There was a feeling of utter kindness and civility if you were a kid in the 70's. The times were very family oriented and the music 🎶 was spectacular. Just made a kid like Me stare out of his bedroom window and dream.....
u know i had that feeling too as a kid, it was such an amazing time..well until i hit my teens anyway..but being a kid in the 70's in the burbs was brilliant...so lucky
The 70's were great, but you're too young to appreciate the 60's (my coming of age period). I'd rate both decades at the top for all-time greatness. I can still dig the 50's, but the 80's began a decline that gets worse every decade, IMO.
I like 80s music better. I heard so much 70s music I took it for granted. Now old, classics like this song blow my mind. The simplicity & artistry & production value & skill level are all off the chain.
NO Autotune or pitch corrections here MF'rs, just pure talent, skill and passion! Try to find this today?? Now imagine this... For us, this music was everwhere and could heard anytime. Signed, 'Raised on Radio'
"I Saw the Light", "Bang the Drum All Day", "Love is the Answer", "Can We Still Be Friends", "A Dream Goes On Forever".... and many more for Todd Rundren!!!
I don't know if anyone else told the story of Liv Tyler(Steven Tyler's daughter). Todd was with her Mom. She got pregnant by Steven Tyler but he was so heavy into drugs & partying that they decided Todd would raise her. I saw her in a interview when she first started acting. She said she was 14 and went to a Aerosmith concert with her Mom. And during the concert she looked at her Mom and said "He is my father isn't he?". From then on she consider Todd & Steven her Dad's. There is a photo of Steven, Liv, Todd, and her Mom at the end of video. Y'all just missed it.
I knew another musician raised Liv as his own daughter, but I had no idea this was him. I've been an Aerosmith fan forever, but funnily enough, I'm became a belated fan of Todd through That 70's Show. So, my mom had told me the story of Liv Tyler, but I guess she didn't tell me his name because she knew I wouldn't know who he was. Also, the Todd Rungrin concert episode of That 70's Show is one of my favorites. The cast singing this song in the car at the end is a classic moment!💜
@@mimib323 Scrolling the comments to find That 70's Show's gang! I love this episode too. Great series and an amazing cast! Can't wait for the sequel they're talking about where we'll get a lot more Red and Kitty with grandchildren.😊 Greetings from Portugal
One of the greatest, most underrated artists of our time. Singer, songwriter, producer, multi instrumentalist. Nothing this guy couldnt do…and he is still doing. Please did into his body of work. It is DEEP, eclictic, fantastic. One of those artists where you never know what might come next. This song was live in the studio with other misicians, but the first three sides of the album are just todd on all instruments and vocals
Todd Rundgren wrote the song, sang it and played all the instruments on the song. He did it all. So many layers, not only to this song, but everything Todd Rundgren ever touched. One of the greatest minds to ever touch music.
@@surlechapeau Yes, Todd did all the instruments on 3 sides of his album "Something/Anything. However, he didn't do all the instruments on this and others on that side. He also released it a couple years before it became a big song on the charts. He'd done some revisions and any version...it's just a beautiful, perfect song, IMO. Thanks Rob Squad for doing this. So reminds me of my feelings for my wife when we were still in high school. 45 years later, she still puts up with me.
Appropriate that it reminds you of high school days because Todd wrote it about a break-up he suffered in high school. He originally recorded it with The Nazz, his first group. He didn’t sing the lead on that version though.
