Editing Todd Rundgren (section)

===1970–1984: Bearsville era===
====''Runt'' and ''Ballad of Todd Rundgren''====
[[File:1978 Todd Rundgren (5732526157).jpg|thumb|upright=1|Rundgren in 1978]]
Following a period where he thought he would never return to being a performing artist, Rundgren approached Grossman with the idea of what would become his debut solo record, ''[[Runt (album)|Runt]]''. Although his general attitude for any project was to "make the record [I] wanted to make and then hope the label can find a way to promote it", Rundgren ensured that any loss to Grossman would be minimal: "I didn't get an actual advance for ''Runt''. I just asked for a recording budget to pay the studio costs. ... I had no idea how much money I even had in the bank. If I needed cash, I would show up at the accountants and they would just give me hundreds or thousands of dollars."{{Sfn|Myers|2010|p=41}}

Released in mid-1970, ''Runt'' was not originally credited to Rundgren due to his anxieties about starting a full-fledged solo career, and instead bore the moniker "Runt".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |title=Runt |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/runt-mw0000195588 |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=December 19, 2018|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}</ref> The album featured a bright sound and songs inspired by Laura Nyro.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=44–45}} It was recorded with the 17-year-old bassist [[Tony Fox Sales]] and his 14-year-old brother [[Hunt Sales]] on drums.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=43}} ''Nazz'' engineer James Lowe returned for the sessions and recalled that Rundgren seemed "more able to really lead a group. If you go back and listen to it, it's very sophisticated material, especially for a guy so young."{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=45}} Lead single "[[We Gotta Get You a Woman]]" reached number 20 on the ''Billboard'' charts.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=49}} As he prepared a follow-up LP, he produced ''[[Halfnelson (album)|Halfnelson]]'', the debut album by the band that would later become [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=54}} Members [[Ron Mael|Ron]] and [[Russell Mael]] later credited Rundgren with launching Sparks' career.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=45–55}}

Rundgren's industry reputation grew substantially as a result of his success with ''Runt'', and for the first time in his life, he began using recreational drugs. Initially this was limited to [[marijuana (drug)|marijuana]]. He said that the drug gave him "a whole different sensibility about time and space and order" that influenced the writing for his second album, ''[[Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren]]''.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=57}} The material was mostly piano ballads and still largely based on Nyro's template, but a more conscious effort by Rundgren was made to refine his music and choice of subject matter, and to distinguish himself from his influences.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=57–58}} Released June 1971, ''The Ballad of Todd Rundgren'' bore two singles, "Be Nice to Me" and "A Long Time, a Long Way To Go", neither of which repeated the success of "We Gotta Get You a Woman". While initial reviews of ''Ballad'' were mixed, it came to be regarded as one of the greatest singer-songwriter albums of the era.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=60}}

====''Something/Anything?''====
In late 1971, Rundgren was recruited to finish [[Badfinger]]'s third album ''[[Straight Up (Badfinger album)|Straight Up]]'', a project [[George Harrison]] had abandoned to organize the [[Concert for Bangladesh]], in London.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=62}} The album was a hit and its two singles were similarly successful, although Rundgren was not credited for the first ("[[Day After Day (Badfinger song)|Day After Day]]") and thus did not receive production royalties for that single.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=62–65}} Rundgren said that the song "didn't sound much like what [Harrison had] done" and speculated that the credit to Harrison "may or may not have been something purposeful, just some by-product of a general Beatle hubris".{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=65}}{{refn|group=nb|Plans for Rundgren to produce their fourth album fell through after tracking a few songs in January 1972.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=65}}}} The ''Straight Up'' sessions lasted two weeks in September, after which Rundgren returned to Los Angeles to work on his third solo album, originally planned as a single LP.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=62–65}}

