Background
The power ballad remains Tyler's most successful song, peaking at No. 1 in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. At its peak, it sold 60,000 copies per day, and approximately 6 million copies in total. It won the Variety Club award in the UK for best single of 1983. The song also made number 82 of VH1's top 100 love songs.
According to Meat Loaf, Steinman had given the song, along with "Making Love (Out of Nothing At All)", to Meat Loaf for his album Midnight at the Lost and Found; however, Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay for Steinman and he wrote separate songs himself. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was then given to Bonnie Tyler and "Making Love (Out of Nothing At All)" to Air Supply.
The song's melody originally appeared as part of the soundtrack for the 1980 film A Small Circle of Friends.
Read more about this topic: Total Eclipse Of The Heart
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