Speaker 1: Hey, that Folcus. Thursday July nine, we were hopping on
Speaker 1: right after putting up our morning run as we often do,
Speaker 1: because we have a breaking news update. Just getting words
Speaker 1: that singer Bonnie Tyler has passed away at the age
Speaker 1: of seventy five. Welcome to this breaking news episode, Robes Even.
Speaker 1: I saw the name and knew immediately and connected her
Speaker 1: to that one song.
Speaker 2: You know what's crazy is I don't know her, I've
Speaker 2: never met her, but I feel emotional. She has had
Speaker 2: such an impact on so many people's lives. She has
Speaker 2: brought so much joy to people with her music and
Speaker 2: for many of us at a certain age, but I
Speaker 2: actually think she has touched just about every generation because
Speaker 2: who doesn't know total eclipse of the heart, holding out
Speaker 2: for a hero. But these were the anthems of my
Speaker 2: childhood and coming up. And still listen to her music
Speaker 2: when I want to have fun, when I want to
Speaker 2: when I want to release. She is that powerhouse of
Speaker 2: a voice that just will take you right back.
Speaker 3: To a place of joy. And that's what I think
Speaker 3: of when I think of her.
Speaker 1: And Bonnie Tyler had been in the headlines here recently.
Speaker 1: We'll let you know we got word from her family.
Speaker 1: They put up a statement on her official social media
Speaker 1: pages talking about her passing. But she had Robe been
Speaker 1: in the headlines here recently, first of all for going
Speaker 1: into the hospital for an emergency surgery, then word that
Speaker 1: she was in a coma, then word that she came
Speaker 1: out of the coma. But Robe she had been still
Speaker 1: in the hospital. We always say, we hear now seventy somethings,
Speaker 1: albody dies. That is really really young. But the way
Speaker 1: the family explains it, rope she for the past month
Speaker 1: or two sounds like she's been going through it in
Speaker 1: the hospital.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, she ended up dying at the hospital in Portugal,
Speaker 2: where she has lived for quite some time with her husband.
Speaker 2: And this was the official family statement that came out
Speaker 2: just a short while ago. Bonnie's family and team are
Speaker 2: heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpected passed away last night
Speaker 2: in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness
Speaker 2: that she was being treated for. We will issue a
Speaker 2: further statement shortly, but now asked for privacy to deal
Speaker 2: with this tragedy. And I think that speaks to where
Speaker 2: we all are right now. Yes we knew she was ill,
Speaker 2: Yes we knew she had been fighting for her life.
Speaker 2: It definitely seemed serious. But to hear that she came
Speaker 2: out of the coma it I think a lot of
Speaker 2: us who had been following it felt like, Okay, good,
Speaker 2: she's passed the worst of it, and she's going to
Speaker 2: come out of this. I mean, she had tours scheduled,
Speaker 2: she was still active in her singing career and still beloved,
Speaker 2: obviously by millions around the world. So to hear her
Speaker 2: family say that it was a sudden or an unexpected passing,
Speaker 2: that speaks to the shock of it today hearing this news.
Speaker 1: I mean they said originally, I think, give us all
Speaker 1: the details when she first went into the hospital in May,
Speaker 1: but they called it an emergency intestinal surgery. So unexpected,
Speaker 1: so unexpected, obviously right, it was because you just said
Speaker 1: she still she had a tour plan, she was supposed
Speaker 1: to be back on the road very soon, so Robes
Speaker 1: she seemed to be indecent enough help to be out
Speaker 1: there on the road, still doing her thing. And if
Speaker 1: you saw her lately, I mean, Robes didn't necessarily see
Speaker 1: in the recent pictures of her. So anybody you'd be
Speaker 1: concerned about health wise as a seventy five year old Robes,
Speaker 1: this is awful, and for whatever reason, Robes, it seems
Speaker 1: awful or worse or unexpected because the updates look, somebody's
Speaker 1: in a coma sounds bad. Come out of a coma
Speaker 1: sounds positive.
