The Nazz was an American rock band formed in Philadelphia in 1967. The group was founded by guitarist and main songwriter Todd Rundgren and bassist Carson Van Osten . Drummer Thom Mooney and vocalist/keyboardist Robert "Stewkey" Antoni joined soon after. The group is best known for their debut single "Open My Eyes”, and " Hello It's Me ".
129-400: Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia . He is known for his sophisticated and often unorthodox music, his occasionally lavish stage shows, and his later experiments with interactive art . He also produced music videos and
258-577: A classical flautist , he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his native Chicago, where he met Muddy Waters and other blues greats, who provided encouragement and opportunities for him to join in jam sessions . He soon began performing with fellow blues enthusiasts Nick Gravenites and Elvin Bishop . In 1963, he formed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which recorded several successful albums and
387-458: A 2019 interview, Mooney and Antoni stated that "Nazz" had always been the correct name. The group's original managers Jack Warfield and Jerry Bartoff owned a record store in downtown Philadelphia, and the band first rehearsed in a storage room above the record store. The group's first major concert had them opening for the Doors on June 18, 1967. In Phoenix, Arizona , another band called Nazz
516-521: 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. 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
645-644: A Twist... (1997), an album of bossa-nova covers of his older material. His PatroNet work, which trickled out to subscribers over more than a year, was released in 2000 as One Long Year . In 2004, Rundgren released Liars , a concept album about "paucity of truth", that features a mixture of his older and newer sounds. As the Internet gained mass acceptance, Rundgren, along with longtime manager Eric Gardner and Apple digital music exec Kelli Richards, started PatroNet, which offered fans (patrons) access to his works-in-progress and new unreleased tracks in exchange for
774-518: A Woman " (1970). His best-known songs include " Hello It's Me " and " I Saw the Light " from Something/Anything? (1972), which get frequent air time on classic rock radio stations, the 1978 " Can We Still Be Friends ", and the 1983 single " Bang the Drum All Day ", which is featured in many sports arenas, commercials, and movie trailers. Although lesser known, " Couldn't I Just Tell You " (1972)
903-496: 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." A Wizard, a True Star included "Rock N Roll Pussy", a song aimed at former Beatle John Lennon . In 1974, Rundgren and Lennon were embroiled in a minor feud over comments Rundgren made in the February edition of Melody Maker magazine. In the article, he accused Lennon of striking
1032-562: 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." 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
1161-752: A child, Rundgren was fascinated by his parents' small record collection, which consisted of show tunes and symphonic pieces, and especially by the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan . Later, he grew infatuated with the music of the Beatles , the Rolling Stones , the Ventures , and the Yardbirds , as well as the Philadelphia soul of Gamble & Huff , the Delfonics , and the O'Jays . At
1290-612: A company to produce 3D animation using the Toaster; this company's first demo, "Theology" (a look at religious architecture through the ages featuring music by former Utopia bandmate Roger Powell) also became a widely circulated item among Toaster users. After a long absence from touring, Rundgren hit the road with Nearly Human—2nd Wind band, which included brass and a trio of backup singers (one of whom, Michele Gray, Rundgren married). He also toured during 1992 with Ringo Starr 's second All-Starr band . A brief 1992 tour of Japan reunited
1419-455: A couple of years, and he was part of the scene and getting accepted. Eventually, Butterfield, on vocals and harmonica, and Bishop, accompanying him on guitar, were offered a regular gig at Big John's, a folk club in the Old Town district on Chicago's near North Side. With this booking, they persuaded bassist Jerome Arnold and drummer Sam Lay (both from Howlin' Wolf's touring band) to form
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#17327905855811548-600: A couple weeks on the road. 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 , which was more material drawing on his hallucinogenic experiences. 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 . Originally scheduled for release in December 1973, Todd
1677-410: 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. For the first time in his career, Rundgren recorded every part by himself, including bass, drums, and vocals. About "an album and a half" was completed this way. He then decided to stretch the project into
1806-459: A double LP and quickly recorded the last few tracks with musicians, live in the studio. 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 . The album included many songs that would become his best-known. Included among straightforward pop songs are extended jams and studio banter, such as
1935-418: A group with them in 1963. Their engagement at the club was highly successful and brought the group to the attention of record producer Paul A. Rothchild . During their engagement at Big John's, Butterfield met and occasionally sat in with guitarist Mike Bloomfield , who was also playing at the club. By chance, producer Rothchild witnessed one of their performances and was impressed by the chemistry between
2064-513: A group. If you go back and listen to it, it's very sophisticated material, especially for a guy so young." Lead single " We Gotta Get You a Woman " reached number 20 on the Billboard charts. As he prepared a follow-up LP, he produced Halfnelson , the debut album by the band that would later become Sparks . Members Ron and Russell Mael later credited Rundgren with launching Sparks' career. Rundgren's industry reputation grew substantially as