As with ''Ballad'', much of the newer material was written or conceived under the influence of marijuana. However, by this time, he had also begun experimenting with [[Ritalin]]. He recalled, "my songwriting process had become almost too second-nature. I was writing songs formulaically, almost without thinking, knocking [them out], reflexively, in about 20 minutes."{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=66}} The use of Ritalin also helped him focus on the process as he worked up to 12 hours a day to beat the three-week deadline. To keep up the pace, he installed an eight-track recorder, mixer, and synthesizers into his living room so that he could continue recording after leaving the studio.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=66}} For the first time in his career, Rundgren recorded every part by himself, including bass, drums, and vocals.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=67}} About "an album and a half" was completed this way. He then decided to stretch the project into a double LP and quickly recorded the last few tracks with musicians, live in the studio.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=68}}

{{listen
| filename     = Todd Rundgren - I Saw the Light.ogg
| title        = "I Saw the Light" (1972)
| description  = Lead single "[[I Saw the Light (Todd Rundgren song)|I Saw the Light]]" became one of Rundgren's best-known songs.
}}

''[[Something/Anything?]]'', the first album officially issued under the name "Todd Rundgren", was released in February 1972, shortly after Bearsville had signed a long-term distribution deal with [[Warner Bros. Records]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=34, 62}} The album included many songs that would become his best-known. Included among straightforward pop songs are extended [[jam (music)|jams]] and studio banter, such as the spoken-word track "Intro", in which he teaches the listener about [[lo-fi music|recording flaws]] for an [[egg hunt]]-type game he calls "Sounds of the Studio".<ref name="p4kwizard" /> Magazine ads depicted a smiling Rundgren daring the reader to "ignore me".<ref>{{cite web|website=PopMatters|url=https://www.popmatters.com/todd-rundgren-something-anything-atr50|first=Rob|last=Moura|title=Todd Rundgren's 50-Year-Old 'Something/Anything?' is a Paean to the Possibilities of the Studio|date=February 1, 2022|access-date=February 21, 2022}}</ref> The album peaked at number 29 on the ''Billboard'' 200<ref name="TRBillboard200">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/todd-rundgren/chart-history/tlp/|title=Billboard 200: Todd Rundgren Chart History |date=2018  |magazine=Billboard |access-date=December 22, 2018 }}</ref> and was certified [[Music recording sales certification|gold]] in three years.{{sfn|Myers|2010}}{{page needed|date=November 2019}}  Lead single "[[I Saw the Light (Todd Rundgren song)|I Saw the Light]]" peaked at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref name="TRBB100">{{cite magazine |title=Billboard Hot 100: Todd Rundgren Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/todd-rundgren/chart-history/hsi/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=December 22, 2018 |year=2018}}</ref> "Hello It's Me", which followed late in 1973, reached number 5.<ref name="TRBB100" />

According to music critic [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]], ''Something/Anything?'' has since been "rightly regarded as one of the landmark releases of the early 70s".<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2011|title=[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th|isbn=978-0857125958|chapter=Todd Rundgren}}</ref> "Couldn't I Just Tell You" was influential to artists in the [[power pop]] genre. Music journalist [[Paul Lester]] called the recording a "masterclass in [[compression (audio)|compression]]" and said that Rundgren "staked his claim to powerpop immortality [and] set the whole ball rolling".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lester |first1=Paul |author-link=Paul Lester|title=Powerpop: 10 of the best|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/feb/11/power-pop-10-of-the-best |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=February 11, 2015}}</ref> Musician [[Scott Miller (pop musician)|Scott Miller]]'s 2010 book ''[[Music: What Happened?]]'' calls the song "likely the greatest power pop recording ever made", with lyrics "somehow both desperate and lighthearted at the same time", and a guitar solo having "truly amazing dexterity and inflection".<ref>{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Scott|author-link=Scott Miller (pop musician)|title=Music: What Happened?|year=2010|publisher=125 Records|page=68|isbn=9780615381961|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aduy1H1mUx0C&pg=PA68 }}</ref> In 2003, ''Something/Anything?'' was ranked number 173 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of the [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|"500 Greatest Albums of All Time"]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/todd-rundgren-something-anything-20120524|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 173: Something/Anything|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=May 31, 2009|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref>

