| re: Meat Loaf To Return To His High School | |
|
Posted by: |
Jacqueline 01:56 am UTC 01/31/15 |
| In reply to: | Meat Loaf To Return To His High School - steven_stuart 12:53 am UTC 01/31/15 |
| I hope Meat is proud of this. We saw in his Songwriter's Hall of Fame induction that he can be both funny and emotional when giving a speech. Those attending are in for a treat. > I didn't know Mike Nesmith of The Monkees went to Meat's > school. I love that group. > > The invites sent to Thomas Jefferson High School alumni > Monday night say only that Michael Aday will receive one > of the four Distinguished Alumni Awards being handed out > at a March 6 ceremony on the Northwest Dallas campus. But > in 1965, when he graduated, Michael was known by another > name: Marvin Lee Aday. A few years later came the other, > far more famous moniker: Meat Loaf. As in, the > 43-million-and-counting-selling Bat Out of Hell, Rocky > Horror Picture Show, “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I > Won’t Do That),” Fight Club, Roadie. That Meat Loaf, the > guy who was the subject of a brand-new BBC documentary > just weeks ago. > > For the first time in 50 years, Marvin or Michael or Meat > — guess it all depends on how old you are, and whether you > were a classmate — will return to TJ to collect his award > and say a few words; it’s probably the closest we’ll ever > get to a Meat Loaf commencement speech. There are, of > course, other honorees: Fred Volcansek (whose impressive > resumeincludes stints as mayor of Clifton, Texas, and > working on Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush’s > presidential campaigns), Larry Dale and Ken Barth. All > worthy of a sincere congratulations. But, well, only one > of them recorded and released “Paradise by the Dashboard > Light.” > > As an ’86 TJ grad, and (in the interest of full > disclosure) a recent appointee to the TJHS Alumni > Association board (who’s attended all of two meetings, > including last night’s), I’ll tell you this is a big deal. > TJ has a few notable and fair share of sports-famous > graduates and near-grads (the Monkees’ Mike Nesmith at the > top of those pops). But Meat Loaf? Only DISD grad to star > in Spice World and Leap of Faithand Americathon. Take > that, W.T. White graduate Karen Hughes,Woodrow’s own > Carroll Shelby and all you fancy-pants Arts Magnet > Grammy-winners. (I kid, of course.) > > Meat Loaf, who was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of > Fame in 2012, said at the time he was moving back to > Texas. But getting him back to the school was no easy > feat; all credit goes to Martha Wilson, Class of 1960, who > tracked down his people and his people’s people to procure > Meat’s double-secret email address. She invited him back > home — at least to the school where he began his musical > career with parts in The Music Man and Where’s Charley and > a stint in the concert choir before briefly going to > college in Lubbock and Denton. Turns out, he’s honored. > The feeling is mutual. > > “The years I was there we had the worst [expletive] > football team in the world, and I thought I was a good > football player,” he told an audience at the House of > Blues in 2010. “I sucked. Good thing that I figured out > what I was supposed to do, don’t ya think? But I’ll tell > you what: Doing theater in New York and rock and roll and > playing football, I’m not so sure it’s a safe thing to do. > I’ve had 18 concussions, three knee surgeries, two > shoulder [operations]. But you know what? I wouldn’t give > it up for anything, because of fans like you. I’ll be > honest with you. What I miss most about Dallas, other than > Big Tex, is fried okra, black-eyed peas and fried Spam. > Hey, in 1964, that was a [expletive] staple." > > Sure we can rustle some up for him. March 6 at 10 a.m. at > Thomas Jefferson High School. Finally. > | |
| reply | | |
| Previous: | Meat Loaf To Return To His High School - steven_stuart 12:53 am UTC 01/31/15 |
| Next: | re: Meat Loaf To Return To His High School - steven_stuart 01:00 am UTC 02/06/15 |
| Thread: |
|