2193-428: A home nearby, as well as an adjoining property to be taken over as accommodation for artists who used the studio. The Lake Hill complex on Mink Hollow Road remained Rundgren's base for the next six years. 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 (February 1977)
2322-417: A job as staff engineer and producer under Albert Grossman , which Rundgren accepted. Grossman, known for his management of folk rock acts, had just founded Ampex Records , a joint business venture with the tape company of the same name, and built Bearsville Studios , near Woodstock. Bearsville soon became its own record imprint. Grossman promised to Rundgren that he would become the "highest-paid producer in
2451-549: A knee injury and a growing interest in blues music sent him in a different direction. He met guitarist and singer songwriter Nick Gravenites , who shared an interest in authentic blues music. By the late 1950s, they were visiting blues clubs in Chicago, where musicians such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf , Little Walter , and Otis Rush encouraged them and occasionally let them sit in on jam sessions. The pair were soon performing as Nick and Paul in college-area coffee houses. In
2580-515: A late 1968 interview that "We haven't played a lot of dates yet, as our management didn't want us overexposed." In a 2019 interview, however, Mooney challenged this complaint by the band, saying that they did have a reasonably loaded tour schedule and that the only reason management did not book them at more shows was because they could not play at bars, being underage. The group signed with SGC Records, which released Nazz in October 1968. There
2709-544: A more R&B-based approach. By all accounts, Paul Butterfield was absorbed in his music. According to his brother Peter, He listened to records and went places, but he also spent an awful lot of time, by himself, playing [harmonica]. He'd play outdoors. There's a place called the Point in Hyde Park [Chicago], a promontory of land that sticks out into Lake Michigan, and I can remember him out there for hours playing. He
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#17327905855812838-411: A more conscious effort by Rundgren was made to refine his music and choice of subject matter, and to distinguish himself from his influences. 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
2967-665: A phone call from him one day and we just said: 'Let's drop this now.'" 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 minutes. Released in May 1976, Faithful saw Rundgren celebrating his tenth year as
3096-506: A piano and singing songs. She doubted her abilities, but "it was Butter that [ sic ] first encouraged me to let loose and just sing the blues [and] not to worry about singing pretty or hitting all the right notes ... He loosened all the levels of self-consciousness and doubt out of me ... And he'll forever live in my heart for that and for respecting me as a fellow musician." Beginning in 1980, Butterfield underwent several surgical procedures to relieve his peritonitis ,
3225-459: 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
3354-708: 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". Despite the lack of sales and promotion for Faithful , lead single "Good Vibrations" received regular airplay on American radio. 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. He also opened Utopia Sound Studios in Lake Hill, New York , just outside of Woodstock, and bought
3483-479: A reputation as a ballad singer, in marked contrast to the content on Wizard . Although critical reception to the album was mixed, Wizard became highly influential to musicians in the ensuing decades. 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
3612-419: 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 . 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 . The material was mostly piano ballads and still largely based on Nyro's template, but
3741-626: A right-handed player, i.e., in his right hand, upside down (with the low notes to the right), using his left hand for muting effects. Also like other electric Chicago blues harp players, Butterfield frequently used amplification to achieve his sound. He has been associated with a Shure 545 Unidyne microphone, although producer Rothchild noted that around the time of a 1965 recording session, Butterfield favored an Altec harp microphone run through an early model Fender tweed amplifier. Beginning with album The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw , he used an acoustic harmonica style, following his shift to
3870-593: A serious and painful inflammation of the intestines. Although strongly opposed to heroin as a bandleader, he developed an addiction to it, which, according to Steve Huey in AllMusic's Butterfield biography, led to "speculation that he was trying to ease his peritonitis symptoms". The financial strain of supporting his drug habit was bankrupting him, and the deaths of his friend and one-time musical partner Mike Bloomfield, and manager Albert Grossman had shaken him. On May 4, 1987, at age 44, Butterfield died at his apartment in
3999-437: A songwriter and a performer. Eventually everyone would feel like a backup band - I was writing the songs, producing the records. As time went on my presence was bound to distort the thing." Nazz III was released in May 1971, over a year after the break-up. It consists primarily of material that was cut from the second album. Rundgren had a successful career as a solo artist and with the band Utopia . His biggest solo hit
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4128-463: A subscription fee, cutting out record labels. The songs from Rundgren's first PatroNet run were later released as the album One Long Year . Since then, Rundgren has severed his connections with major record labels and continues to offer new music direct to subscribers via his website, although he also continues to record and release CDs through independent labels. As of 2022, the PatroNet.com website
