R&P: Would you like to wish Todd Rundgren a happy birthday today?
Todd is 61 today! I found a couple of videos I wanted to post in his honor - 2 old ones and a recent one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsezr0qiFIc&feature=related "Hello, It's Me" (performed live on the Midnight Special in 1973) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02WfmMwgOKg&feature=related "Hello, It's Me" (performed while wearing chaps - priceless!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8r0MsQiT0&feature=related Saw The Light - Live performance - 12/23/2008
BQ: Any comments on the outfits and makeup from the first 2 videos? BQ2: Does it irritate you as much as it does me that "Hello It's Me" is being used in the Tums commercials now? BQ3: Ever watch "The Midnight Special" show when it was on TV?
2009-06-22T13:08:47Z
Great answers and great songs from everyone so far!! To Beatle 1909 - I tried to find a youtube link for We Gotta Get You A Woman but I couldn't locate one! Great song.
2009-06-22T13:14:42Z
I found the Tums commercial! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEImoGIprv4
Punch2009-06-22T09:49:10Z
Favorite Answer
Happy Birthday Todd.. a wizard a true star!!!
I have had the chance to meet Todd at a couple of performances and at record signings.. hes always been gracious and cool.. His " interactive" show was really interesting and gave the audience a chance to interact with Todd with the use of a contraption I have never been able to describe (lol)
MQ: many many
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjJUtdc0bhU The Last Ride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3oLLGvr58U The Verb "To Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u37z8W5w8Do Todd Rundgrens Utopia - Love Is The Answer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssr78EXeCQc Pretending To Care
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAAuUK1zwgU&feature=related Can We Still Be Friends
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-X_M1oXXKY Todd Rundgren - Real Man ( from Midnight Special)
BQ: aha....those were the days (lol) BQ2: yes, considering that Todd refused commercial endorsements as a matter of integrity.. it is indeed a new day... BQ3:.. think it was over before I was born.. like most good things
Todd Rundgren is a great artist and a favorite of mine. Happy Birthday Todd!
I love, love, love this song and performance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZclddLcOYYA Bang on the Drum All Day". The local radio station used to play this around 6:30am every Friday while I was driving to work and there were a few times I just turned around and went home after listening to it, Lol.
BQ - That was pretty much the norm back then. BQ2 - No it doesn't bother me that artists want to make money on their songs. Why should we care? It's good to expose music to listeners that have maybe never heard the song or artist before. BQ3 - I always watched that show along with Don Kirchner's Rock concert!
Hi Cheetah, Wow, those were some great vid finds! Ah, the crazy stage outfits & makeup of the day - Bowie, Alice Cooper, La Belle et al sure liked to explore the limits of concert attire. :-) The funny thing about that, from my perspective, is at the time I was probably annoyed that he did that too - to my silly young concept of how I thought "rock stars" ought to be, I didn't think Todd's songs were 'rock and roll enough' for that!
MQ: I Saw the Light
BQ1: see above
BQ2: LOL. Haven't seen the commercial (too busy to watch much TV) but it sounds like a typically silly song choice by advertising gurus.
BQ3: It took a little persuading of Mom & Dad, but I eventually got to stay up late to watch In Concert (my favorite) and the Midnight Special. Seeing the bands perform back then helped plant the notion in my mind that I wanted to play bass. Without a real bass to jam along with, I took construction paper & cut out the shape of a Fender Precision bass' body (complete with double cutaways), taped it to the thick end of a softball bat, and tied string to the ends to hang it over my shoulder. I wanted to be up there on stage, too.
Happy b-day, Todd! Huge fan here. I am going to see him on the 4th of July. I have met him, and have seen him live dozens of times.
Favorite Todd song "The Ikon" from the first Utopia album. Also, "Love of the Common Man", "Cliche", "Couldn't I Just Tell You." I hate "Bang on the Drum."
I brought in a couple of Todd songs into my band, so I get to sing "Hello, It's Me" and "I Saw the Light."
Used to watch the Midnight Special all the time back in the day...
He always reminded me of a peacock or some kind of bird in the Midnight Special video.
I never knew about that commercial until now. It does seem a strange way to use the song, but commercial writers are finding all types of ways to relate songs that have nothing to do with the commercials. So I guess I can stand it as long as I don't have to see it.
No, I wasn't born when they were being aired. I have seen episodes on YouTube.