The road to stardom is not always paved smoothly.

Just ask Meat Loaf, who was born Marvin Lee Aday but changed his first name to Michael in his adult life.

Born September 27, 1947, the now-73-year-old musician is said to have cheated death many times. After surviving an alcoholic father and a childhood of domestic violence, he experienced health scares, including fainting spells, a reported heart attack and broken bones.

Meat Loaf faced bankruptcy, bust-ups and years of record-company rejection, but he persevered. And today, he's considered one of the greatest and best-selling rock artists of all time.

In fact, his Bat Out of Hell trilogy – Bat Out of Hell, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose – has sold more than 40 million records worldwide. It's been over 40 years since its release, and the first album still sells an estimated 200,000 copies every year.

He's also appeared in over 50 movies and television shows – sometimes as himself, other times as characters resembling his unmatched stage persona. 

But there's more to the theatrical (he got his big break after Hair) yet admittedly socially anxious man than meet's a fan's eye, which Michael and those closest to him will unveil in the upcoming REELZ documentary, Meat Loaf: In and Out of Hell.

"I think that there's probably an air of mystery and, of course, drama around the fact of, you know,