Biography
Meat Loaf had spent nearly ten years as a working musician when Bat Out of Hell suddenly propelled him to stardom in 1977, though one of his most vivid early experiences came as half of the duo Stoney & Meatloaf. The pair formed in Detroit and recorded a 1971 album of robust, blues-tinged rock that highlighted the powerful voices of Meat Loaf and his partner, Shaun Murphy, who performed as Stoney. Although Motown Records supplied several of its finest session players for the project, the release drew little attention until Meat Loaf’s subsequent fame triggered a 1978 reissue, and the full body of their Motown work eventually appeared on the 2022 compilation Everything Under the Sun: The Motown Recordings.
Born Marvin Lee Aday in Texas, the singer relocated to Detroit in the late 1960s and began using the stage name Meat Loaf. While in Michigan he performed with groups that went by Popcorn Blizzard, Floating Circus, and Meat Loaf Soul. During his time playing local clubs he met Shaun Murphy, a vocalist originally from Nebraska whose family had settled in the state; she was then fronting Wilson Mower Pursuit. After modest results in Detroit, Meat Loaf moved to Los Angeles and landed an audition for the hit musical Hair, which was about to open on the West Coast. He secured a role, yet the producers soon returned him to Detroit for the show’s first Michigan production. When the Detroit producers asked whether he could suggest additional local performers, he recommended Murphy, who at the time was also pursuing acting under her given name while using Stoney for her rock performances. Both singers joined the Detroit cast, and the production proved popular enough to run for six months.
Their strong showings in the Detroit staging of Hair caught the ear of Motown engineer Russ Terrana, who was struck by their vocal abilities after attending an early performance. Terrana convinced Harry Balk, head of the label’s rock subsidiary Rare Earth Records, to sign the singers as a duo. Balk approved the deal, and Russ Terrana was chosen to produce the resulting album—issued under the single-word billing Stoney & Meatloaf—alongside his brother Ralph Terrana and Motown writer-producer Mike Valvano. Across two recording periods, November to December 1970 and March to June 1971, the sessions blended rock, R&B, and pop elements, with the Funk Brothers supplying most of the instrumental backing. Rare Earth released Stoney & Meatloaf in September 1971; the duo toured briefly in support, and the label put out two singles, one featuring a non-album B-side cover of “The Way You Do the Things You Do.” Airplay remained scarce and sales stayed low.
Late in 1971 the duo recorded a new single, “Who Is the Leader of the People.” Motown decided the track might fare better with different vocals, so the instrumental tracks were reassigned to Edwin Starr. Meat Loaf, angered by the decision, confronted label executives and was dropped from the roster. The company retained Murphy under contract and encouraged her to move to Los Angeles when Motown shifted operations westward. After an attempt to reposition her as an adult-contemporary artist in the style of Helen Reddy, she issued the solo single “Let Me Come Down Easy” b/w “It’s Always Me” in April 1973, which attracted no notice. Offered a backup-singing position with Bob Seger for an upcoming tour, Murphy accepted, prompting Motown to end her contract. She remained a longtime member of Seger’s band, contributed to sessions with Eric Clapton, and toured with Little Feat, Bruce Hornsby, the Moody Blues, and Joe Walsh. Off the road she led her own blues group that performed regularly in the Midwest and issued several albums on her Vision Wall imprint. Meanwhile, after additional stage work and early setbacks, Meat Loaf delivered his debut solo album, Bat Out of Hell, in 1977; the multi-platinum success launched his long-running solo career.
With Meat Loaf now a major star, Motown reissued the album in 1978 as Meatloaf (Featuring Stoney & Meatloaf), altering the track order, adding non-album material, and wrapping it in a new cover that depicted a face sculpted from an actual meatloaf. Although sales exceeded those of the original release, the reissue failed to reach the Billboard Top 200. In 2021 both Shaun Murphy and Meat Loaf resided in Nashville; on December 6 of that year she presented a benefit concert at which Meat Loaf joined her onstage to recount their shared history. It proved one of his last public appearances before his death on January 20, 2022, at age 74. June 2022 brought the release of Everything Under the Sun: The Motown Recordings, a two-disc collection containing the original album, single sides, unreleased cuts, Stoney’s solo single, and the restored original-vocal version of “Who Is the Leader of the People.”