Speaker 3: Yes, absolutely, but they.
Speaker 1: Did stay she was struggling and still stayed in the hospital.
Speaker 1: But ropes. I guess that last update at least hearing
Speaker 1: she was out of the coma, I kind of put
Speaker 1: it in your mind or the back of your mind
Speaker 1: that oh, okay, she's going to get through this.
Speaker 3: I mean, we had hoped this.
Speaker 2: I mean she has been just such an integral part
Speaker 2: of my life in so many people's lives. Even Look,
Speaker 2: you're not a big fan of eighties power ballads, but
Speaker 2: you also, like everyone knows for music. I don't know
Speaker 2: who care, who you are, what age you are, you
Speaker 2: know those songs.
Speaker 1: Oh just stuffing for folks like me who are nowhere.
Speaker 1: I guess that speaks to the reach. I don't know
Speaker 1: anything about this music in the eighties, but I know
Speaker 1: who she is and I know two songs. I know
Speaker 1: one of them because freaking Kevin Bakon was dancing his
Speaker 1: ass around to one of them in Footloot yes, I
Speaker 1: need a hero. That's probably the song I get more
Speaker 1: hype or energy to Total Eclipse of the Heart as iconic,
Speaker 1: and it's on every list of greatest songs ever made.
Speaker 1: You're gonna find that no matter what. But this is
Speaker 1: the one that I've admitted more times than not. I
Speaker 1: get annoyed because everybody else loves it so much and
Speaker 1: I'm around people who start screaming and yelling it in
Speaker 1: my ear. But it's without question, one of the greatest
Speaker 1: songs to have happened, one of the most successful songs.
Speaker 1: And to think it came out in nineteen eighty three,
Speaker 1: I think it was. And here we are in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty six. Play that song anywhere, play it anywhere. I
Speaker 1: was just everybody's going to be into it. That is
Speaker 1: still a current hit. And don't let there be an
Speaker 1: eclipse ever.
Speaker 2: Oh yes, we've had two eclipses. And I believe Gma
Speaker 2: it was twenty seventeen. I believe we had her on
Speaker 2: a cruise ship singing Total Eclipse of the Heart and
Speaker 2: you were everybody was for this big eclipse and she,
Speaker 2: you know what, I loved that she embraced it, that
Speaker 2: she knew that that song was so iconic, and she
Speaker 2: had given plenty of interviews saying I never get tired
Speaker 2: of singing it.
Speaker 3: And I appreciate that because you know, look, I get it.
Speaker 2: Some people get annoyed that they have to always sing
Speaker 2: that one song that they're only known for that. And look,
Speaker 2: she had well more than just that one song, but
Speaker 2: that was the iconic song attached to her. And I
Speaker 2: love that she never ever was annoyed by singing it,
Speaker 2: grew tired of singing it. She expressed how much she
Speaker 2: loved that song. She recognized what that song meant for
Speaker 2: her and what it means to everyone else.
Speaker 1: I guess sometimes we make the assumption about those songs
Speaker 1: and certain artists who look Michael Jackson had hit after
Speaker 1: hit after hit. Some people make one iconic hit and
Speaker 1: then the rest of their career is just okay. And yes,
Speaker 1: she had another hit, I Need a Hero one from Footloose.
Speaker 1: She had one other, the Heartache Song, which was her
Speaker 1: first hit. She had a long career, multiple albums. I
Speaker 1: think about Rachel Platten, what is the song the one
Speaker 1: iconic oh, fight song, fight song? Yes, And we asked
Speaker 1: her about that, and do you ever get tired of that?
Speaker 1: Everybody's just waiting on that one. She said that that
Speaker 1: song pay for my mortgage. No, she expressed, like every
Speaker 1: time I belt it out, it is a retelling and
Speaker 1: an emotional experience. You never get tired of it. I
Speaker 1: think that about this song. How many times? It's the
Speaker 1: only song. If I say, Bonnie Tyler, how many what's
Speaker 1: the percentage? The only song you can come up with
Speaker 1: is the one yes, And that's fine, and that's awesome.
