What was the best-selling song from 1993?
There’s a broader misconception about the 1990s that it’s considered one of the weaker decades for music. While some trends did coincide with some of the more questionable wardrobe choices, it seems that’s all it is—a misconception.
In fact, all it takes is one look at 1993 to change your entire perspective.
Grunge alone is a pretty good case for the year. Nirvana alone led the way with In Utero, the Steve Albini-helmed masterpiece that saw them deviating from the sounds of earlier records like Nevermind to represent the full-circle nature of life with themes like death and birth (and rebirth). It’s an album as arresting as its artwork, standing proud as something that came and shattered the entire year with unapologetic fervour.
On the other side of the spectrum, pioneers like Björk emerged tentatively with something that would later form an integral part of her story, even if at the time it seemed merely like a figure too caught up to know what they were doing just yet. And with singles like The Cranberries’ ‘Linger’ and Mazzy Star’s ‘Fade Into You’, there was something far dreamier bubbling beneath the surface, almost shoegaze-like with its unsuspecting delicacy against the more abrasive sounds of mainstream pop.
But while going into the success of each of these proves just how much better the year was for music than most seem to realise or remember, one standout veered above the rest, and that was none other than Meat Loaf’s smash power hit, ‘I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)’. Released as the first single from Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, the song was equal parts fun and mysterious, unknowingly sparking a cultural intrigue that would follow Meat Loaf for the rest of his life.
So, what was the best-selling song from 1993?
Because what, really, is “that”? In the song, he’s very clear (and endearingly dramatic) about everything he would do for love, except the one thing he wouldn’t. He even said once that it’s the one question he gets asked the most, and yet, it still remains a mystery. One that inspired countless musicians, including Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, who once said it got under his skin so much as a child that it never left his mind.
“It was the first time there was a viral song that I can remember in the microcosm of my little home town, because everybody wanted to know what it means,” he recalled.
Continuing, “It’s so dramatic, and I remember seeing the video on TV. The name was so weird, and the video was so weird, and the lyrics are so mysterious. I’ve thought about it quite a bit since then.”
The single would be Meat Loaf’s first and only number one, central to debates about exactly what it means to this day: something Meat Loaf thought would become clear upon closer inspection of the lyrics, even if it was suspected from the beginning that it would cause some confusion among listeners. But, in the end, that’s probably what makes it still appear on heavy rotation today; we just don’t know. But we love to try and guess.
