Article on Todd's Mom
David
version included a nice photo:
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/lifestyle/080603A06RUNDGREN.html
August 6, 2003
Behind Todd's music with Ruth Rundgren
By VINCENT JACKSON Staff Writer, (609) 272-7202
OCEAN CITY - Being the mother of a recording artist isn't always easy but it
does have its advantages. Ruth Rundgren, the mother of legendary musician
Todd Rundgren, for instance, gets pleasure from her son's music and his
loyal fans, some of whom have become her friend, too.
Rundgren, 81, also takes great pride in knowing Todd - who will perform
Friday and Saturday in Atlantic City in a Beatles tribute show - made a big
name for himself in the cutthroat music world. This weekend will provide one
of the rare times she gets to see her son, who has lived in Hawaii the last
seven years.
A well-known singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Todd Rundgren, 55,
is considered an avant-garde rocker. He had five top-40 pop hits between
1970 and 1980, and this is the 30th anniversary year of his biggest single,
"Hello, It's Me," which reached No. 5 in 1973. His production credits range
from Meat Loaf's star-making, multi-platinum "Bat Out of Hell" recording in
1977 to albums for influential artists, including the New York Dolls, Patti
Smith, The Psychedelic Furs and XTC.
Unique bond with fans
Along the way, he generated a loyal and enthusiastic group of fans, some of
whom his mother also formed a unique bond with.
For decades, Ruth Rundgren has been exchanging letters with some of her
son's admirers. Hardcore followers, spread throughout this country and
overseas, keep her informed of the latest developments in his music career,
but they also receive something back: friendship with the mother of a
musical icon, who has been called everything from a talented cult star to a
rock 'n' roll Renaissance man and maverick.
A person would not know that this slender great-grandmother is the mother of
Todd Rundgren by walking into the Ocean City home where she has lived for
the past six years. There are no giant photos or posters of the music star -
just a small framed photo of the look-alike mother and son, along with other
family pictures.
Rundgren laughs when asked where her son got his musical ability and says
firmly that it wasn't from her or her late husband.
"Probably from my husband's father is where the genes come from. He could
pick up any instrument and play it," she said.
Her son's interest in music began in fifth grade, when he touched his first
instrument, an acoustic guitar. He started taking music lessons, but stopped
when the son of a neighbor taught him how to play by ear, his mother said.
He put a band together by the time he was junior high in their Upper Darby
neighborhood, near Philadelphia.
Hair makes the musician
Rundgren said it wasn't long before big problems arose, not over the music
but the length of Todd Rundgren's hair. He wanted long hair - long hair then
meaning Beatles-length circa 1964 - but Upper Darby High School officials
didn't like it. Mom found herself in the middle trying to make each side
compromise.
It all worked out and two weeks after graduation, Todd Rundgren left home
and became a member of a blues group named Woody's Truck Stop with guys he
met in Wildwood. He left that band in 1968 to form the British
Invasion-inspired group, the Nazz, which received coverage in teen
magazines. They were a local Philadelphia phenomenon, but Rundgren's mother
didn't meet fans who were really into her son's music career until the
mid-1970s after he had his biggest pop hit and was touring steadily with his
band Utopia.
"There was a small group at the high school. They weren't fitting in either.
... They got in contact with me," said Rundgren, who was still living in
Upper Darby at the time. "They were looking for my assistance. They thought
I had enough contact with Todd that I knew where he was playing before
anyone else."
The high schoolers created a newsletter called "Utopia Times." "Utopia
Times" wasn't your average fanzine. Utopia albums were filled with songs
that were cerebral with titles like "Hiroshima," but also hopeful and
downright Utopian like "Love in Action" and "Love Is The Answer." As a
result, the group attracted people with complex ideas or whose musical
tastes were more sophisticated than the top-40 pop of the time.
These enthusiasts wanted to express what the music meant to them and their
interpretations of it. In Rundgren's mother, they found someone willing to
listen.
"One of the Utopia albums put out an address for a mailbox in New York City
and invited people to write. The road manager's girlfriend gave me boxes of
personal correspondence. These people were reaching out," Rundgren said.
Rundgren, who wrote to soldiers in World War II, started writing letters
back to the fans.
"Through correspondence and letters, I learned the pleasure of writing. ...
the pleasure of communication," Rundgren said.
Rundgren has corresponded with some fans for years. They are spread all over
the country and overseas, so they can report to her about a performance or
an interview by her son in far-away places. People get married, have
children and fade away, yet she is still meeting new fans after more than 25
years.
From a fan to a friend
And, in some cases, they still turn into friends.
Donna Josephs of Ventnor is one of them. She met Ruth Rundgren when a small
fan festival was held in 1996 in Upper Darby, the musical pioneer's
hometown. Josephs, 47, was a fan of Nazz in 1968 and had maintained her
admiration of Todd Rundgren.
At the festival, she went on a short tour of key places in the development
of the enigmatic rock figure. Ruth Rundgren was on the tour and invited
everyone there to her home when the tour ended. She met Josephs and, when
she moved to Ocean City, contacted Josephs. They became friends and remain
so today.
Josephs said Ruth Rundgren is fun to be with. "The fact that I'm a huge Todd
fan is separate from my friendship with Ruth."
Todd Rundgren will be one of the musicians performing during the "A Walk
Down Abbey Road" show at 9 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday in the Theater at
the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort. Tickets are $45 and $50. Call (800)
736-1420.
To e-mail Vincent Jackson at The Press:
Steve Thompson
what an insight.
You could just sense that Todd go some of that open minded, warm hearted
stuff from his mom
st
"David" <tape...@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:YtGcnddxJPQ...@comcast.com...