Rundgren wrote this song, which takes us through a phone call where the singer breaks up with a girl. It's a remarkably realistic account, devoid of sweeping metaphors typically found in breakup songs. We hear the one side of the phone call, which starts with the familiar greeting, indicating they've been together a while. Then they have "the talk," where he hashes out why they can't be together and lets her know that she should have her freedom. All he can ask in the end is that she think of him every now and then. Remarkably, it was the first song Rundgren ever wrote. In his teens, Todd was an avid listener to music but it was only when he put The Nazz together at the age of 19 that the young musician realized he'd better start penning some material. He attributes the sophistication and success of this song to the vast amount of listening he'd done by the time he wrote it. This song, and many others Rundgren wrote at the time, was inspired by a high school relationship that didn't work out. He graduated in 1966, wrote the song about a year later, and recorded the original Nazz version in 1968, so that relationship was still fresh in his mind. He realized, however, that he didn't want to keep revisiting this heartbreak, so he made a conscious effort to avoid that theme in his post-Something/Anything? output. "There's more than just relationships to write about," he said when speaking at Red Bull Music Academy. "There's your whole inner life to draw on." In real life, Rundgren was the one getting dumped, but he flipped the story so he was breaking up with the girl. Speaking with Marc Myers in 2018, Rundgren explained that the girl was named Linda, and she was his high school girlfriend. He had long hair, and one day when he walked her home, Linda's dad saw him for the first time and turned the hose on him - no hippie kid was going to date his daughter. A few days later, Linda acceded to her father's wishes and broke up with him. She did it rather casually, which Todd didn't appreciate. Rundgren wrote the lyric thinking about how he would have liked Linda to break up with him: in a sensitive phone call where she tells him it's important that he's free. Many years later, Rundgren was in Tulsa for a concert (this was likely March 31, 2003) when Linda called his hotel asking for tickets to the show. He put her on the guestlist, but never told her she inspired his most famous song. "Our lives had gone in different directions," he said. "We had nothing to say. I also wanted to hold on to the image I have of her in high school." (Songfacts.com)
Great cut and paste bro. But facts. Todd Rundgren continued to really create music when he was with the band Utopia. A majority of his really good stuff can be found on the "Something, Anything" album.
I always interpretted it as this - in his heart he knows he's already lost her, and he's trying to salvage the connection they once had. One of them ight need the other one day.
Todd is a master songwriter, performer, multi-instrumentalist and super producer. This song is from his two-record album, Something/Anything. He played all the instruments on the first three sides and then the last side was recorded live with top studio musicians in his friend's recording studio. This song was from the last side. He's incredible and definitely worth check more out: I Saw the Light, Long Flowing Robe, Boat on the Charles, Broke Down and Busted, A Long Time and a Long Way to Go, Sweeter Memories, Dust in the Wind, Just One Victory. That should get you started. So glad you discovered one of my all-time favorites!
@@ohfour-seven6228 Loved this song and the whole album as a teen, as you remember those days, if you love something let it go... 10 years later, i had a on again off again girlfriend that loved being with me, but i was too poor to really date, so she came and went when she needed normality, it still fit. Then in the 90s, the Offspring's Self Esteem came out in the 90s, was Hello it's Me just letting her walk all over him? I dunno where I am about it now, but Todd composed a classic no matter what.
@@Spo-Dee-O-Dee Not completely true. Tons of Artist would never of made it if not for autotune completely changing their voices. No pitch correction needed for the "real artist". If you have to use autotune then your voice is always off scale. Not needed for the Ritcheous Brothers of the world so to speak
I don't know if anyone out there agrees with me, but it is VERY rare that I totally fall in love with a song the first time I hear it. You need to listen to most songs multiple times to really appreciate them. Love to you and the family!
This was such a huge song on the radio in 1972 and '73. I like the line from it, "It's important to me that you know you are free, cuz I never want to make you change for me." Rundgren was so big in the seventies that there's an episode of that nineties sitcom "That Seventies Show" where the teenage stars attend a Todd Rundgren concert. Before Rundgren was solo, he was in a psychedelic band called the Nazz, and they had a hit in 1968 with a song called "Open My Eyes" that you would probably like.
Jay & Amber, you'll love his "I Saw the Light", "Can We Still Be Friends" and "We Gotta Get You a Woman"!! This is from his solo career in the 70s. He is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer.
Todd Rundgren wrote this as a teenager and it was the first song that he wrote. It is loosely based on a breakup with his girlfriend. He went to her house unanounced and her father answered the door. To put it mildly her dad did NOT approve of his long hair and his "hippie style" and forbid his daughter to see Todd anymore.
