James Richard Steinman, the lyricist, composer, and record producer, is an Amherst grad from the class of ’69. He was born in New York City and attended George W. Hewlett High School. His senior year at Amherst, Jim wrote the book, music and lyrics for his musical The Dream Engine for his Independent Study. He had already scored two musicals at Amherst, A Man’s a Man and Baal.
You may have heard of the song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler. Your dad probably played it in the car all the time when you were a kid. Maybe he still plays it all the time now. Jim Steinman wrote that song. Many of the lyrics first appeared in parts of The Dream Engine. Joseph Papp, founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival, saw the play and liked it so much that he wanted to take it to Broadway. This didn’t happen, but Steinman did go on to work with Pap after he graduated from Amherst.
Jim wrote and produced music for Meatloaf, Bonnie Tyler, and Celine Dion. Tell your dad this and he will probably be impressed. He has won a Grammy as a record producer. This just goes to show that you can go to liberal arts college and still excel at something incredibly specialized! I’m crossing my fingers that it’s not too late for me to become the next big pop star.