Speaker 1: But you think that would wear on somebody. No, this
Speaker 1: lady embraced and sang that thing with that raspy ass
Speaker 1: voice as many times as anybody would invite her to
Speaker 1: sing it. Now I'm thinking, man, she should have been
Speaker 1: invited to the National Mall. She should have been singing
Speaker 1: that song for the anniversary. Like they're just it's just
Speaker 1: we lost somebody who was unifying in a song. Her
Speaker 1: genre wasn't necessarily for everybody. It wasn't that diverse, you
Speaker 1: could even argue, but that song touched everybody. And that's
Speaker 1: what music does. It brings folks together. Thank you, Bonnie
Speaker 1: Tyler for that song, which will never go away.
Speaker 2: No, and we've been actually already playing that song, and
Speaker 2: I need a hero at nauseum as soon as the
Speaker 2: word came out, and it did flood you with emotion.
Speaker 2: And I do love what you pointed out that Rachel
Speaker 2: plattin in that fight song. It's about what you feel
Speaker 2: when you hear the music, and when artists understand that
Speaker 2: and get that and lean into it, it's a beautiful
Speaker 2: relationship with the audience.
Speaker 3: And it never went away.
Speaker 2: She always had folks who, Yes, I dare anyone not
Speaker 2: to run on the dance floor at a wedding when
Speaker 2: that song comes on, or you.
Speaker 3: Know, maybe not.
Speaker 2: You know me, You couldn't hold wild horses, couldn't hold
Speaker 2: me back. You hear the beginning of that song, and
Speaker 2: I would say, at least every girl runs to the
Speaker 2: dance totally clips.
Speaker 1: Yes, how do you dance to that song?
Speaker 2: Oh? You just would turn around. Everyone turns around you.
Speaker 2: You like you sway with your girlfriends. Oh, I have
Speaker 2: danced to that song, believe me.
Speaker 1: How do you dance with your man to that song?
Speaker 3: I don't know if you necessarily dance.
Speaker 1: Okay, we're gonna try it after this, after this recording.
Speaker 1: But as much as we know that song, as much
Speaker 1: as we love that song, as many years as that
Speaker 1: song has been around. You know what I learned something
Speaker 1: today about Bonnie Tyler, which is Bonnie Tyler was not
Speaker 1: her birth name. It wasn't even her second name. All right,
Speaker 1: we continue here on, Amy and TJ. I wanted to
Speaker 1: hop on and give this quick update, just getting word
Speaker 1: after we posted our already our morning run newscasts. It's
Speaker 1: right before this on the feed. But we hoped right
Speaker 1: back on because we got word that Bonnie Tyler passed
Speaker 1: away at the age of seventy five. And Rosie, you
Speaker 1: learned so much about folks, and I learned that Bonnie
Speaker 1: Tyler was not her name, not even close to it.
Speaker 1: I did not know this at all.
Speaker 3: I didn't know this.
Speaker 2: That her name was Gainner Hopkins. Yes, she was born
Speaker 2: in Wales, and when you hear about her humble beginnings,
Speaker 2: it actually makes you fall even more in love with
Speaker 2: what she was able to accomplish and what she gave
Speaker 2: to the world.
Speaker 3: But she was born in.
Speaker 2: Wales, daughter of a coal miner, born in a home
Speaker 2: that didn't even have indoor plumbing.
Speaker 3: She had an outside toilet.
Speaker 2: These were her beginnings and she built her life in
Speaker 2: this area, singing at pubs and had dreams of becoming,
Speaker 2: you know, the young girl from the small town who
Speaker 2: makes it big, and she did exactly that. She was
Speaker 2: discovered in one of those Welsh parts.
Speaker 1: Awesome.
Speaker 3: I love these stories.
Speaker 1: I think about that. We you and I just came
Speaker 1: from a lot of pubs in Europe, and to think
Speaker 1: you could be sitting in and we saw a bunch
Speaker 1: of performers, To think that could turn into something else's
Speaker 1: it's fascinating. She made it. But bro she went from
Speaker 1: Gayner Hopkins. That's how she was born. She started performing.