Born Marvin Lee Aday in Texas, the singer relocated to Detroit in the late 1960s and began using the stage name Meat Loaf. While in Michigan he performed with groups that went by Popcorn Blizzard, Floating Circus, and Meat Loaf Soul. During his time playing local clubs he met Shaun Murphy, a vocalist originally from Nebraska whose family had settled in the state; she was then fronting Wilson Mower Pursuit. After modest results in Detroit, Meat Loaf moved to Los Angeles and landed an audition for the hit musical Hair, which was about to open on the West Coast. He secured a role, yet the producers soon returned him to Detroit for the show’s first Michigan production. When the Detroit producers asked whether he could suggest additional local performers, he recommended Murphy, who at the time was also pursuing acting under her given name while using Stoney for her rock performances. Both singers joined the Detroit cast, and the production proved popular enough to run for six months.
Their strong showings in the Detroit staging of Hair caught the ear of Motown engineer Russ Terrana, who was struck by their vocal abilities after attending an early performance. Terrana convinced Harry Balk, head of the label’s rock subsidiary Rare Earth Records, to sign the singers as a duo. Balk approved the deal, and Russ Terrana was chosen to produce the resulting album—issued under the single-word billing Stoney & Meatloaf—alongside his brother Ralph Terrana and Motown writer-producer Mike Valvano. Across two recording periods, November to December 1970 and March to June 1971, the sessions blended rock, R&B, and pop elements, with the Funk Brothers supplying most of the instrumental backing. Rare Earth released Stoney & Meatloaf in September 1971; the duo toured briefly in support, and the label put out two singles, one featuring a non-album B-side cover of “The Way You Do the Things You Do.” Airplay remained scarce and sales stayed low.
Late in 1971 the duo recorded a new single, “Who Is the Leader of the People.” Motown decided the track might fare better with different vocals, so the instrumental tracks were reassigned to Edwin Starr. Meat Loaf, angered by the decision, confronted label executives and was dropped from the roster. The company retained Murphy under contract and encouraged her to move to Los Angeles when Motown shifted operations westward. After an attempt to reposition her as an adult-contemporary artist in the style of Helen Reddy, she issued the solo single “Let Me Come Down Easy” b/w “It’s Always Me” in April 1973, which attracted no notice. Offered a backup-singing position with Bob Seger for an upcoming tour, Murphy accepted, prompting Motown to end her contract. She remained a longtime member of Seger’s band, contributed to sessions with Eric Clapton, and toured with Little Feat, Bruce Hornsby, the Moody Blues, and Joe Walsh. Off the road she led her own blues group that performed regularly in the Midwest and issued several albums on her Vision Wall imprint. Meanwhile, after additional stage work and early setbacks, Meat Loaf delivered his debut solo album, Bat Out of Hell, in 1977; the multi-platinum success launched his long-running solo career.
With Meat Loaf now a major star, Motown reissued the album in 1978 as Meatloaf (Featuring Stoney & Meatloaf), altering the track order, adding non-album material, and wrapping it in a new cover that depicted a face sculpted from an actual meatloaf. Although sales exceeded those of the original release, the reissue failed to reach the Billboard Top 200. In 2021 both Shaun Murphy and Meat Loaf resided in Nashville; on December 6 of that year she presented a benefit concert at which Meat Loaf joined her onstage to recount their shared history. It proved one of his last public appearances before his death on January 20, 2022, at age 74. June 2022 brought the release of Everything Under the Sun: The Motown Recordings, a two-disc collection containing the original album, single sides, unreleased cuts, Stoney’s solo single, and the restored original-vocal version of “Who Is the Leader of the People.”
Albums