4257-553: A waitress at the Troubadour in Hollywood and called him a "fucking idiot" proselytizing revolution and "acting like an ass". 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?" Later, Rundgren said, "John and I realized we were being used and I got
4386-587: Is simply "Nazz", without the definite article . However, the group also sometimes called themselves "the Nazz". Rundgren stated that "We were formed in the late sixties, so most every band was the something. It was always 'the This' or 'the That,' so we were looking for something kind of simple and iconographic, I guess." In the song "Loosen Up", a member introduces the group as "the Nazz, from Philadelphia." Conversely, in
4515-544: The Billboard album chart. A live double album by the Butterfield Blues Band, Live , was recorded March 21–22, 1970, at The Troubadour , in West Hollywood, California. By this time, the band included a four-piece horn section in what has been described as a "big-band Chicago blues with a jazz base". After the release of another soul-influenced album, Sometimes I Just Feel Like Smilin' in 1971,
4644-530: The Billboard album chart. By the end of 1968, both Bishop and Naftalin had left the band. In April 1969, Butterfield took part in a concert at Chicago's Auditorium Theater and a subsequent recording session organized by record producer Norman Dayron, featuring Muddy Waters backed by Otis Spann, Mike Bloomfield, Sam Lay, Donald "Duck" Dunn , and Buddy Miles . Such Waters warhorses as " Forty Days and Forty Nights ", " I'm Ready ", " Baby, Please Don't Go ", and " Got My Mojo Working " were recorded and later released on
4773-534: The Blues Foundation 's Blues Hall of Fame , which noted that "the albums released by the Butterfield Blues Band brought Chicago Blues to a generation of Rock fans during the 1960s and paved the way for late 1960s electric groups like Cream". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015. The induction biography commented that "the Butterfield Band converted
4902-548: The Woodstock Festival on August 18, 1969. The band performed seven songs, and although its performance did not appear in the film Woodstock , one song, "Love March", was included on the album Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More , released in 1970. In 2009, Butterfield was included in the expanded 40th Anniversary Edition Woodstock video, and an additional two songs appeared on
5031-422: The diatonic ten-hole Marine Band model. He wrote a harmonica instruction book, Paul Butterfield Teaches Blues Harmonica Master Class , a few years before his death (it was not published until 1997). In it, he explains various techniques, demonstrated on an accompanying CD. Butterfield played mainly in cross-harp , or second position. Reportedly left-handed, he held the harmonica in a manner opposite that of
5160-478: The mononym Stewkey, which he said was a nickname he earned because he "was always stewed". The band took its name from The Yardbirds ' 1966 song " The Nazz Are Blue ". There also exists a 1952 monologue, "The Nazz", by the American Beatnik comedian Lord Buckley , but Rundgren has said that none of the band members were aware of this. The band's official name on all records and press materials
5289-506: The progressive rock of Frank Zappa , Yes , and the Mahavishnu Orchestra . In 2017, while giving a commencement speech at the Berklee College of Music , he described the record as: ... 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
Todd Rundgren - Misplaced Pages Continue
5418-419: The 21-year-old Rundgren briefly considered working as a computer programmer, and then decided that his calling was as a producer. He moved to New York in the summer of 1969 and involved himself with the clubs of Greenwich Village , particularly Steve Paul's Scene , and met a number of Manhattan musicians and fashion designers. Michael Friedman, formerly the assistant of Nazz manager John Kurland, offered Rundgren
5547-480: The 21st Century." In 2018, Pitchfork ' s Sam Sodomsky wrote that the "fingerprints" of Wizard remained "evident on bedroom auteurs to this day". In the weeks following the album's release, Rundgren produced Grand Funk Railroad 's We're an American Band and the New York Dolls ' self-titled debut album , which were among the most significant LPs of the year. The former album reached number two on
5676-528: The Band , he traveled to Canada to record Jesse Winchester 's eponymous 1970 debut album. Immediately afterward, he said, "the Band asked me to engineer their Stage Fright sessions. I think Jesse Winchester was a kind of run-through for that, because I was pretty quick to get the sounds and they liked that." Released in August 1970, Stage Fright reached number 5 on the Billboard 200, the highest chart showing
5805-608: The Band had to that point. Rundgren was dubbed Bearsville's "boy wonder". His work for the Band was followed by a second album for Winchester (which was then shelved for two years) and the album Taking Care of Business by the James Cotton Blues Band (1970). This project resulted in Rundgren meeting Cotton's keyboard player Mark "Moogy" Klingman , who in turn introduced Rundgren to keyboard player Ralph Schuckett , both of whom worked extensively with Rundgren over
5934-478: The Band's final concert, " The Last Waltz ", accompanying the Band on the song " Mystery Train " and backing Muddy Waters on " Mannish Boy ". Butterfield kept up his association with former members of the Band, touring and recording with Levon Helm and the RCO All Stars in 1977 and touring with Rick Danko in 1979. A 1984 live performance with Danko and Richard Manuel was recorded and released as Live at
6063-747: The Bangles recorded "Open My Eyes" on their album Sweetheart of the Sun . The next year, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard also recorded a cover of the song, for the Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations Of The First Psychedelic Era compilation. Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and bandleader. After early training as
