In a performing career that first climaxed with the multiplatinum 1978 album Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf reached the heights of success. He also experienced corresponding lows and exhilarating comebacks, pushed his voice to dangerous limits and performed with physical incapacitations that would frustrate lesser mortals. Along the way, he’s charted an illustrious career with enough milestones and anecdotes to fill out an entire stage production, which the producers of RockTellz & CockTails have asked him to do for 18 dates beginning Sept. 26.

Meat Loaf will perform classic Jim Steinman compositions such as “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” but he’s also supplementing songs with stories and multimedia. Before the massive success of Bat Out of Hell, after all, there were singing roles in the stage and film versions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Meat Loaf has relied on his voice his entire adult life, which is why he opted for three shows per week instead of four in the dry climate of Las Vegas.

“They wanted four shows,” says the singer during a daytime interview in the empty Planet Hollywood Showroom. “I came in, we met for two days, I laid the entire show out and they were just sitting with their mouths hanging open, then on the third day I went, ‘I’m not doing it.’ (laughs) And they went ‘What?’ and I said ‘Well, I can’t do four shows.’—‘Alright, your show is that good, you can do three.’”

The Las Vegas show may open the door to a new career arc, as Meat Loaf recently conducted what he swears was his final tour of England. “I’m not touring anywhere again,” he says. “They’re talking about this show, if it does well here, coming back here one more run, and then moving to Chicago, Broadway and the West End, which is great.”

Despite chronic dry throat, Meat Loaf’s voice has proved resilient over the years. He’s recorded two Bat Out of Hell sequels, and most recently reunited with Steinman for yet-to-be-released album Brave and Crazy. Although his voice has aged, he promises he can hit all the notes in the title track to Bat. “There’s only one other piece of music in history that ends on four high Cs, and it’s written by Wagner,” says Meat. “‘Bat Out of Hell’ ends on four high Cs. And we will be doing that every night up here.”

Of his musicians, he says, “There’s not a band in the world that can touch these guys,” so he’s confident that he can focus on what he needs to: reaching the audience. “You have to understand me as an artist,” he says. “When I do an album, it’s not about me. It’s about you, the listener. It’s like when you read a novel, you don’t see John Grisham’s picture on the front of his books, because it’s not about John Grisham. It’s about the characters inside that novel, and it’s about how you picture it. … That’s how I make records. I want you to be able to put you into those albums, not me.”

Planet Hollywood Resort 7:30 p.m. Tues., Thurs. and Sat., beginning Sept. 26, $69-$89 plus tax and fee. 702.785.5395