Meat Loaf's 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light' Collaborator Ellen Foley Looks Back on His Legacy (Exclusive)

etonline.com:

Meat Loaf.The legendary rock star, whose real name was Marvin Lee Aday, died Thursday at the age of 74. Foley, who was one of Meat Loaf's longtime collaborators and worked with him on the hit single «Paradise by the Dashboard Light,» reflects on their friendship and looks back at his legacy.«I finally got a text at 2:40 this morning, and all these things just flood back.

Like the image of the first day I ever met him in a rehearsal hall when we were doing the National Lampoon show,» Foley tells ET's Lauren Zima of hearing about Meat Loaf's death. «And you know how they sort of say, 'At the end of your life, your life flashes before you.' Well, I think my Meat Loaf's life sort of flashed before me and just how much life and how huge… they say larger than life [he was], and it's true.

So I guess where he is now, he has the biggest palette for his personality that he could possibly get.»Foley and Meat Loaf were friends for years, frequently working with each other over the years.

As for something that might surprise fans about the musician, Foley notes that «he was very lonely.»«I think he had separation anxiety because his mother died young and he didn't have a lot of support in his life growing up,» she recalls. «So I think he was a lonely person and needed a lot of love, and certainly got it from his fans and I think the women in his life.