6192-519: The Lonestar in 2011. As a solo act with backing musicians, Butterfield continued to tour and recorded Put It in Your Ear in 1976 and North South in 1981, with strings, synthesizers, and funk arrangements. In 1986, he released his final studio album, The Legendary Paul Butterfield Rides Again , which was an attempt at a comeback with an updated rock sound. On April 15, 1987, he participated in
6321-405: The Nazz continued as a duo, touring with support musicians now covering for both Rundgren and Van Osten, before formally dissolving. In a 2002 interview Rundgren said of the Nazz's career: "It was brief and very intense. I've made peace with it, but a lot of potential was wasted. I don't really blame any single person for that. I had a hard time focusing on the band, I continued to develop myself as
6450-487: The Nazz out. Kurland and his assistant Michael Friedman marketed the Nazz in a teen magazine along with bands like the Monkees . However, the band preferred the heavier rock sounds of The Who and Cream . Since they actually played in both styles there may have been some conflict among fans about their image. The band members often complained that Kurland restricted the number of concerts they played; Thom Mooney said in
6579-406: The Nazz released two albums ( Nazz and Nazz Nazz ). Following the group's disbandment in 1969, a collection of archival recordings was compiled and released under the title Nazz III . Rundgren later re-recorded a solo version of "Hello It's Me" that reached number 5 on the U.S. charts. Nazz was formed in Philadelphia in 1967. Vocalist/keyboardist Robert Antoni performed and recorded under
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#17327905855816708-403: The Nazz's second album had still yet to be released. At Stewkey and Mooney's request, the planned double album was shortened to a single LP before being released as Nazz Nazz in May 1969. Much of what was cut was piano-based Rundgren material, influenced by singer/songwriter Laura Nyro - a far cry from the group's original Beatles - Who - Yardbirds - Cream derived sound. For a short time
6837-488: The North Hollywood district of Los Angeles. An autopsy by the county coroner concluded that he was the victim of an accidental drug overdose, with "significant levels of morphine (heroin), ... codeine, the tranquilizer Librium and a trace of alcohol." By the time of his death, Butterfield was out of the commercial mainstream. Although for some, he was very much the blues man, Maria Muldaur commented "he had
6966-530: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band disbanded. In 1972, a retrospective of their career, Golden Butter: The Best of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band , was released by Elektra. After the breakup of the Butterfield Blues Band and no longer under contract with Elektra, Butterfield retreated to Woodstock, New York, where he eventually formed his next band, Paul Butterfield's Better Days, with drummer Chris Parker , guitarist Amos Garrett , singer Geoff Muldaur , pianist Ronnie Barron and bassist Billy Rich . In 1972–1973,
7095-557: The Rundgren/Powell/Sulton/Wilcox lineup, and Redux '92: Live in Japan was released on Rhino Records. As the 90s began, Rundgren was already moving away from conventional notions of what a rock producer or recording artist should be ... While Rundgren would continue to produce records for himself, and others, many of the innovative and individual technologies and business models he embraced and/or pioneered over
7224-598: The Thirteenth Confession . When Rundgren heard the record, he was struck by "all the major seventh chords and variations on augmented and suspended chords ", and it had an immediate impact on his songwriting, especially as he began to compose more on piano. He elaborated: I know for a fact that her influences were the more sophisticated side of R&B , like Jerry Ragovoy and Mann & Weil and Carole King . ... and she also had her own very original and very jazz -influenced way of seeing things. It
7353-571: The UK on a 45-rpm EP , John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Paul Butterfield , in January 1967. The Butterfield Blues Band changed its lineup, with Arnold and Davenport leaving the band, and Bloomfield going on to form his own group, Electric Flag . The band added bassist Bugsy Maugh, drummer Phillip Wilson , and saxophonists David Sanborn and Gene Dinwiddie . This lineup recorded the band's third album, The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw , in 1967. It
7482-512: The US charts, while the latter became a seminal forerunner of punk rock , although Rundgren never became known as a "punk producer". 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
7611-453: The age of 17, he formed his first band, Money, with then-best friend and roommate Randy Reed and Reed's younger brother. After graduating from Upper Darby High School in 1966, Rundgren moved to Philadelphia and began his career in Woody's Truck Stop, a blues rock group in the style of Paul Butterfield Blues Band . Rundgren stayed with the band for eight months, and in the process, they became
7740-474: The album Fathers and Sons . Waters commented, "We did a lot of the things over we did with Little Walter and Jimmy Rogers and Elgin Evans on drums [an early configuration of Waters's band] ... It's about as close as I've been [to that feel] since I first recorded it". To one reviewer, these recordings represent Paul Butterfield's best performances. The Butterfield Blues Band was invited to perform at
7869-536: The album still felt "kind of rushed through because the studio wasn't finished". Some of the other influences on the album included musical theater, jazz , and funk . A Wizard, a True Star was released in March 1973. 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. Its release coincided with the success of the "Hello It's Me" single, which gave Rundgren
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#17327905855817998-497: The album was originally called "Fungo Bat", but Rundgren, Stewkey, and Mooney have all said "Fungo Bat" was just a working title . (A fungo bat is a special baseball bat used only for practice; it is not intended to hit pitched balls.) Due to tensions which emerged during the recording of the album, Van Osten left shortly after it was completed. The Nazz then played a few shows as a trio, with temporary bassists filling Van Osten's slot, before Rundgren quit as well. At this point,
