Todd Rundgren started playing in Philadelphia
garage bands, and almost broke into the limelight with the band
Nazz in the late 1960's. Todd went solo, and his debut single
We Gotta Get You A Woman was
controversial due to people misinterpreting some of the lyrics to mean that women were stupid. He switched to
ballads, and his next single,
Be Nice To Me, was more popular due to his obsessive nature with getting the exact sound he wanted.
Todd became known as a tech wizard after his album Something/Anything? was released. He played every instrument on three of the four sides of the double album, years before digital drums and digital mixers were available. The tunes ranged from power-ballads to heavy guitar and progressive rock. His big break came from the fourth side of the album with a tune called, Hello It's Me, which was a remake of his first group's single. Todd was a prolific and fast song writer, and another single released from the same album, I Saw the Light, took only 20 minutes to write in the studio.
Todd continued on writing progressive albums, changing his style constantly. He also assembled a band called Utopia, which he created to showcase some of his more experimental music. Utopia's lineup consisted of Kasim Sultan on bass, Roger Powell on keyboards and John "Willie" Wilcox on drums. They shared songwriting credits, and one song off of their Oops, Wrong Planet album was a smash for England Dan and John Ford Coley. I have to confess to owning most of Utopia's records, and I played along with Willie Wilcox's drumming between mimicing Clem Burke from Blondie.
Meanwhile, back at corporate headquarters, Todd was becoming very unhappy with his label, Bearsville. His last album for them was The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect, which included Bang The Drum All Day. Todd just wanted to throw together an album to fulfill his contract, and he has said in several interviews that this album is not one he is proud of.
Todd crafted an all-vocal album called A Capella, which ran his voice through emulators to make the band instruments.
He has worked on a large range of albums for other folks, including the guitar work on Meat Loaf's album, Bat Out of Hell. His ability to generate riffs and hooks still make him a popular artist and sought-after musician.
Discography
Band Album
Nazz Nazz
Nazz Nazz Nazz
Todd Rundgren Runt
Nazz Nazz III
Todd Rundgren The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren Something/Anything?
Todd Rundgren A Wizard A True Star
Todd Rundgren Todd
Utopia Todd Rundgren's Utopia
Todd Rundgren Ititiation
Utopia Another Live
Todd Rundgren Faithful
Utopia Ra
Utopia Oops! Wrong Planet
Todd Rundgren The Hermit of Mink Hollow
Todd Rundgren Back to the Bars
Utopia Disco Jets (Unreleased)
Utopia Adventures in Utopia (My favorite)
Utopia Deface the Music
Todd Rundgren Healing
Utopia Swing to the Right
Utopia Utopia
Todd Rundgren The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect
Utopia Oblivion
Nazz The Best of the Nazz
Utopia POV
Todd Rundgren A Capella
Utopia Trivia
Utopia The Collection
Todd Rundgren Singles
Utopia Anthology (1974-1985)
Todd Rundgren Anthology (1968-1985)
Todd Rundgren Nearly Human
Todd Rundgren Second Wind
TR-i No World Order (Several Versions)
Utopia Redux 92: Live In Japan
TR-i No World Order Lite
TR-i No World Order CD-ROM
Todd Rundgren The Individualist
Todd Rundgren The Rundgren Collection
TR-i The Individualist CD-e
Todd Rundgren Up Against It
Todd Rundgren The Very Best Of Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren I Saw The Light and Other Hits
Todd Rundgren Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren Free Soul Runt
Todd Rundgren Somewhere/Anywhere?
Todd Rundgren TRTV Volume 1
Todd Rundgren The Best of TR "Go Ahead. Ignore Me"