The Todd Rundgren / Daryl Hall Connection!
As a huge Todd Rundgren and Daryl Hall fan, this was a fun story to write! Time to go on a great musical journey, involving these two iconic Artists! They have worked together in the past, and continue to make music in the present…
Let’s Begin With This Classic Performance – Todd Rundgren and Daryl Hall Performing A Gorgeous Version Of “Can We Still Be Friends”:
That classic live version was filmed for Hall’s terrific podcast-turned-TV series “Live From Daryl’s House”…Todd’s been a guest twice, and there is more from those appearances to come…oh, and talk about popular: this youtube collaboration has been viewed more than 1.1 MILLION times!
Todd Is God!
Music legend Todd Rundgren has his fans – like me – in a frenzy right now, as he has released a new CD of music and embarked on a worldwide tour! Todd’s new “STATE” CD adheres to Todd’s musical past – it is experimental, progressive, and beautifully realized music…here is a live clip of Todd from the summer of 2013, as a fan captured his performance of the new song “Smoke:”
Another Great “LFDH” Performance!
Here is another clip of Todd and Daryl performing Todd’s beautiful song “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference”:
This year, Daryl Hall released his latest solo CD, a great collection of mid-tempo tunes and ballads called “Laughing Down Crying”…here’s the catchy first single:
Talking To You (is Like Talking To Myself)
I love that song. Now, check out this gorgeous song from the same CD..it starts out with a bang, then settles into a beautiful mid-tempo rock ballad – classic Daryl Hall…
“Get Out Of The Way”
The Todd Rundgren / Daryl Hall Connection!
OK, so now it’s time to tie the two together musically, and that takes us deep into Todd’s producing past…
A Wizard, A True Star: Todd Rundgren In The Studio – by Paul Myers and Todd Rundgren – published in 2010.
This terrific book takes an in-depth look at Todd Rundgren’s career in the studio – and what makes the book so great is that it was written with Todd’s active participation!
During the 1970s and 1980s, Rundgren produced many notable albums, including “Straight Up” by Badfinger, “We’re an American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad, “Bat Out of Hell” by Meat Loaf, and “Skylarking” by XTC.
Todd Produced Hall & Oates!
Look at this shot I found online! That’s a very young Daryl Hall and Todd Rundgren surrounding Mick Jagger! In 1973, Todd produced Hall & Oates – and yes, it was arguably the least commercial album ever released by the duo. The album was called “War Babies”, and only yielded one modest single: “Too Much Too Soon.”
One reason I am such a huge fan of “Live From Daryl’s House” is that the show is both performance AND conversation – so you hear not only from Daryl, but from his musical guests as well…and that led to a GREAT conversation between Daryl and Todd about “War Babies.”
On Todd’s first appearance on the show, the two discuss the “War Babies” album, and Daryl Hall is really unhappy at critics who have written that Todd was responsible for the non-commercial tone of the music…the conversation is terrific, and then they sing a gorgeous version of Daryl Hall’s ballad “Wait For Me”.
If you go to the “Live From Daryl’s House” podcast, you can see both of Todd’s appearances on the show – and the show is also seen on cable and syndication as well, so go to the website for all of the info – here they are performing “I Saw The Light” together from the second show they did together – which is great because Daryl’s entire production rolls up to Todd’s house in Hawaii for the show…
Go watch the entire show. In the conversation between the two, Daryl Hall fairly bristles when hearing that many blamed Todd for the album’s hard/experimental edge. The album as a whole is a terrific, energetic and very hard-edged mix of musical styles…considering Hall & Oates were the bestselling duo of the 80’s, it’s probably a surprise when fans go back and find them singing a song in 1973 called “Johnny Gore & The ‘C’ Eaters”….
Todd & Daryl!
While the musical connection may not have resulted in commercial success, you’ve seen from the music videos AND the candid conversation that a lifelong friendship has resulted, leading to this great performance of “Bang On The Drum” from the show!
Yes, that performance is from Todd’s backyard fire pit! And if you are on Kauai, now is the time to visit Todd and Michelle Rundgren’s new Tiki Iniki bar!
Daryl Hall Censored!
If you want to read more about Daryl Hall, here is my story of the legendary “censored” music from the 70’s that his record label LOCKED AWAY IN A VAULT! It’s a fascinating story of an Artist fighting to remain true to his vision…
Check out the story of “Sacred Songs!”
Categories: Awards, Books / Media, documentary films, Music, Politics, Talent/Celebrities, Technology, TV Show
johnrieber 
The guys from Train join Daryl Hall in this Daryl’s House excerpt, and they do a terrific version of Papa was a Rolling Stone. Great version, really well done. The entire Daryl’s House series is awesome, check it out online.
LikeLike
Great educational post. I had no idea Rundgren produced Bat out of Hell, or that Daryl Hall had a web series.
LikeLike
Todd is an acclaimed Producer, and the webseries is now on cable and syndicated TV…it’s terrific, plus most of the songs live on youtube…he has had incredible guests on like Grace Potter and Train…
LikeLike
LIVE from Daryl’s House is such a great way to experience music – it’s smart & so damn interesting – and even the setting is perfect. Todd is such a talented dude – Skylarking is STILL one of my favs of all time…
LikeLike
Yes, LFDH started as a web series and had exploded onto TV due to the incredible popularity! Thanks for the comment!
LikeLike