A career spanning 40+ years? A varied, interesting and challenging catalog, still in print? Still creating interesting, original rock music at almost 70? Respect of contemporaries and YEARS ahead of the curve creatively in video and the internet ? Second only to Brian Wilson, IMHO, when it comes to harmony? A killer guitar player? If that's not "famous", then just give me more of that and f$#% famous.
He had enough but they weren’t marketed in a way that made the masses take note... he’s got lots of great tunes
He’s probably not as famous because all along the way he’s had a bad attitude I don’t mean this as a criticism but his approach to the business and people in general doesn’t make for mass popularity- somewhere along the way it worked against him.
I was totally engaged with the music scene during his heyday, but never felt the need to explore anything more than what I heard on the radio. His appearance didn't interest me and I didn't think his radio hits warranted pursuing anything else. I am grateful for his production of Badfinger's Straight Up LP.
Is it possible that he is not more famous, because he has not released a decent album in more than 30 years?
I think he's one of the most famous record producers in the business. He is a gifted songwriter and mega-talented multi instrumentalist. He didn't have a good enough voice to be a platinum selling solo artist. To his credit, he didn't compromise his art to try and make millions, he always did what he wanted to do. Nazz could have and should have been mega-stars. Gloria Stavers loved the band and they were in 16 magazine a lot in '69 (probably because Thom Mooney was Stavers new cutie pie/pin-up boy that young girl record buying demographic would go gaga over) but Nazz never had that mega-hit despite the exposure and Todd was itching to do his own thing. But the first two Nazz lp's along with Something/Anything are his high-water mark IMO. I would consider Todd famous, just not mega-wealthy famous.
I saw a double bill of Tubes and Rundgren summer 1985. Wasn't a fan of either but had a ticket I couldn't sell so I went rather than eat it. I remember literally nothing about Todd's performance, so my only "conscious" live experience with him came from the Ringo shows - and he kinda rubbed me the wrong way there, mainly because he didn't seem to understand he was part of an ensemble and wasn't the lead guy. Too often, Todd behaved in a "stage-hogging" way that seemed to imply he was the true star and the others were support. The others in the show displayed more humility...
No. And I say that as a fan since his seventies heyday. He's never lost his gift of melody, and I'd rank his 2004 album Liars as high as any of his ones from back in the day.
yep. Todd didn't want to be famous. He wanted to make music and just do whatever the hell he wanted to do. Fame came by accident.
I remember him working his butt off entertaining people. Ringo obviously liked it, as Todd was part of the AllStarr band for a very long time. Also, he got an extra song in addition to the requisite two that everyone else got - mostly because, as far as I can tell, Love Is The Answer is the song Ringo most wishes he had written. Is "humility" part of the job description for "rock star"?
I can't imagine what your idea of a "good tune" is. As far as I'm concerned, that's what Todd does best, spin out beautiful melodies and harmony. Not everything he does is in that mode, but that that is is as good as anybody. I rank him right up there with McCartney, Lennon, Gershwin, Kern, Berlin, Tchaikovsky, et al.
You make a good point. Todd can be quite sarcastic and dismissive. He's not a real "people person" and I bet he's alienated himself from some key industry folk.
Liars is an incredible record. I'd also put Global up there with it, even if it's not quite as good. If anything, I think this era (21st Century) is Rundgren's most consistent period since the 70's.
As Andy Partridge of XTC said: "He has the people skills of a Dalek, but is a god among arrangers." (Note: I'm wearing a Doctor Who t-shirt as I type this.)
Soothe is one of his classic ballads, and the one song in all the world I most wish to hear recorded by Jennifer Warnes.
Because his music is great but not totally original like the ultra famous stars are. BTW, I have dozens of his albums. I don't know but he seems to enjoy quite a bit of fame among musicians. He produced the NY Dolls debut and for that alone, he is at the top of the heap for me.
You were clear enough. My answer was sarcasm. But I will say, if he WAS trying to avoid making a big name for himself, or a big statement...total failure on that account. Of course he's one of the biggest recognizable names in classic rock. And of course the OP has no idea that this is true, having not lived through the 1970's. Which is why the point of this thread is so ill-researched and ridiculous. We've had loads of these ill-informed threads in recent years, where the premise of the thread is one artist or another should have been more well-known, and it's coming from a poster who wasn't even alive at the time of said artists' main influence; so somehow he expects that artists' influence to be recognized more prominantly years after the fact, on the basis that what...he'd just discovered how good the music was...? Pride in one's own ignorance is no virtue.
From White Knights, I would put this up against any pop song from the last decade, just a perfect piece of ear candy. This is the kind of thing I feel he could have done forever, but thankfully chose a different path. (I wish he would release a version with him singing lead)
I will always appreciate the night here in Eugene when he played at The W.O.W Hall and he and I got to talking so much after the show that we ended up being the last two in the hall. We got lost in conversation so much that one of the women working at the hall had to tell the both of us to walk out of the building because they were closing up. We took our conversation outside next to a van he was driving in and my car. We ended up talking for quite a while more. I was the one who had to tell him that I wanted to continue our conversation, but I was worried about my sweet German shepherd I had and felt that I needed to attend to her to make sure she was o.k. Just in case anybody out there thinks that Todd is not an accessible person, they wouldn't be able to convince me. I will cherish that conversation I had with him for the rest of my life.
Sadly, this is not true. Unlike everyone on this forum (to my knowledge) I regularly work with young musicians learning at the School of Rock. Young people learning and playing classic rock, and virtually none of them know about Todd. These are young people playing Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Black Sabbath...and neither Todd or Utopia is a regular part of their curriculum. They're being taught by musicians in their 30s, who themselves weren't familiar with Todd's music. They'll learn Frank Zappa and King Crimson...but no, not Todd or Utopia. Do a search for "School of Rock" and "King Crimson" on YouTube and you'll find more than 5000 results. Todd? Five. Total. And two of them were done as a treat for me. Are there young people familiar with Todd? Yes. But they are few and far between. As a gigantic frothing raving Todd maniac, who travels hundreds of miles to see Todd concerts, goes to Todd fan events, and has posted hundreds of comments on here about Todd this doesn't make me particularly happy to say, but it's the truth. To the vast majority of the public, Todd is three, maybe four songs - Hello It's Me, Bang On The Drum All Day and Can We Still Be Friends.