Speaker 1: She didn't want to use that name. There was some
Speaker 1: other Welsh singer named Mary Hopkins and she didn't want
Speaker 1: I guess that person was a big enough deal that
Speaker 1: she didn't want any affiliation. So she changed her name
Speaker 1: and was performing in the pubs as Scharene Davies.
Speaker 2: That's so wild, And every time I hear Gayner Hopkins,
Speaker 2: I was thinking of Gloria Gaynor, the other singer who
Speaker 2: actually is in a similar genre. I would think that
Speaker 2: could even have been confusing. So Sharen Davies and then
Speaker 2: ended up somehow with Bonnie.
Speaker 1: Bonnie Tyler the whatever the the I think whatever record
Speaker 1: label she was working with it was something back and
Speaker 1: forth about what she should be called. They landed on
Speaker 1: Bonnie Tyler. But it's not her name, not her name
Speaker 1: a name.
Speaker 3: That's amazing.
Speaker 2: And then we also learned you found this out.
Speaker 3: I didn't know this about Total Eclips of the Heart,
Speaker 3: but it makes so much sense.
Speaker 1: This is okay. No one, I bet no one listening
Speaker 1: knows this story. I certainly did not. Total Eclips of
Speaker 1: the Heart was not her song, and in fact, the
Speaker 1: guy who wrote it did not write it for her.
Speaker 1: In fact, he wrote it for somebody else who was
Speaker 1: kind of a big deal at the time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, somebody else who I absolutely love too.
Speaker 3: Loved the music, loved the style.
Speaker 2: So the fact that the song was written by the
Speaker 2: same guy who had been producing meat Loafs Bat out
Speaker 2: of Hell.
Speaker 3: So yeah, the song was written.
Speaker 2: And meant for and intended for meat.
Speaker 3: Loaf to sing.
Speaker 2: The song absolutely sounds like a meat Loaf song. It
Speaker 2: totally makes sense now.
Speaker 1: All right, So if that makes sense, does it make
Speaker 1: sense as well that he said he wrote it for
Speaker 1: a musical about the og vampire Nosparatu.
Speaker 3: It totally makes sense. But I didn't know that either.
Speaker 1: Yes, this song was written totally clips of the heart
Speaker 1: that You're go and raise it. I was written for
Speaker 1: a vampire musical.
Speaker 3: That I get it.
Speaker 1: I get it.
Speaker 3: It's opera rock.
Speaker 2: It's like this this genre that I love and Meet
Speaker 2: Loaf nailed it. But I never even equivocated Bonnie Tyler
Speaker 2: with that genre or anything. But now that you say it,
Speaker 2: now that I've learned it, it reads. And here's the
Speaker 2: other cool thing. So Yes, why didn't Meet Loaf sing
Speaker 2: the song because he lost his voice at the time,
Speaker 2: so he was going through this rough patch where he
Speaker 2: couldn't sing, and so this song is just sitting there.
Speaker 2: It was supposed to be Yes in this musical for
Speaker 2: a Noasperato. I don't know how it ended up on
Speaker 2: the cutting room floor.
Speaker 1: Well, it ended up because she was excited about the
Speaker 1: idea of working with the guy who produced Mee Loaf's
Speaker 1: hit album. She begged to meet with this guy. He
Speaker 1: didn't even want to meet with her. Steinman Jim Steinman
Speaker 1: goes to his apartment in Manhattan just to do a
Speaker 1: meet and greet. He was fascinated by her voice, sings
Speaker 1: this song. Gives her this one to perform. It became
Speaker 1: her song after that, She said meatloafs. She'd run into
Speaker 1: them over the years and would always talk is to
Speaker 1: her about that should have been my song. That's my song.
Speaker 1: That is great, a great story in great history. Robes.
Speaker 1: That song has been out since eighty three. I'm just
Speaker 1: learning this.
