"Read 'Em and Weep" is a

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

song composed by

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

. It was originally written for

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

and recorded for his 1981 album, '' Dead Ringer'', the second of only two tracks on the album produced by Steinman and

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which produces ...

Barry Manilow version

"Read 'Em and Weep" did not become a hit until late 1983, when a slightly rewritten version was recorded by

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

as one of three new tracks on his compilation album, '' Greatest Hits, Vol. II''. This version featured new lyrics for the second half of the song’s second verse, as well as slight changes in the first verse and final chorus. It was a chart topping success, hitting #1 on the Canadian and U.S.

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

charts for six weeks, as well as peaking at number #18 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the first weeks of 1984.

Chart performance

References

1981 songs 1981 singles 1983 singles Barry Manilow songs Meat Loaf songs Songs written by Jim Steinman Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine Song recordings produced by Jim Steinman Arista Records singles Rock ballads Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements {{1980s-pop-song-stub

Barry Manilow version

Chart performance

See also

References