Rob and Amber - Just wanted to say that I feel you two are the classiest duo on RU-vid. I subscribed to your channel a while back, and one or two others, but must rate yours an A+ without any hesitation. Personality is everything, and that coupled with wholesomeness are the hallmarks of your sucess. Devotion to family, no foul language and love of all genres of music impress me to no end. This is coming from a 77 year old who is still stuck in the fabulous 70's!!!!
You just opened a FANTASTIC collection! Sadly, this is the one played to ad-nauseum, but still a gem. I could list 40 songs of his that were popular, great sellers, ove every genre over 5 decades that showcase his incredible talent. Plays every instrument. Writes produced numerous other artists, Virtuoso guitarist, raised actress Liv Tyler (Areosmith's Steven Tyler's daughter), Got Hall and Oates on the charts!, among much more. Soft, rock, hard rock, jazz, ballads, power pop, socially conscious works, progressive, etc etc.. 59 albums of work!!
I knew about Liv Tyler. That fact and this song is about all I know about Todd. Great info on your comment. It’s interesting to me when people know their stuff about the musicians that they like. My older brother always made me try to guess music trivia facts with some hints while I was growing up in the 70s. He’s ten years older than me, but we both love great music. Nice memories!😊❤
I think even Todd was tired of this song. He made a comment about it the last time I saw him in concert in KC. I love it though- and all of something/anything. You might want to explore it more. The songs are not all ballads. Even though I keep singing "Marlene" as I write this.
MUST HEAR Classics,, Todd Rundgren "I Saw The Light",, "Can We Still Be Friends",, "We Gotta Get You A Woman",, "A Dream Goes On Forever" & "Bang The Drum All Day"
Dude is an accomplished producer. He produced one of the greatest albums of all time, Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell. Jim Steinman wrote the songs, Meat sang them, and Todd put it all together in a way that made rock history. It was rejected by many but was one of those where someone finally decided to take a chance on it and it absolutely blew up. Today, 45 years later, it's still one of the greatest rock albums period. I think you guys have reacted to three songs off that album, but every single one is a gem.
So a little bit of trivia. Steven Tyler's Tyler's daughter Liv You know the actress, anyway, up until she was 10 or 11:00 she thought Todd rundgren was her father. Her mom did not want her around Steven because of all the drug issues and the things that were going on but they started attending Aerosmith shows and she started to get suspicious when she was noticing the similarities with the lips and other things and they did end up telling her. That being said, she's still very close with Todd till this day
I stopped at a small residential 4 way stop in 1980 in San Francisco and was totally shocked Todd Rundgren stepped off of the corner crossing the street in front of my car. I was so surprised cuz I’ve always been a humongous fan of his, but he was holding the hand of a little dark haired girl about 3 I guessed, and I remember thinking “I didn’t know he had a kid” haha. Fun memory.
Liv also was great friends with Mia Tyler, Steven’s daughter by Cyrinda Fox, and Liv’s half sister. They were both intrigued by how much they looked alike. Liv came flat out after an Aerosmith concert and asked Her mother, Bebe Buell, if Tyler was her father, and she had to then tell her the truth. She sort of suspected it all along. She still keeps Rundgren as part of her name.
This is my favorite song of all time. Brings back memories of driving around with my friends after school and playing this song and other great music on the radio. I never get tired of it. Todd is a god. Check out more of him. Songs like Can We Still Be Friends, Love is the Answer, We Gotta Get You a Woman, It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference, A Dream Goes on Forever, Black Maria.
He was also a music producer some of his notable credits are Grand Funk RailroadWe’re an American band and one of my favorites Meatloafs Bat Out Of Hell he finally got inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 2021
Todd also produced Badfinger's Straight Up (at least parts of it) album and Pattie Smith's Wave album. Like Brian Eno, Rundgren tends to bring out the best of the artist he's producing for. I did not know he produced Bat Out Of Hell! How wonderful is that!?