8127-533: The best-known blues harp players. In 2006, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame . Butterfield and the early members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Both panels noted his harmonica skills and his contributions to bringing blues music to a younger and broader audience. Paul Vaughn Butterfield was born on December 17, 1942 in Chicago and raised in
8256-483: The bill with the Brecker Brothers and Hall & Oates . 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. On December 7, Rundgren appeared by himself on The Midnight Special performing "Hello It's Me" while dressed in jarringly flamboyant glam attire to
8385-415: The blues with cautious respect, afraid of coming off as inauthentic. Not only did Butterfield clear the way for white musicians to build upon blues tradition (instead of merely replicating it), but his storming sound was a major catalyst in bringing electric Chicago blues to white audiences who'd previously considered acoustic Delta blues the only really genuine article. In 2006, Butterfield was inducted into
8514-408: The box set Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm . The album Keep On Moving , with only Butterfield remaining from the original lineup, was released in 1969. It was produced by veteran R&B producer and songwriter Jerry Ragovoy , reportedly brought in by Elektra to turn out a "breakout commercial hit". The album was not embraced by critics or long-time fans. It reached number 102 in
8643-409: The breakup of the group in 1971, Butterfield continued to tour and record with the band Paul Butterfield's Better Days, with his mentor Muddy Waters, and with members of the roots-rock group the Band . While still recording and performing, Butterfield died in 1987 at age 44 of an accidental drug overdose . Music critics have acknowledged his development of an original approach that places him among
8772-568: The chagrin of some of his bandmates and Bearsville executive Paul Fishkin, who recalled that Rundgren looked "like a fucking drag queen". 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. —Todd Rundgren, September 1974 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 . The band's debut record came in
8901-607: The city's Hyde Park neighborhood. The son of a lawyer and a painter, he attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools , a private school associated with the University of Chicago. Exposed to music at an early age, he studied classical flute with Walfrid Kujala, of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra . Butterfield was also athletic and was offered a track scholarship to Brown University . However,
9030-534: The concert "B.B. King & Friends", with Eric Clapton , Etta James , Albert King , Stevie Ray Vaughan , and others. Aside from "rank[ing] among the most influential harp players in the Blues", Butterfield has also been seen as pointing blues-based music in new, innovative directions. AllMusic critic Steve Huey commented, It's impossible to overestimate the importance of the doors Butterfield opened: before he came to prominence, white American musicians treated
9159-853: The country-blues purists and turned on the Fillmore generation to the pleasures of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Willie Dixon and Elmore James". In 2017, a documentary titled Horn from the Heart: the Paul Butterfield Story premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival . Directed by John Anderson and produced by Sandra Warren, it won the Outstanding Achievement Award in Filmmaking: Editing. In October 2018,
9288-448: The de facto leader of Nazz, and that a producer's credit was wrongfully withheld from him. Nazz gained minor recognition with their debut single, July 1968's "Open My Eyes" backed with " Hello It's Me ", both songs penned by Rundgren. They subsequently released three albums: Nazz (October 1968), Nazz Nazz (April 1969), and Nazz III (1971). In March 1968, New York singer-songwriter Laura Nyro released her second album, Eli and
9417-540: The documentary was released nationally in select US theaters. It has received critical acclaim, including being named a New York Times Critic's Pick, as well as features in Rolling Stone , and The Wall Street Journal . Like many Chicago blues harp players, Butterfield approached the instrument like a horn, preferring single notes to chords, and used it for soloing. His style has been described as "always intense, understated, concise, and serious", and he
9546-408: The early 1960s, Butterfield met aspiring blues guitarist Elvin Bishop . Bishop recalled: He [Butterfield] was playing more guitar than harp when I first met him. But in about six months he became serious about the harp, and he seemed to get about as good as he got in that six months. He was just a natural genius. This was in 1960 or 1961. By this time Butter had been hanging out in the ghetto for
9675-596: The emerging genre dubbed power pop , which featured melodic pop songwriting with a more aggressive performance style. They gained wider recognition thanks to the inclusion of "Open My Eyes" on Nuggets (1972), an anthology of American 1960s garage punk and psychedelia compiled by musician Lenny Kaye . The three Nazz LPs were reissued by Rhino Records on LP in 1983 and subsequently on CD with bonus demo and outtake tracks. In 2009, Spectra Records released three albums by Nazz. They were Nazz vs. Toddzila, 13th and Pine , (compilation) and Hello It's Crazy Me . In 2011,
9804-413: The first interactive album, No World Order , in 1994. Additionally, he was one of the first acts to be prominent as both an artist and producer. His notable production credits include Badfinger 's Straight Up (1971), Grand Funk Railroad 's We're an American Band (1973), the New York Dolls ' New York Dolls (1973), Meat Loaf 's Bat Out of Hell (1977), and XTC 's Skylarking (1986). He