Speaker 2: That is And she actually got Grammy nominations for that
Speaker 2: on her nineteen eighty three album. But what a cool
Speaker 2: story that that was not her story initially and absolutely
Speaker 2: became her her swan song.
Speaker 1: You know what, let that be a lesson. Let's take
Speaker 1: that from Bonnie Tyler today. It doesn't have to be
Speaker 1: meant for you. It wasn't made for you. You weren't
Speaker 1: the first option. You weren't the first thought. But you
Speaker 1: take advantage of an opportunity when it's in front of you.
Speaker 1: Bruce Willis was the tenth guy in line to play
Speaker 1: in Diehard, and look what it became to that this
Speaker 1: is a thing, somebody else's song for some other thing
Speaker 1: landed to her and made her great Robes. That's fate.
Speaker 1: That's the universe. How do these things happen? That is
Speaker 1: an incredible story. And by the way, that raspy voice
Speaker 1: of hers and they would go, wow, that's awesome. Robes.
Speaker 3: It was.
Speaker 1: It came because she didn't follow doctor's order. She had
Speaker 1: surgery on her It had some nodules removed from her
Speaker 1: throat robes. It resulted in that raspy sounds. Said doctor
Speaker 1: told her she needed to rest her voice. Afterwards, she
Speaker 1: kept it going and they say that resulted in this
Speaker 1: iconic voice that we now have. Wow, didn't this woman
Speaker 1: has been around all this time, first time I've learned
Speaker 1: any of this about her.
Speaker 3: I love hearing those stories.
Speaker 2: And because of that raspy voice, she said she was
Speaker 2: constantly compared to Rod Stewart, who at the time was
Speaker 2: a really big star, and so she was like, it's
Speaker 2: a compliment, I know, but I don't know what he
Speaker 2: thinks about it. She just seemed so humble in all
Speaker 2: of her interviews. She's like, I can't help it if
Speaker 2: I've got a husky voice. But that husky voice is
Speaker 2: what just made her so distinctive. I mean, obviously she's
Speaker 2: incredible in her talents and her ability to sing. But
Speaker 2: I footloose too, just nineteen eighty four, holding out for
Speaker 2: a hero.
Speaker 3: That song.
Speaker 2: I run to that song all the time, and sometimes
Speaker 2: I forget it's Bonnie Tyler, Bonnie Tyler and total Eclipse
Speaker 2: of the Heart. Absolutely I know that, but somehow I
Speaker 2: forgot and you started playing it, I was like, oh
Speaker 2: my god, of course that's her too.
Speaker 1: Let's footloose, That's what I remember. So we just wanted
Speaker 1: to hop on, give the update, let you know what
Speaker 1: was happening. But this is just word coming out just
Speaker 1: moments ago. So we just wanted to hop on and
Speaker 1: record and let you know, go ahead.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I always just wanted to say, like in
Speaker 2: our hearts, go out to her husband. She's been married
Speaker 2: to the same man, Robert Sullivan, since nineteen seventy three,
Speaker 2: and he has been by her side the entire time.
Speaker 2: And I'm sure he is just absolutely devastated as we
Speaker 2: all are, and.
Speaker 1: By her side, by her side before she became the
Speaker 1: superstar that she became. And so I always appreciate hearing
Speaker 1: those stories. Folks, We appreciate you spending some time. But yes,
Speaker 1: we know you're going to be listening to Spotify like
Speaker 1: a lot of us right now and listening to Bonnie
Speaker 1: Tyler songs. Enjoy, but remember some of the backstorre. Remember
Speaker 1: what this woman went through, and take some lessons from
Speaker 1: her that she's leaving with us today. It's sad, sad
Speaker 1: that she's gone at seventy five, sad that it was unexpected,
Speaker 1: but Ropes, there's joy we will have because of Bonnie
Speaker 1: Tyler today. So with that, we do appreciate you're spending
Speaker 1: some time with us on TJ on behalf of my
Speaker 1: dear Amy Roback will talk to me