Todd the legend! I love him and this song. One of my all time favorites! Amber-this is the shortened version for radio airplay. The longer version has a soul chorus at the end which is eliminated here. If you find the 4 minute plus version and listen to it- then it will all come together.
I love this song! Todd Rundgren is amazing. I didn’t know until recently that he wrote “Love is the Answer” sung by England Dan and John Ford Coley, among others. ♥️
Todd had a way of making you realize how fortunate you were to have the love of someone extraordinary, once. You wish you could've hung onto it. Yet you realize that you were that one in a million that got to experience it...once. That glow is something that'll light-up your life until you die.
This song is on my all-time favorite list since the first time I heard it. It still brings a tear to my eye. I have to be careful when and where I hear it so I don't cry, and I am 67 years old. It just strikes me as so emotional and is similar to my own life situation when I was in college. Sad and beautiful song. Thanks for the reaction.
Certain songs mean more than others - not because they're better - but who they remind you of. This song cuts me to my 14 year old bone. I liked Suzanne and thought we had a meeting of the minds - only to find out she liked she liked someone else. My first rejection - hurt like hell - and this is the song that reminds me of her and the pain of rejection. 50 years later it stirs up those feelings.
This entire double album is great. And Todd played all of the instruments on sides 1, 2, and 3. But other musicians played on side 4. Hello It's Me is a live studio recording.
I started listening to music in the late 60's in my early teens, how lucky to grow up through one of the greatest periods of music in modern history, there was so many very talented song writers and musicians that were free to express themselves in the ways they wanted to.
Todd’s got a huge catalog -a genius of astounding creativity. But… it’s good to start with his most “pop friendly” tracks, this was definitely in that category… as follow-ups, I’d recommend “I Saw the Light”, “A Dream Goes On Forever” or “Can’t We Just Be Friends”. Then, maybe get into some of his more experimental things! My personal favorite: “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”, which is also fairly pop-friendly, but wasn’t released as a single. It rocks, though.
@@lorioday8528 … No World Order… “Property” a great track from that in the pop/accessible vein. Yeah, Almost Human is a great album, didn’t sell anywhere near its quality points!
Love Todd Rundgren. He was huge in the 70s. He wrote hit songs for other artists as well as a few for himself. One of the really underrated artists of his time. A real talented fellow. We were more caring in the 70s for some reason. It's such a different world for teens and young adults. Thanks
Thanks for playing Todd! I've suggested him a few times... and a few songs. "Can We Still Be Friends".... "I Saw the Light"... "We Gotta Get You a Woman"... "Love Is the Answer"... I think the difference in music of the 70s is that it's both smart and emotional. You can really connect with the feelings.
You may want to investigate, if you can find it, his album "A Wizard, a True Star". First 33 Lp to pack 30+ minutes of music on each side of the vinyl. Used 32 track recording gear so each instrument, and voice had it's own channel. T. R. was ahead of the pack in the studio. Played a LOT of the instruments on it as well.
Todd was on TV, just about 4 days ago, promoting his new collaborative album, "Space Force". I'm super excited, to hear it. He's legendary, when it comes to sound production, and he's brilliantly creative.
Fun Fact: One of the four sides of this album 'Something/Anything' is a 'game'. Todd Rundgren left in all the studio mistakes, f-ups and 'farts & crackles' (as David Bowie called them) for listeners to find as they listened. He explains it before the first track on that side. It's cool being your own producer! One of the greatest singer-songwriter/musixian/producers to ever walk the Earth. I saw him at the Royal Oak Music Theater in suburban Detroit. At the start of the show, all the house lights were up, and Todd rose up out of the orchestra pit playing the 100+ year-old house organ. Saw Todd solo and with Utopia several times. Always a good show!