9933-462: The first time, she asked me if I wanted to be her band leader. But the Nazz had just signed a record contract and I couldn't skip out on the band, even though it was incredibly tempting. The rest of the band struggled to accommodate his changing tastes, and tensions between all the band members had begun to build up in the interval between recording their first and second albums as a result of their shared living quarters. Tensions further increased during
10062-484: The form of the LP titled 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 rock-pop sound, Todd Rundgren's Utopia remained their highest album chart showing at number 34. Keyboardist Roger Powell recalled that Bearsville wished Utopia would have "just gone away", however, "Todd's contract called for
10191-561: The greatest singer-songwriter albums of the era. In late 1971, Rundgren was recruited to finish Badfinger 's third album Straight Up , a project George Harrison had abandoned to organize the Concert for Bangladesh , in London. The album was a hit and its two singles were similarly successful, although Rundgren was not credited for the first (" Day After Day ") and thus did not receive production royalties for that single. Rundgren said that
10320-446: The group recorded the albums Paul Butterfield's Better Days and It All Comes Back , released by Albert Grossman 's Bearsville Records . The albums reflected the influence of the participants and explored more roots- and folk-based styles. Although without an easily defined commercial style, both reached the album chart. The band did not last to record a third studio album, but its album Live at Winterland Ballroom , recorded in 1973,
10449-619: The group's appearances at the club brought them to the attention of the East Coast music community. Rothchild persuaded Holzman to agree to a third attempt at recording an album., securing the band more engagements outside of Chicago. At the last minute, the band was booked to perform at the Newport Folk Festival in July 1965. Maria Muldaur , with her husband Geoff , who later toured and recorded with Butterfield, recalled
10578-456: The group's performance as stunning; it was the first time that many of the mostly folk-music fans had heard a high-powered electric blues combo. Among those who took notice was festival regular Bob Dylan , who invited the band to back him for his first live electric performance. With little rehearsal, Dylan performed a short, four-song set the next day with Bloomfield, Arnold, and Lay (along with Al Kooper and Barry Goldberg ). The performance
10707-745: The home by the robbers as part of the crime. The new wave -tinged The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect (1982) included a cover of the Small Faces ' hit " 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
10836-540: The house band. In August 1966, the band released their second album, East-West , which reached number 65 in the album chart. In England in November 1966, Butterfield recorded several songs with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers , who had recently finished the album A Hard Road . Butterfield and Mayall contributed vocals, and Butterfield's Chicago-style blues harp was featured. Four songs were released in
10965-491: The landmark releases of the early 70s". "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 " and said that Rundgren "staked his claim to powerpop immortality [and] set the whole ball rolling". 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
11094-466: The listener. Initially targeted for the Philips CD-i platform, No World Order featured interactive controls for tempo, mood, and other parameters, along with pre-programmed mixes by Rundgren himself, Bob Clearmountain , Don Was and Jerry Harrison . The disc was also released for PC and Macintosh and in two versions on standard audio CD , the continuous mix disc No World Order and, later,
11223-466: The more song-oriented No World Order Lite . The music itself was quite a departure from Rundgren's previous work, with a dance/ techno feel and much rapping by Rundgren. The follow-up, The Individualist (1995), featured interactive video content, that could be viewed or in one case, played; it was a simple video game along with the music, which was more rock-oriented than No World Order . Rundgren returned to recording under his own name for With
11352-528: The most popular group in Philadelphia. He and bassist Carson Van Osten left before they released the eponymous first album to form the rock band Nazz in 1967. By then, Rundgren had lost interest in the blues and wanted to pursue a recording career with original songs in the style of newer records by the Beatles and the Who . As a member of the Nazz, he learned his craft as a songwriter and vocal arranger, and
11481-544: The next 20 years would have such an empowering effect on future artists as to render redundant record producers, big studios, and even record labels. — Paul Myers , A Wizard, a True Star: Todd Rundgren in the Studio The mid-1990s saw Rundgren recording under the pseudonym TR-i ("Todd Rundgren interactive") for two albums. The first of these, 1993's No World Order , consisted of hundreds of seconds-long snippets of music, that could be combined in various ways to suit
11610-425: The next few years. Rundgren was to produce Janis Joplin 's third and ultimately final album, Pearl (1971), but plans fell through, as the two artists could not get along with each other. 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 . Although his general attitude for any project
11739-508: The popular children's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse in 1986. Nearly Human (1989) and 2nd Wind (1991) were both recorded live—the former in the studio, the latter in a theater before a live audience, who were instructed to remain silent. Each song on these albums was recorded as a complete single take with no later overdubbing . Both albums marked, in part, a return to his Philly soul roots. 2nd Wind also included several excerpts from Rundgren's musical Up Against It , which
