MEAT LOAF: We're a very loud family. When we're happy we're loud, and when we argue we're very loud. So if I get mad, you can be sure I'm going to scream like hell and thunder. I remember the time Pearl and I had a huge argument over her smoking cigarettes. Oh, it was huge. And what's worse is that I used to smoke myself, and there's nothing as bad as arguing with a reformed smoker, believe me!

I remember this particular argument because normally when we argued, Pearl would just storm out and slam the door behind her. This time she actually screamed back at me. So I yelled, "How dare you talk to me that way!" and this whole row erupted. But then, in the midst of this row, I suddenly thought to myself: "Wow, she's good at this! She is really good. She is standing up for herself."

In a funny kind of way, her arguing with me was a way of seeing she could stand her ground. To me, it's important that both my girls can stand on their own two feet, because you need to be able to do that in life, no matter who you are.

I tell you, though, I gave Pearl and her sister enough lessons on how to get on. And I told them it was down to two big basic things: hard work and discipline.

I watched my own mother and father go through life and, oh boy, anything they ever got, they had to work their asses off for it. Of course, I gave my girls advice on men. And that boiled down to three words: "Men are rats." Yep, that was it.

I remember when Pearl was at high school, there was this one guy who went by the name Jim Silk. I mean, the name alone is enough to keep you awake at night. Anyway, Silk Boy also drove a black Camaro with dark windows. But more importantly, he had what you'd call a reputation. All my warning bells went off at once. Pearl had this big crush on him, so I said to Leslie: "Look, we need to let her have her way on this, because if we don't she'll go out with him anyway."

I said to Pearl: "You can go out with him, but on three conditions. One, he's got to come to the house to pick you up. Two, we've got to meet him. And three, he's got to bring you home." Pearl agreed.

So that afternoon I'd been to a softball game, and when I got back I sat on the front porch and waited for this smooth Jim Silk to turn up. And in my lap, I just happened to have a baseball bat. Silk pulled up in that godawful black Camaro and walked up to the house. He said: "Hi." And I said: "Hi, Jim, where ya thinking about goin'?" And he said: "To a friend's house." I said: "Okay." And then I said: "Y'know, she's got a curfew. It's normally 11.30pm, but tonight I'm saying midnight." I also added that for every minute she was late, she'd have 10 minutes knocked off their next date. He agreed.

Then I said to him: "Oh, and there's one more thing. I care more about my daughter than anything else in the world. So while she's with you, you are responsible for her. If anything happens to her, I will hunt you down and shoot you like a dog." Well, just guess what time she came home — 10.30pm. We didn't see much of Jim Silk after that.

Once Pearl graduated from high school, she started coming out on the road with me as a backing singer. But I'll never forget the time she told me she was going on the road with Mötley Crue, the heavy-metal band. The girls that tour with them leave nothing to the imagination. So when she told me this, I thought: "Oh Lord, how am I going to deal with this one?" But there was no way I could stop her, so off she went.

During the tour, I went along to see the show one night. When she first appeared, I remember, she had her back to the audience. But I could see that all she was wearing was a cowboy hat, a bikini top and a G-string. I remember feeling very uncomfortable. And then when she turned around I couldn't look — I think my eyes were shut for the rest of the show. Afterwards, I went up to Nikki Sixx, the lead singer of Mötley Crue, and in a real serious, loud voice I said: "Hey, Nikki, I wanna talk to you about what my daughter was wearing — now!" Nikki replied: "I had nothing to do with what your daughter wore." There was silence, then everybody knew I wasn't serious and started laughing. But for a few seconds I scared the hell out of him. I like to know I can still do that if I need to.

Pearl, like her dad, can be downright stubborn and headstrong. But, leaving that aside, she's got a huge generosity of spirit and the biggest of hearts. And as much as I preach to her about how tough the music business is, I would hate her to lose those wonderful qualities. She was named after Janis Joplin, whose nickname was Pearl. But as a name it couldn't be more fitting. She really is a pearl, a complete treasure to me.