====''A Wizard, a True Star'', ''Todd'', and Utopia====
[[File:Todd Rundgren 1978 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1|Rundgren performing with [[Utopia (band)|Utopia]] in 1978]]
[[File:New York Dolls - TopPop 1973 04.png|thumb|upright=1|[[New York Dolls]], whose [[The New York Dolls (album)|1973 debut album]] was produced by Rundgren]]
Subsequent albums, beginning with ''[[A Wizard, a True Star]]'' and the spin-off group [[Utopia (band)|Utopia]], saw a dramatic shift away from straightforward three-minute pop.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-wizard-a-true-star-mw0000191575|title=A Wizard, A True Star|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|access-date=October 6, 2013}}</ref> After the success of ''Something/Anything?'', Rundgren felt uncomfortable that he was being increasingly tagged as "the male [[Carole King]]". "With all due respect to Carole King," he said, "It wasn't what I was hoping to create as a musical legacy for myself."{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=71}} Now relocated back to New York and experimenting with a host of [[psychedelic drug]]s, he began to think that the writing on ''Something/Anything?'' was largely formulaic and borne from laziness, and sought to create a "more eclectic and more experimental" follow-up album.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=73}}{{refn|group=nb|He recalled taking [[mescaline]], [[psilocybin]], and mushrooms, and was not aware if he took [[LSD]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=73}} }} His music tastes also started to lean toward the [[progressive rock]] of [[Frank Zappa]], [[Yes (band)|Yes]], and the [[Mahavishnu Orchestra]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=84}}  In 2017, while giving a commencement speech at the [[Berklee College of Music]], he described the record as:

{{blockquote| ... my act of tyranny after having achieved commercial success. ...  I threw out all the rules of record making and decided I would try to imprint the chaos in my head onto a record without trying to clean it up for everyone else's benefit. The result was a complete loss of about half of my audience at that point ... This became the model for my life after that.<ref name="Berklee"/>}}

The sound and structure of ''Wizard'' was heavily informed by Rundgren's hallucinogenic experiences.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=74}} It was envisioned as a hallucinogenic-inspired "flight plan" with all the tracks segueing seamlessly into each other, starting with a "chaotic" mood and ending with a medley of his favorite soul songs.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=75}} He said: "With drugs I could suddenly abstract my thought processes in a certain way, and I wanted to see if I could put them on a record. A lot of people recognized it as the dynamics of a psychedelic trip—it was almost like painting with your head."<ref name="Quinn04"/> Rundgren and Moogy Klingman established a professional recording studio, Secret Sound, to accommodate the ''Wizard'' sessions. The studio was designed to Rundgren's specifications and was created so that he could freely indulge in sound experimentation without having to worry about hourly studio costs, although he maintained that the album still felt "kind of rushed through because the studio wasn't finished".{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=74}} Some of the other influences on the album included musical theater, [[jazz]], and [[funk]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=78}}

''A Wizard, a True Star'' was released in March 1973.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=80}} At Rundgren's behest, no singles were issued from the album, as he wanted the tracks to be heard in the context of the LP.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=79}} Its release coincided with the success of the "Hello It's Me" single, which gave Rundgren a reputation as a ballad singer, in marked contrast to the content on ''Wizard''.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=80}}<ref name="Betrock">{{cite magazine|last=Rundgren|first=Todd|author-link=Todd Rundgren|editor1-last=Betrock |editor1-first=Alan |title=Todd: Rundgren Reviews Himself |magazine=[[Phonograph Record (magazine)|Phonograph Record]] |date=March 1974 |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/itoddi-rundgren-reviews-himself|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Although critical reception to the album was mixed,{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=80}} ''Wizard'' became highly influential to musicians in the ensuing decades.<ref name="Berklee">{{cite web |last1=Rundgren |first1=Todd |title=Todd Rundgren: 'A Wizard A True Star' Was Abomination to Everyone Else, But It Was My Defining Moment – California Rocker |url=https://californiarocker.com/2017/05/16/todd-rundgren-wizard-star/ |website=California Rocker |access-date=January 15, 2020 |year=2017}}</ref> In 2003, music journalist [[Barney Hoskyns]] called the record "the greatest album of all time ... a dizzying, intoxicating rollercoaster ride of emotions and genre mutations [that] still sounds more bravely futuristic than any ostensibly cutting-edge electro-pop being made in the 21st Century."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hoskyns|first=Barney|author-link=Barney Hoskyns|date=March 2003|title=He Put A Spell On Me: The True Stardom of Todd Rundgren|magazine=Mojo|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/he-put-a-spell-on-me-the-true-stardom-of-todd-rundgren|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 2018, ''Pitchfork''{{'}}s Sam Sodomsky wrote that the "fingerprints" of ''Wizard'' remained "evident on [[bedroom music|bedroom auteurs]] to this day".<ref name="p4kwizard" />

In the weeks following the album's release, Rundgren produced [[Grand Funk Railroad]]'s ''[[We're an American Band]]'' and the [[New York Dolls]]' [[The New York Dolls (album)|self-titled debut album]], which were among the most significant LPs of the year. The former album reached number two on the US charts, while the latter became a seminal forerunner of [[punk rock]], although Rundgren never became known as a "punk producer".{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=81, 90, 99}} Rundgren also prepared a technologically ambitious stage show with a band later to be known as Utopia Mark I, consisting of Tony Sales, Hunt Sales, keyboardist Dave Mason, and synthesizer specialist Jean-Yves "M Frog" Labat. The tour began in April and was cancelled after only a couple weeks on the road.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=99}}

Once Rundgren was finished with his production duties, he began formulating plans for an improved configuration of Utopia, but first returned to Secret Sound to record the more synthesizer-heavy double album ''[[Todd (album)|Todd]]'', which was more material drawing on his hallucinogenic experiences.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=81}} This time, he had also formed a fascination with religion and spirituality, reading books by authors such as [[Madame Blavatsky]], [[Rudolf Steiner]], and [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=103}} Originally scheduled for release in December 1973, ''Todd'' was delayed to the next February due to a vinyl shortage caused by the [[1973 oil crisis]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=108}}

During the making of ''Todd'', Rundgren took note of the "[[fusion jazz]] sensibility" between session musicians [[Kevin Ellman]] (drums) and John Siegler (bass). Rundgren chose them, along with Klingman and keyboardist Ralph Shuckett, to be the new configuration of Utopia. This line-up performed their first show at [[Central Park]] on August 25, 1973, sharing the bill with [[the Brecker Brothers]] and [[Hall & Oates]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=106}}{{refn|group=nb|The main purpose of this show was to record the ''Todd'' track "Sons of 1984" live.{{sfn|Myers|2010}}}} Utopia played more shows throughout November and December, performing material from ''Something/Anything?'' and ''Wizard'' after a solo opening set by Rundgren on piano playing along to a pre-recorded track.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=107}} On December 7, Rundgren appeared by himself on ''[[The Midnight Special (TV series)|The Midnight Special]]'' performing "Hello It's Me" while dressed in jarringly flamboyant glam attire to the chagrin of some of his bandmates and Bearsville executive Paul Fishkin, who recalled that Rundgren looked "like a fucking drag queen".{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=108}}

{{Quote box
|align=left
|quote=If I get that one minute of total illumination then I don't care if my whole career goes down the drain. I'd know there was an answer to everything—to existence, to death.
| source=—Todd Rundgren, September 1974<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years 2">{{cite book| first= John| last= Tobler| year= 1992| title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years| edition= 1st| publisher= Reed International Books Ltd| location= London| page= 268| id= CN 5585}}</ref>
|width  = 25%
}}

Utopia embarked on their first successful tour between March and April 1974, after which Rundgren produced [[Hello People]]'s ''The Handsome Devils'' and Hall & Oates' ''[[War Babies (Hall & Oates album)|War Babies]]''.{{sfn|Myers|2010}}{{page needed|date=November 2019}} The band's debut record came in the form of the LP titled ''[[Todd Rundgren's Utopia (album)|Todd Rundgren's Utopia]]'' (November 1974). It marked Rundgren's first full-fledged venture into the progressive rock genre. Utopia released several more albums between 1975 and 1985. Although they gradually rebranded toward a [[pop rock|rock-pop]] sound, ''Todd Rundgren's Utopia'' remained their highest album chart showing at number 34.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=108, 126, 149}} Keyboardist [[Roger Powell (musician)|Roger Powell]] recalled that Bearsville wished Utopia would have "just gone away", however, "Todd's contract called for a certain number of albums over a certain number of years, so he decided that every other album would be a solo album and the next one a Utopia album."{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=149}} {{clear}}

====''Initiation'', ''Faithful'', and ''Hermit of Mink Hollow''====
[[File:Todd-utopia-atlanta-77.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Utopia on their ''[[Ra (Utopia album)|Ra]]'' tour at the [[Fox Theatre (Atlanta, Georgia)|Fox Theatre]] in [[Atlanta]] in 1977.  Rundgren is pictured on second-right.]]
[[File:WMMS Todd Rundgren Simulcast - 1978 print ad.jpg|thumb|upright=1|1978 print ad for Rundgren's simulcast concert at the [[Agora Ballroom]] in [[Cleveland]]]]
''A Wizard, a True Star'' included "Rock N Roll Pussy", a song aimed at former Beatle [[John Lennon]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=205}} In 1974, Rundgren and Lennon were embroiled in a minor feud over comments Rundgren made in the February edition of ''[[Melody Maker]]'' magazine.<ref name="lesterTR" /> In the article, he accused Lennon of striking a waitress at [[Troubadour (West Hollywood, California)|the Troubadour]] in Hollywood and called him a "fucking idiot" proselytizing revolution and "acting like an ass".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|title=John Lennon|date=February 1974}}</ref> In September, the magazine published Lennon's response, in which he denied the charges and referred to the musician as "Turd Runtgreen": "I have never claimed to be a revolutionary. But I am allowed to sing about anything I want! Right?"<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|date=September 1974|last=Lennon|first=John|author-link=John Lennon|title=An Opened Lettuce to Sodd Runtlestuntle (From Dr. Winston O'Boogie)}}</ref> Later, Rundgren said, "John and I realized we were being used and I got a phone call from him one day and we just said: 'Let's drop this now.'"<ref name="lesterTR" />

''[[Initiation (Todd Rundgren album)|Initiation]]'' (1975) showed more experimentation with synthesizers, and displayed the musical influence of the avant-garde [[jazz fusion]] of contemporary acts such as the [[Mahavishnu Orchestra]] and [[Frank Zappa]]. Once again the original LP issue saw Rundgren pushing the medium to its physical limits, with the side-long suite "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" clocking in at over 35&nbsp;minutes.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/initiation-r17087 |title=Initiation – Todd Rundgren &#124; AllMusic |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |work=allmusic.com |year=2011 |access-date=July 9, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/toddrundgren/albums/album/172573/review/5943920/initiation |title=Todd Rundgren: Initiation : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone |first=Jim |last=Miller |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |year=2011 |access-date=July 9, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116112856/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/toddrundgren/albums/album/172573/review/5943920/initiation |archive-date=January 16, 2009 }}</ref>

Released in May 1976, ''[[Faithful (Todd Rundgren album)|Faithful]]'' saw Rundgren celebrating his tenth year as a professional musician. The album featured one side of original songs and one side of covers of significant songs from 1966, including the Yardbirds' "[[Happenings Ten Years Time Ago]]", [[the Beach Boys]]' "[[Good Vibrations]]", and two Lennon-penned Beatles songs. The arrangements of the covers were intended to sound as close to the originals as possible, and Rundgren's original songs were written as a reflection of his 1960s influences. He cited the song "The Verb 'To Love'" as the point in which he made the conscious decision to stop writing superficial love songs and "seek out all other kinds of subject matter to write about".{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=136, 142}} Despite the lack of sales and promotion for ''Faithful'', lead single "Good Vibrations" received regular airplay on American radio.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=142}}

Following the completion of ''Faithful'', Rundgren spent two months on an eastern spiritual retreat, visiting Iran, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bali, Thailand, Japan, and Hawaii.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=141–142}} He also opened Utopia Sound Studios in [[Lake Hill, New York]], just outside of Woodstock, and bought a home nearby, as well as an adjoining property to be taken over as accommodation for artists who used the studio.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=142}} The Lake Hill complex on Mink Hollow Road remained Rundgren's base for the next six years.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=131, 251}} In the interim until his next solo effort, he recorded three albums with Utopia. The first, ''[[Disco Jets]]'', was a tongue-in-cheek collection of instrumental [[disco]] tracks left unreleased until 2001. ''[[Ra (Utopia album)|Ra]]'' (February 1977) was a concept album based on Egyptian mythology, which prefaced a lavish tour involving an extravagant stage set with a giant pyramid and [[Sphynx]] head.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=140, 146, 169}} ''[[Oops! Wrong Planet]]'' (September 1977), recorded immediately after the tour,{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=169}} signaled the start of a more pop-oriented direction for the group.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |author-link1=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Hermit of Mink Hollow |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hermit-of-mink-hollow-mw0000650724|publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

By late 1977, Rundgren was in the midst of separating from then-girlfriend [[Bebe Buell]] and their infant daughter [[Liv Tyler]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=140, 146, 170–171}} Rundgren recalled leaving his home in New York City and sequestering himself at Mink Hollow, "after I discovered that I didn't want to cohabit any longer with Bebe, in any sense of the word ... A fortunate by-product of being so out of everything all the time and always being the odd man out ... is that you have plenty of time for self-examination."{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=171}} He intended the songs on his next solo album to be performed on piano with minimal arrangements, apart from the bass, drums and voices. In that sense, he stated that the songwriting process appeared to be "fairly conventional".<ref name="Demain">{{cite book|title=In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk about the Creative Process|url=https://archive.org/details/theirownwordsson00dema|url-access=limited|page=[https://archive.org/details/theirownwordsson00dema/page/n100 88]|last=DeMain|first=Bill|publisher=Praeger Publishers|year=2004|isbn=0-275-98402-8}}</ref>

''[[Hermit of Mink Hollow]]'' was released in May 1978.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=176}} Popularly viewed as his most immediately accessible work since ''Something/Anything?'', it received more public attention and radio airplay than most of Rundgren's efforts since ''A Wizard, a True Star''<ref name="Fricke78">{{cite magazine |last1=Fricke |first1=David |author-link1=David Fricke |title=Nothing/Anything: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren |magazine=[[Trouser Press]] |date=July 1978 |url=https://beatpatrol.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/david-fricke-nothinganything-the-ballad-of-todd-rundgren-1978/}}</ref> and was heralded as a "return to form" after the string of prog records with Utopia.<ref name="Swanson">{{cite web |last1=Swanson |first1=Dave |title=35 Years Ago: Todd Rundgren Releases "Hermit of Mink Hollow" |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/todd-rundgren-the-hermit-of-mink-hollow/ |website=[[Ultimate Classic Rock]] |date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> In the US, the LP peaked at number 36, while single "[[Can We Still Be Friends]]" reached number 29. The song became Rundgren's most-covered, with versions by [[Robert Palmer]], [[Rod Stewart]], [[Colin Blunstone]], and [[Mandy Moore]].<ref name="AV2012">{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Will |title=Todd Rundgren on his musical history, from Nazz to The New Cars |url=https://www.avclub.com/todd-rundgren-on-his-musical-history-from-nazz-to-the-1798231009 |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=April 9, 2012}}</ref> To promote the work, Rundgren undertook an American tour playing at smaller venues including [[The Bottom Line (venue)|The Bottom Line]] in New York and [[Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood)|The Roxy]] in Los Angeles. These shows resulted in the double live album ''[[Back to the Bars]]'', which featured a mixture of material from his solo work and Utopia, performed with backing musicians including Utopia,{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=176}} [[Spencer Davis]], [[Daryl Hall]] and [[John Oates]] and [[Stevie Nicks]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/back-to-the-bars-mw0000650723/credits|title=Back to the Bars – Todd Rundgren|work=AllMusic|access-date=February 16, 2022}}</ref>

In 1980, Utopia recorded a Beatles parody album in the form of ''[[Deface the Music]]''. It included "Everybody Else Is Wrong", another song perceived to have been aimed at Lennon.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=204}} Later that year, Lennon was killed by [[Mark David Chapman]], an obsessive Rundgren fan who was incensed by Lennon's remarks on religion. When he was apprehended, Chapman was wearing a promotional T-shirt for ''Hermit of Mink Hollow'' and had left a copy of ''Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren'' in his hotel room. Rundgren was not aware of the connections until "way after the fact".<ref name="lesterTR"/> When asked about the ''Melody Maker'' feud, Chapman stated he was not aware of the musicians' interactions in the press until years after they occurred.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Jack|title=Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aUvyhraJmJcC|year=2011|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-77996-0}}</ref>

====''Healing'' and ''Tortured Artist Effect''====
The year 1981 saw the album-long concept work ''[[Healing (Todd Rundgren album)|Healing]]''.<ref name="Larkin"/> His music video for the song "Time Heals" was among the first videos aired on [[MTV]], and a video he produced for [[RCA]], accompanied by [[Gustav Holst]]'s ''[[The Planets]]'', was used as a demo for their videodisc players. Rundgren's experience with computer graphics dates back to 1981, when he developed one of the first computer paint programs, dubbed the Utopia Graphics System; it ran on an [[Apple II]] with Apple's digitizer tablet.<ref name="GuardianLiars">{{cite news| title =Talk time: Todd Rundgren | newspaper = The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2004/mar/18/onlinesupplement/print |access-date=April 21, 2010 |date=March 18, 2004 |first=Hamish | last=Mackintosh}}</ref> He is also the co-developer of the computer [[screensaver]] system [[Flowfazer]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=213}}

During this period, Rundgren's Mink Hollow home was robbed. He and his girlfriend were tied up in the home by the robbers as part of the crime. 

The [[New wave music|new wave]]-tinged ''[[The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect]]'' (1982) included a cover of the [[Small Faces]]' hit "[[Tin Soldier (song)|Tin Soldier]]".  "[[Bang The Drum All Day]]", an album single, was a minor chart hit. It later became more prominent and was adopted as an unofficial theme by several professional sports franchises, notably the [[Green Bay Packers]]. Disc Jockey Geno Michellini of KLOS in Los Angeles used "Bang The Drum All Day" as an unofficial kick-off to the weekend on Friday afternoons. "Bang The Drum All Day" was also featured in a [[Carnival Cruise Line|Carnival Cruise]] television advertising campaign. It is now considered one of Rundgren's most popular songs.<ref>{{cite web| last = Guarisco| first = Donald A.| title = Bang The Drum all Day| publisher = AllMusic| date =|url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t4246117|pure_url=yes}}}}</ref> ''Tortured Artist'' marked the end of Rundgren's tenure with Bearsville Records.<ref>{{cite web|website=Discogs|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/138572-Todd-Rundgren|title=Todd Rundgren|access-date=February 21, 2022}}</ref>