11868-516: The recording of Nazz's second album, as the other members bridled at the formerly unassuming Rundgren asserting complete control of the sessions as the producer. By the time Nazz Nazz was released, Rundgren and Van Osten had both left the Nazz, so the track selection was done without any input from them. Nazz III , which included leftover tracks from the Nazz Nazz sessions, was likewise released without Rundgren's involvement. After departing Nazz,
11997-456: The same time," and a guitar solo having "truly amazing dexterity and inflection". In 2003, Something/Anything? was ranked number 173 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" . Subsequent albums, beginning with A Wizard, a True Star and the spin-off group Utopia , saw a dramatic shift away from straightforward three-minute pop. After the success of Something/Anything? , Rundgren felt uncomfortable that he
12126-474: 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". 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. As with Ballad , much of the newer material
12255-739: The spoken-word track "Intro", in which he teaches the listener about recording flaws for an egg hunt -type game he calls "Sounds of the Studio". Magazine ads depicted a smiling Rundgren daring the reader to "ignore me". The album peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold in three years. Lead single " I Saw the Light " peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Hello It's Me", which followed late in 1973, reached number 5. According to music critic Colin Larkin , Something/Anything? has since been "rightly regarded as one of
12384-601: The two. He persuaded Butterfield to bring Bloomfield into the band, and they were signed to Elektra Records . Their first attempt to record an album, in December 1964, did not meet Rothchild's expectations. To capture their sound better, Rothchild convinced Elektra president Jac Holzman to record a live album. In the spring of 1965, the Butterfield Blues Band was recorded at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City. These recordings also failed to satisfy Rothchild, but
12513-477: The way we want it?' Our engineer didn't mind if we went and just started diddling around on the board ... It was pretty much trial and error." He took an experimental approach to the recordings, employing techniques such as varispeed and flanging , and despite having no formal training, scored music charts for string and horn arrangements. Engineer James Lowe , who Rundgren recruited for his involvement with arranger Van Dyke Parks , believed that Rundgren had become
12642-536: The weekend on Friday afternoons. "Bang The Drum All Day" was also featured in a Carnival Cruise television advertising campaign. It is now considered one of Rundgren's most popular songs. Tortured Artist marked the end of Rundgren's tenure with Bearsville Records. Rundgren signed with Warner Bros. Records , who issued his next album, A Cappella (1985), which was recorded using Rundgren's multi-tracked voice, accompanied by arrangements constructed entirely from programmed vocal samples. Rundgren scored four episodes of
12771-549: The whole sensibility and musicality and approach down pat ... He just went for it and took it all in, and he embodied the essence of what the blues was all about. Unfortunately, he lived that way a little too much." In 1964, Butterfield began his association with Elektra Records and eventually recorded seven albums for the label. After the break up of the Butterfield Blues Band in 1971, he recorded four albums for manager Albert Grossman's Bearsville Records – two with Paul Butterfield's Better Days and two solo. His last solo album
12900-424: 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." 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". Hermit of Mink Hollow
13029-530: The work, Rundgren undertook an American tour playing at smaller venues including The Bottom Line in New York and 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, Spencer Davis , Daryl Hall and John Oates and Stevie Nicks . In 1980, Utopia recorded
13158-462: The world", which later came true. Rundgren said he was initially relegated to "various old folk artists that they had who needed an upgrade: people like Ian & Sylvia , James Cotton , and other artists in Albert's stable." Shortly after producing the eponymous 1969 album by Great Speckled Bird , he was promoted as Bearsville's house engineer. Accompanied by Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm of
13287-457: Was "known for purity and intensity of his tone, his sustained breath control, and his unique ability to bend notes to his will". In his choice of notes he has been compared to Big Walter Horton , but he was never seen as an imitator of any particular harp player. Rather, he developed "a style original and powerful enough to place him in the pantheon of true blues greats". Butterfield played Hohner harmonicas (and endorsed them). He preferred
13416-411: Was Butterfield's highest-charting album, reaching number 52 on the album chart. Most of this lineup performed at the seminal Monterey Pop Festival on June 17, 1967. The band's next album, In My Own Dream , released in 1968, continued to move away from the band's Chicago blues roots towards a more soul-influenced, horn-based sound, with Butterfield singing only three songs. It reached number 79 in
13545-484: Was a complete loss of about half of my audience at that point ... This became the model for my life after that. The sound and structure of Wizard was heavily informed by Rundgren's hallucinogenic experiences. It was envisioned as a hallucinogenic-inspired "flight plan" with all the tracks seguing seamlessly into each other, starting with a "chaotic" mood and ending with a medley of his favorite soul songs. He said: "With drugs I could suddenly abstract my thought processes in
13674-607: 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. Oops! Wrong Planet (September 1977), recorded immediately after the tour, signaled the start of a more pop-oriented direction for the group. By late 1977, Rundgren was in the midst of separating from then-girlfriend Bebe Buell and their infant daughter Liv Tyler . 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
