Rory Dodd

Rory Dodd
Born1954 (age 71–72)
Port Dover, Ontario, Canada
Genres
OccupationSinger
InstrumentVocals
Years active1976–present
Labels

Rory Dodd (born 1954) is a Canadian rock vocalist who has performed many songs written by Jim Steinman. He is known for singing as the duet voice (the "Turn around, bright eyes" lyrics) on Bonnie Tyler's song "Total Eclipse of the Heart", a number 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Early life

Dodd was born in Port Dover, Ontario to Irish parents. His mother, Maureen, was a music teacher, who had a foundation opened and named after her when she passed away.

He is the younger brother of voice actor and singer Cal Dodd. He started singing at the age of four, when he and his brother would sing Irish folk songs.

Career

Dodd performed the backing vocals for many of Meat Loaf's songs. He also sang three songs on Steinman's solo album Bad for Good (although he is only credited for two of them on the sleeve notes of the LP pressing). "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through", was his biggest hit as a lead singer, reaching Number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. Dodd also was a backing vocalist in Fire Inc., a Wagnerian rock band that released two songs for the rock and roll film Streets of Fire (1984).

Dodd is best known for being the male voice heard during the verses of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart". He described the mix of his tenor vocals with Tyler's raspy voice as "Beauty and the Beast but in reverse". The song was a number one in nine countries: the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, USA and Zimbabwe.

More recently, Dodd has done voiceover work for commercials. He provided the main voice in the Hungry Hungry Hippos commercial. Additionally, he provided the singing voices for Tex and Rex on the PBS children's show Shining Time Station from 1989 to 1993.

Awards

Dodd was inducted to the Forest City London Music Awards (FCLMA) hall of fame in 2022.

Personal life

Dodd lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

Partial discography

All with asterisks indicate Jim Steinman's involvement.

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

References

  1. ↑ "CastAlbumDB.com - Rockabye Hamlet". Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Rory Dodd". Discogs. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  3. ↑ https://kol-israel.org/kol-israel-leadership/
  4. ↑ "Rory Dodd". AllMusic. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Total Eclipse of the Heart Songfacts]". Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Billboard hot 100 - Total Eclipse-of the Heart". Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Thompson, Brian; Expositor, Brantford (2022-01-26). "'Some kind of wonderful:' Port Dover native remembers early days with Meat Loaf". London Free Press. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
  8. ↑ "Billboard hot 100 - Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through". Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Discogs - Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through". Discogs. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Discogs - Fire Inc". Discogs. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  11. ↑ "New York Times Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2013. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  12. ↑ Morris, Fraser. "'Inescapably epic': Why Total Eclipse of the Heart is the most dramatic pop song ever written". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
  13. ↑ "Broadway Dave- Blog". Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Rock Legend from Port Dover, Ont. gets hall of fame call". London. June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  15. ↑ Valotte (Inner sleeve). Julian Lennon. Charisma, Universal Music Group. 1984. JLLP 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)