“Hello It’s Me” (1972) by Todd Rundgren

[quote] This should have been a hit!!!

When released in 1973, it apparently was a hit. Went to # 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

It's a classic 70s song that's been played endlessly to this day. I can't believe no one has ever heard of it.

R1 good. It should have been. It’s brilliant.

My pussy stinks!

I grew up in the 1970s and I loved the music from that generation; not just the disco stuff but everything that came before; great singers and songs came out of the 1970s.

Like this song.

OP you must be Helen Keller...........this has been played to death on the radio for decades.............it is unimaginable that anyone who grew up in the US has not heard this, thousands of times................

How has ANYONE avoided this song. It is ubiqitous.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I always thought this song was unbearably whiny. Guy repeatedly hinting for a pity fuck, he must have been speaking to the answering machine because a woman would hang up on this loser who just won't take the hint.

Todd Rundgren so appreciates the retroactive approval of OP.

It’s a 70s classic! Todd said this particular rendition was recorded in one flawless take. I mean, they did several takes, but this track was put down whole in one particular take. If I’m not mistaken it’s about a girlfriend that picked Steve Tyler over him.

It's a free & easy love song of the 70s!

I placed my JC Penney cassette recorder next to my AM radio to record this song, as well as "Time in a Bottle," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Summer Breeze" and "Guitar Man".

Radio below, got it from my Pop. Wish I still had it.

Christ on a cracker, that radio is for sale right now on ebay for $175!!!!

The song is also on quite a few soundtracks. Sofia Coppola's Virgin Suicides, for one.

Todd is Godd

Here's another one you might like, OP:

He has a beautiful, wistful romanticism. I still love his music.

Another stealth SITC SJP thread by the pathetic, neurotic Boris

[quote] If I’m not mistaken it’s about a girlfriend that picked Steve Tyler over him.

Bebe Buell!! Liv Tyler’s mom. Bebe and Todd didn’t really have that great of a relationship for most of it.

Another great one.

Liv was told Todd was her father.

Rundgren was inducted into the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but declined to take part in the ceremony. He has had a long distinguished career. One of the few men to acknowledge and cite Laura Nyro as a creative inspiration. His music is worth checking out. His best known songs are AM Radio soft rock/yacht rock but his catalog has more depth. We've had a few threads on him at DL.

I love Todd — my best friend hates him. My mom, a true 70s gal always had this ‘Very Best of Todd Rundgren’ CD playing in our Jeep Commander. Here’s one of my favorites of his, ‘Can We Still Be Friends’ is also a high contender.

R22. Yes, a great song! Also ‘I Saw The Light’.

Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet recorded it for their Under The Covers series

Todd is a profound producer/music engineer himself. It’s just not to be for him in the looks and pipes arena, but he’s still a gift to music.

My favorite early Todd song:

Or the Steir remix.

Love this one (below) and "Just One Victory" from early Todd.

Phillip Stier also did a good job with Summer Breeze, in my opinion. Laying down the original vocal track.

Oh, I second "I Saw The Light." The song itself, on paper, isn't revolutionary or anything. But the production is absolutely amazing. It's a brilliant piece of pop.

You guys have me feeling curious to go deeper into Todd’s catalog.

Great song.

Todd was sorta like Prince - great producer, could play just about any instrument, highly prolific (both solo and with his band Utopia). He dabbled in all sorts of genres - soul, easy listening, power pop, new wave, prog rock. His albums tended to be erratic but there are gems sprinkled throughout.

I think this was the first song of his I heard, on a "Superstars of the 70s" compilation.

"Hello It's Me" has had quite a long life.

It was originally recorded by Nazz, the band Todd was in before his solo career, in the late 60s. It had a bit more of a traditional rock ballad song at that time. Always found this version kind of fascinating.

Several R&B artists have recorded the song, including Erykah Badu.....

....and Mary J. Blige.

