Todd Rundgren

In 1972, Todd Rundgren began a relationship with model Bebe Buell. After their breakup, Buell had a brief relationship with Steven Tyler which resulted in the birth of a daughter, Liv Tyler, who later became a model and actress.

Buell initially claimed that Rundgren was the biological father of Liv. Even after their breakup, Rundgren remained committed to Liv. However, when Liv was eight years old, she came to know that Steven Tyler, and not Rundgren, was her biological father.

Rundgren had a relationship with Karen Darvin and together they have two sons—Rex, who was born in 1980, and Randy, who was born in 1985. Rex played minor league baseball for nine years.

Todd Harry Rundgren was born on June 22, 1948, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, to Ruth Rundgren and Harry W. Rundgren. While his father was of Swedish and Austrian descent, his mother was a German.

He attended Upper Darby High School and graduated in 1966. He was quite mischievous during his high school days—he secretly produced a newspaper wherein he mocked his teachers, and was suspended several times for growing his hair long.

He did not pursue higher studies and instead moved to Philadelphia after his graduation to build a career in music.

In Philadelphia, Todd Rundgren joined the blues-rock group called Woody's Truck Stop. However, he left the band even before it could release its first album.

He then formed his own garage rock group, called Nazz, in 1967. He authored the songs ‘Open My Eyes’ and ‘Hello It's Me’, which helped the band get some initial recognition. The later versions of both these songs would become even bigger hits.

Nazz’s debut eponymous album was released in 1968, followed by ‘Nazz Nazz’ in 1969, and ‘Nazz III’ in 1971. However, Rundgren left the group even before the second and third albums were released. The album ‘Nazz III’ included most of Rundgren's unreleased songs.

Around this time, Rundgren realized he needed to educate himself in audio engineering and production. After leaving Nazz, he moved to New York and signed with Albert Grossman’s company Bearsville Records. He performed as a solo artist and also produced videos for many other artists.

In 1970, Todd Rundgren formed a new band, which he named Runt. He wrote, produced, sang, and also played guitars, keyboards, and other instruments for this band. His first solo album ‘Runt’, which was released in 1970, had the popular song ‘Baby Let's Swing’, which was strongly influenced by singer Laura Nyro. The band’s second album ‘Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren,’ was released in 1971.

Todd Rundgren’s third album ‘Something/Anything?’ was his first double album which he recorded and produced single-handedly. The album reached number 29 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold. The song ‘I Saw the Light’ and the remake of the Nazz hit song ‘Hello It's Me’ became particularly popular.

In 2003, ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine ranked ‘Something/Anything?’ at number 173 in their list of 500 greatest albums of all time. After this album, he deviated completely from pop ballads and started experimenting with progressive rock.

His fourth album, ‘A Wizard, a True Star’ was very different from his first three albums. It not only departed from his regular ballads, but also had a unique sound, which some critics described as being better suited for a cartoon soundtrack. However, it was critically applauded, reaching number 86 on the Billboard 200. It was included in the book ‘1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die’.