Growing up in the 60’s and early 70’s, we didn’t all have cassette players in our cars. They were new and expensive for us. So we listened to whatever came on our AM radios. Because of this we experienced music we probably wouldn’t have chosen to listen to if we had the choice. With streaming music now, young people are listening to whatever is in their narrow band of what they like. We were forced to expand our focus, and it was great❤️
One of the most beautiful melodies. I used to babysit just so I could play this one and "I Saw the Light" which you should check out, also by Todd Rundgren. ETA: Check that one of theset with Darryl Hall, ""I Saw the Light"- Todd Rundgren, Daryl Hall or "Daryl Hall - Can We Still Be Friends (Live From Daryl's House)."
This is a definite 70's classic. For fans of the hit sitcom "That 70's Show", this was the very first song they played in the first episode and the very last song they played at the end of the last episode. Great show that epitomized the 70's. I understand they're planning a sequel show with the 2 parents of the main character. Hope all the old kids make appearances too.
I really like horns in this. They sound so free and spontaneous. The vocal harmonies in the chorus seem to be inspired by the horns. "Hello It's Me" was originally produced in 1968 when Rundgren was 20 and with a band called Nazz. After doing a solo album, Rundren produced "Day After Day" for Badfinger, though George Harrison got the credit. Rundgren also produced "We're An American Band" for Grand Funk Railroad. In '77, Rundgren had a hit with "Love Is the Answer" by Utopia, a band he formed.
The Badfinger album "Straight Up", which included "Day After Day" had 3 producers: Geoff Emerick, then taken over by Harrison, then Rundgren when Harrison had to work on the Concert for Kampuchea.
I agree with you about the masterful "Hello It's Me" and the horns in this Todd single version. The hit version of "Love Is The Answer" was not by Utopia, but two years later by England Dan & John Ford Coley; Top 10 pop and #1 AC. There was another Todd and Beatle connection relating to tragedy; I'll explain if you wish.
@@SG-js2qn Yes they were, as were Seals and Crofts; I have all the albums of both duos. John Lennon's killer (who I don't name, because he wanted media coverage of his name) was wearing a Todd Rundgren shirt when he shot John. His home had shrines to Todd and John. He earlier tried to find Todd.
Had, still have, all of todd's albums, from his time with The Nazz on. His importance in Rock history is immeasurable, but largely underrated by the public. See Todd Rundgren's Utopia - "Love Is The Answer"
I'm new to the channel, and a survivor of the 70's revolution. Watching you both absolutely brings tears to my eyes of joy, watching you learn the music we grew up on, rock, old school R&B, all of it. I now watch all of your videos, because of your effort, you bring a smile to my face, and a lot less dust to my old album collection..... I appreciate you! Bless your family!
First year of college I walked into my boyfriend's room. He was not there, but on top of the bed there was a note. Hello. It's me. I've thought about us for a long, long time. Maybe I've thought too much, but somethings wrong. There's something here that doesn't last too long. Maybe I shouldn't think of you as mine. - I went cold. I knew these were the lyrics to the song but he was from Detroit, an R&B guy. I didn't know if he had copied the lyrics or it was a message to me. I left and never mentioned it or asked him about it. We stayed in the relationship till the end of the school year. We broke up during the summer. Whenever I hear this song, I still wonder.
A song you should bring the kids in to hear, because it's a fun one, "Bang on the Drum All Day." For Jay's edification, the Packers have played this for the past few decades at home every time they score a touchdown.
Todd is touring with an all star band for the “Celebration of David Bowie tour”. Guitarist Adrian Belew & Scrote. - super bassist Angeline Saris (so incredibly good) drummer Michael Urband and more.
On that 70s show, the characters all went to a Rundgren concert. Loved that episode and also love love this song. So great to be reminded of this classic. Gorgeous!
Such a wonderful song and artist!!! Cold Morning Light will always be my favourite track, but there’s such a special magic in all of Todd’s songs that are like no others I’ve come across 💖💕
Todd is still making and producing amazing music. White Knights is an excellent example of his work, his latest album. Love his stuff and his band he tours with is top notch. Chance for us is a great song
I love 60s music, and I grew up in the 80s so I love that music too. But nothing is better than the songs that came out in the 70s. I love this one in particular!