I did not know until a few years ago that Todd wrote Love Is The Answer. I was used to the England Dan and John Ford Coley version, which was a staple of late 70s AM radio.

This song makes me weep when I hear it now, a beautiful reminder of a simpler time, when I still had hope for the world.

An appealingly warm cover of "Love is the Answer" by Rumer. (The British singer - nothing to do with celebrity spawn.)

R37 I like this version. She has a similar quality to Karen Carpenter. Thanks for sharing.

The musicianship and production quality on this one are mediocre at best.

One of my favorite songwriters. He also produced amazing recordings such as Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell and XTC's wonderful Skylarking.

Loved his music growing up. I feel lucky to have grown up when I did with such a wonderful soundtrack.

Not sure what kind of relationship they had, but I think it's admirable that Todd R. raised Liv Tyler. Liv definitely treats Steven Tyler as a dad now. But in reality, Todd was there for her as a baby and child. The mom sounds like a piece of work (Bebe).

Who the fuck greyed out this thread?

R43 Could it be that the OP was FF'd on another thread?

R44 are you replying to yourself again?

R45 Huh?

I was replying to R43. Who is not me.

My posts on this thread are all in a row - 33, 34, 35 and 36.

It was used very well in The Virgin Suicides.

I loved that era of his music - he did pop music with just the right tinge of melancholy, really beautiful stuff.

I have to say I was never as enamored of his later stuff, like Bang On The Drum All Day.

And while Skylarking turned out great, he and Andy Partridge had one of those earth scorching rivalries with each other.

[quote]Who the fuck greyed out this thread?

Probably BB. She's like Candyman. Mention her online and poof, there she is.

[quote] his later stuff, like Bang On The Drum All Day.

I never knew this was his song.

Don't love Bang on a Drum All Day either, but that is not one of his later songs and hardly indicative of his style anyway. Here's a wonderful later song:

[quote] Don't love Bang on a Drum All Day either, but that is not one of his later songs

Oh, but it IS.

That's a remaster. It's from 1983.

R43. Either Baby Buell or Liv Tyler or Todd himself.

Are we sure that was him singing the song. I know he got credit for it on the show, I thought it may have been just for the lyrics. To me, it didn’t sound like the original.

It's Todd's song. This isn't in any way, shape or form a question.

R21: Glad you picked "The Last Rider" but AM Radio soft rock/yacht rock? No, Todd's appeal was quirkier, in part because his output was so variable and eclectic. He never had a cutting edge audience, but people who were serious about their music and not stuck in genre like progrock owned "Something, Anything" and "A Wizard, A True Star".

He was a classic mid-cult figure, not as well known as Prince but the analogy works in terms of his wide ranging talent.

He went through a period where he believed too much of his won hype and was the kind of skinny, odd looking guy who was able to date models and centerfolds fora while, hence winding up with a mess like Liv Tyler's mom.

WOW! Bebe Buell is a real live muse that inspired these timeless classic 70s rock classics.

GOOD FOR HER!!! Why would anyone be put down by such an acclaim?

… and there she is, folks!

I remember when he played on May 7, 1974 at Seattle Arena. Its capacity (it's since been demolished) was around five thousand, comparable to the old Long Beach Arena. Nobody came. He said, "Now we know who all the cool people in Seattle are." That's when there WERE cool people in Seattle. Imagine.

I remember reading years ago that Todd Rundgren was the victim of a burglary at his home, where the burglars left him tied up and gagged with this song playing.

Anyone else remember that?

Nope.

Pete: What did Lutz call you?

Liz: It rhymes with the title of your favorite Todd Rundgren album.

Pete: The Hermit of Mink Hollow?

As mentioned above, it’s used quite memorably in The Virgin Suicides.

A rather lovely cover of 'I Saw The Light 'by Britain's Most Adorable Grump, Terry Hall. Also comes with a nice 'nod and a wink' gay twist in the video

With Bebe Buell

A wild one from earlier this year. Todd and Sparks.

This song is a GEM