Late Night Music Club -- Todd Rundgren
Songwriter, musician, producer, software developer, genius. A wizard, a true star.
Where do you begin to talk about Todd Rundgren, artist extraordinaire?
His mother told me he skipped school a lot, and when Upper Darby High contacted her about his attendance problem, she told them, "It's not Todd's fault that you can't challenge him enough to keep him interested." (She wasn't always that patient with him. Todd describes her at one point as beating his head against the wall.)
Todd was a member of Woody's Truck Stop, Nazz, and Runt before he was hired as an engineer and producer by the legendary Albert Grossman. He eventually produced The Band, Jesse Winchester, INXS, Badfinger, and dozens of other famous names. (He produced Meat Loaf's "Bat Out Of Hell" debut.)
You may know him best for hit singles like "Hello It's Me," "We Gotta Get You A Woman," "Can We Still Be Friends," "I Saw The Light," and "Bang The Drum," but his catalogue runs deep and wide. You could spend days on YouTube immersed in following his trail.
Todd's also a groundbreaking software programmer, who designed some of the first music video programs.
Besides being a genius, even at 74, he's still a stellar performer. Check out his duets with Daryl Hall on Live From Daryl's House.