat Loaf’s most iconic hit, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do This)”. The album has sold over 15 million copies.

In 2017, Bat out of hell was adapted by Steinman in a scene, Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical. It opened at Manchester Opera House in the UK and later made its US debut at New York City Center.

The full statement is below: