Editing Todd Rundgren (section)

====''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}}