Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through

"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is a song written by American composerJim Steinman. It was first featured on Steinman's 1981 solo albumBad for Good, with lead vocals by an uncreditedRory Dodd. It was later recorded by American singerMeat Loafand released in 1994 as the third single from the albumBat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell.
Both the Steinman original and the Meat Loaf remake were top-40 hits. Steinman's version hit number 32 on the USBillboardHot 100, number 14 on theBillboardRock Top Trackschart and number 29 on theCash BoxTop 100; it is Steinman'slone top-40 hitas an artist. In New Zealand, the song spent two weeks at number six. It matched this position 12 years later with the Meat Loaf version. Also, the Meat Loaf version reached number 11 on theUK Singles Chart, number 13 on theBillboardHot 100 and number four on Canada'sRPMTop Singles chart in early 1994.
"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is apaeantorock music, celebrating how it is always there to help you through troubled times. One of its lyrics is "You're never alone, 'cause you can put on the'phonesand let the drummer tell your heart what to do."
The Steinman version's video features an empty, dark stage with two dancers, one male and one female, both in dancing suits and dancingperformance artwith a prop electric guitar. Steinman is seen throughout in a dark suit andaviator sunglassesstanding still on a platform andlip synchingthe song. Scenes of a black bird of prey are seen at the beginning and end of the video.
The video for the Meat Loaf version was directed byMichael Bay, who had also directed the videos for "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" and "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are".
In the music video, Meat Loaf stands as afortunetellerwho comforts a recently runaway teenager (played by an 18 year oldAngelina Jolie). Meat Loaf's character also protects a young boy from joining a gang and other people who are lost and lonely.  Jolie's character, after the song ends, returns to her family.
Several versions of the "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" have been released. The European and UK version included live versions of "Heaven Can Wait" and "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". A second UK version had "Wasted Youth" and "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", while the 7"picture disccontains  just "Wasted Youth". The US singles contained edited, live and acoustic versions of "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)".
The song has been performed live various times since the release ofBat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell. The song was featured onLive Around the Worldand a live soundcheck appeared on the MAXI single. It was performed with theMelbourne Symphony Orchestrain 2004 as a sound test, but was not in the actual concert (Its audio can be heard on a special edition of theBat Out of Hell LiveCD). It was showcased in the DVD3 Bats Livewith performance by Meat Loaf inLondon, Ontarioin 2007. It can also be found on the special two-CD edition ofBat Out of Hell IIand most recently on the live albumCasa De Carne, a bonus CD with the Special Edition (US) Deluxe and Super Deluxe versions (UK) of Meat Loaf's 2010 albumHang Cool Teddy Bear.