5 Classic Singles That Define Todd Rundgren's Career

Not every famous musician has been able to achieve success across decades, but Todd Rundgren pulled it off with his unique songwriting approach, whether tackling pop, rock, blues, or other genres, and many of his classics have come to define his career. He began as a member of the Philadelphia rock band Nazz, leaving in 1969 and forming the band Utopia five years later, around the time Rundgren started a feud with John Lennon. Although the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee is mostly known for his solo work, he admitted that he never thought of himself as a solo artist and thought he'd become a producer and engineer after leaving Nazz. 

As fate would have it, Rundgren ended up releasing a good deal of classic songs over many decades, and the legendary musician continues to perform, hitting the road with Toto in 2027 for a European tour, supporting them on their U.K. and Ireland dates. To celebrate his contribution to modern music, we've picked his career highlights. 

All of these cuts were singled out by us because they capture different parts of Rundgren's talents, including his impressive lyrical ability, his skillful playing of multiple instruments, and his production skills — indeed, he's one of the most successful rock producers of the '70s. From his first-ever song, "Hello It's Me," to the anthemic "Bang the Drum All Day," these are the essential milestones of Rundgren's long and storied career.

In Todd Rundgren's R&B-tinged "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference," a bass guitar and piano play in beautiful unison, which sets the perfect mood for the singer's lyrics about a relationship ending. The song is written from the perspective of one getting clarity about the union after taking a retrospective look and realizing that it was never what it seemed. 

The 1972 song is on his "Something/Anything?" album, and the lyrics appear to mean that the protagonist never put effort into the relationship. "And maybe you remember the last time you called me / To say we were through / How it took a million tears / Just to prove they all were for you / But those days are through / 'Cause it wouldn't have made any difference / If you loved me ...," Rundgren sings.

However, in the liner notes (via Treble), Rundgren states that the song is about someone expressing love with words but not action, writing, "I always thought it meant, 'if you really did [love me], then why did you act like such a schmuck?'" The song wasn't a "Something/Anything?" single, but it's a definite fan favorite and a prime example of Rundgren's distinctive writing approach, as well as his production style.

"Hello It's Me," the first song that Todd Rundgren ever penned, was initially released on Nazz's debut album before a different version landed on his solo LP, "Something/Anything?" The song is Rundgren's highest-charting single, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent a total of 20 weeks. On it, the narrator captures the very moment that a relationship breaks up, explaining to his soon-to-be ex that he's ending things after realizing that their relationship won't go the distance.

Yes, it's true that a lot of breakup songs have a somber feel, but not "Hello It's Me," as its production is bright and colorful, which surely helped it climb the charts. Rundgren reportedly wrote the song about his high school girlfriend Linda, whose father didn't want her dating a guy with long hair. "Her fascination with me probably was the hair, but when her dad put his foot down, that was that," Rundgren told the Professor of Rock. "I don't think she had any real commitment, but it did provide a lot of fuel for songwriting." The song is a true Rundgren gem, whether it's Nazz's rendition, his solo version, or both.

Todd Rundgren is a master at producing out-of-the-box songs with just the right amount of conventionality to make them extremely palatable. His 1972 cut "I Saw the Light" is a good example, a song that became a Top 20 Billboard hit and still makes audiences scream when he plays it live. Rundgren played all of the instruments on the song, and he wrote it in under 30 minutes, believe it or not. 

Another one of his many strengths as a songwriter is being able to craft detailed stories, and on "I Saw the Light" he sings about the very moment someone realizes that a casual romance is turning into something serious: "Though we had our fling / I just never would suspect a thing / 'Til that little bell began to ring / In my head, in my head." Rundgren told SongwriterUniverse in 2018 that he set out to make songs that were pop-leaning and easily digestible when penning "I Saw the Light," a goal that he certainly accomplished in a major way.

Falling somewhere between a ballad and a mid-tempo tune, Todd Rundgren's "Can We Still Be Friends" is about parting ways with someone on good terms. The self-produced song, which spent 15 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, was the first release from Rundgren's LP, "Hermit of Mink Hollow," and some have speculated that it's about his ex-girlfriend Bebe Buell. 

However, Rundgren's inspiration for "Can We Still Be Friends" wasn't tied to a name, as he told Songfacts, "It isn't necessarily about a specific person. It's about, perhaps, a specific situation, but I don't have to have experienced something to be able to write a song that other people think represents their experience."

Fans aren't the only ones who've gravitated to the song in a major way, as a number of artists made cover versions that some think are better than the original, including Mandy Moore, Rod Stewart, and Robert Palmer, whose version also landed on the Billboard charts. Plenty of people have posted videos on YouTube covering the song as well, further proving just how popular it still is today. 

Todd Rundgren picked up the piano early on, learning it in high school after being inspired by Burt Bacharach songs. But on "Bang the Drum All Day," off his album "The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect," he wrote about having a deep love for percussion. 

Rundgren, who serves as writer, producer, and engineer on the song, was able to put together a high-energy, celebratory instrumental that matches the lyrics' enthusiasm about drumming. But it seems to be more of a sports anthem than a signature song for drummers, since it's often heard blaring through stadium speakers. 

Rundgren once told Howard Stern that the song came to him in a dream, and he's glad it did, because normally he wouldn't have written such a simple, straightforward tune. He also said that it became popular because people resonated with wanting to play music instead of going to work and dealing with their boss. "It first became a drive-time hit," Rundgren said. "DJs were playing it every Friday, mostly because of the line, 'I bang on the drum like it was a boss' head,' 'cause it's Friday drive time."