“It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
Meat Loaf was such a die-hard sports fan that he once brought legendary Yankees player Yogi Berra to a recording studio with him.
Tony Bongiovi, the famed producer behind NYC’s Power Station studio, is one of the many music power players mourning the rock legend, who died at age 74 on Thursday.
“One of my proudest moments as a son came courtesy of Meat Loaf during a session at Power Station,” Bongiovi, 74, recalled to Page Six. “Most people don’t know that Meat was an avid baseball player and Yankee fan. One night, his pal Yogi Berra showed up to hang out in the studio.
“Well, my dad, Tony Bongiovi Sr., was also a huge Yanks fan, and when I mentioned it to Meat and Yogi, they said, ‘Get him on the phone!’ Yogi was so kind to my dad, who was thrilled with the surprise call. And Meat — who had met my dad — was delighted knowing he had made it happen.”
Bongiovi has produced records by Aerosmith, the Ramones and Talking Heads, among other top acts, and is a second cousin to rocker Jon Bon Jovi. He launched Power Station in a former Manhattan ConEd plant in 1977, and it became home to seminal recordings by Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and more.
Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” and other hits were recorded there as well, so the late singer was a regular at the studio.
“It was a privilege hosting Meat Loaf, his producer Jim Steinman and his band at our studio,” Bongiovi said. “He was a wonderful talent and an extremely thoughtful guy.”
Meat Loaf had thanked Berra, as well as another Yankees great, Don Mattingly, in the liner notes of his albums.
In a 2005 interview with the New York Times, the sports fanatic said he’d been a member of 60 fantasy leagues at a time.
“I like all the fantasy sports,” Meat Loaf said. “I started doing baseball in the mid-’80s. I do baseball, basketball, football, NASCAR, everything. It’s my escape. I get so many phone calls. There are so many decisions I have to make. It gets me thinking about something else other than what’s going on in my life.”
He also said of his off-stage obsession: “When I’m not working, I have NFL Sunday Ticket and I watch all the games. At the same time, I have my computer on, so I can monitor everything in real-time scoring. On Monday, I don’t do anything. Tuesday is the day you normally pick up free agents, and I spend several hours working on that. I listen to NFL radio on Sirius. Sometimes I even do call-ins on NFL radio with their fantasy football guru. Unless there is a Thursday game, by Friday, I have to set my lineups. Then you have to watch the injury reports on Saturday.”
Stars who’ve publicly expressed their condolences after Meat Loaf’s death include Cher, Boy George, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Rick Astley.
Meat Loaf’s family announced his death via Facebook in a message that read: “Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight with his wife Deborah by his side… Daughters Pearl and Amanda and close friends have been with him throughout the last 24 hours.”
The crooner, born Marvin Lee Aday, had been “seriously ill” with COVID-19 just days before his death, TMZ reported.
Meanwhile, we hear that Bongiovi — who started out working with Jimi Henxdrix, Stevie Wonder and the Supremes — is currently working on a memoir that’s sure to be a page-turner for music fans.