13803-482: Was adapted from the screenplay (originally titled "Prick Up Your Ears"), that British playwright Joe Orton had originally offered to the Beatles for their never-made follow-up to Help! . Rundgren was an early adopter of the NewTek Video Toaster and made several videos with it. The first, for "Change Myself" from 2nd Wind , was widely distributed as a demo reel for the Toaster. Later, he set up
13932-407: Was an early adopter and promoter of various computer technologies, such as using the Internet as a means of music distribution in the late 1990s. A native of Philadelphia, Rundgren began his professional career in the mid-1960s, forming the psychedelic band Nazz in 1967. After two years, he left Nazz to pursue a solo career and immediately scored his first US top 40 hit with " We Gotta Get You
14061-648: Was an up-tempo version of "Hello It's Me", from his 1972 Something/Anything? album, which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 22 December 1973. Van Osten largely dropped out of music, and worked for decades with The Walt Disney Company producing comic books and other media. Stewkey and Mooney reconnected and played with Fuse for a brief period using two names, Fuse or Nazz, depending on where they were gigging. Mooney would leave again, and Fuse evolved into "Sick Man of Europe", and later (without Stewkey) Cheap Trick . The Nazz proved influential on
14190-493: 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." Now relocated back to New York and experimenting with a host of psychedelic drugs , 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. His music tastes also started to lean toward
14319-499: Was delayed to the next February due to a vinyl shortage caused by the 1973 oil crisis . 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
14448-495: Was determined to equal the artistry of the Beatles. In 1968, after recording four demo discs, the Nazz were signed by Atlantic Records subsidiary Screen Gems Columbia (SGC). They were flown to Los Angeles to produce their first album at ID Sound studio. Rundgren had no prior production experience and remembered that the producer, Bill Traut , "just whipped through the mixes in a day or two ... So I got it into my head, 'Well, he's gone now, so why don't we just mix it again, more like
14577-449: Was formed at about the same time that Nazz was formed in Philadelphia. This group released only one single before moving to Los Angeles and renaming themselves Alice Cooper . The Nazz were approached at a Holiday Inn bar by manager/publicist John Kurland, who was looking for an act to manage and thought they looked like a band. After hearing them play in their space above the record shop, Kurland bargained with Warfield and Bartoff to buy
14706-889: Was hard to be friends with." Although they later became close, Michael Bloomfield commented on his first impressions of Butterfield: "He was a bad guy. He carried pistols. He was down there on the South Side , holding his own. I was scared to death of that cat". Writer and AllMusic founder Michael Erlewine , who knew Butterfield early in his recording career, described him as "always intense, somewhat remote, and even, on occasion, downright unfriendly". He remembered Butterfield as "not much interested in other people". By 1971, Butterfield had purchased his first house, in rural Woodstock, New York, and began enjoying family life with his second wife, Kathy Peterson, and their infant son, Lee. According to Maria Muldaur, she and her husband were frequent dinner guests, which usually involved sitting around
14835-438: Was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. Todd Harry Rundgren was born in Philadelphia on June 22, 1948, the son of Ruth (née Fleck; April 29, 1922 – April 6, 2016) and Harry W. Rundgren (1917–1996). His father was of Swedish descent and his mother was of Austrian and German descent. He grew up in the bordering town of Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania and taught himself how to play guitar with little help. As
14964-447: Was influential to many artists in the power pop genre. His 1973 album A Wizard, a True Star remains an influence on later generations of bedroom musicians . Rundgren is considered a pioneer in the fields of electronic music , progressive rock , music videos, computer software, and Internet music delivery. He organized the first interactive television concert in 1978, designed the first color graphics tablet in 1980, and created
15093-419: Was just playing all the time ... It was a very solitary effort. It was all internal, like he had a particular sound he wanted to get and he just worked to get it. Producer Norman Dayron recalled the young Butterfield as "very quiet and defensive and hard-edged. He was this tough Irish Catholic, kind of a hard guy. He would walk around in black shirts and sunglasses, dark shades and dark jackets ... Paul
15222-553: Was not active. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks , Rundgren created the score for the film A Face to a Name , directed by Douglas Sloan . The film depicted numerous photographs of missing New Yorkers that were displayed on Bellevue Hospital's 'wall of prayers' following the attacks. The film was part of a special screening at the Woodstock Film Festival in 2002. Nazz During 1968 and 1969,
15351-501: Was not aware of the connections until "way after the fact". 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. The year 1981 saw the album-long concept work Healing . 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 ,
15480-434: Was not originally credited to Rundgren due to his anxieties about starting a full-fledged solo career, and instead bore the moniker "Runt". The album featured a bright sound and songs inspired by Laura Nyro. It was recorded with the 17-year-old bassist Tony Fox Sales and his 14-year-old brother Hunt Sales on drums. Nazz engineer James Lowe returned for the sessions and recalled that Rundgren seemed "more able to really lead
15609-604: Was not well received by some and generated a controversy , but it was a watershed event and brought the band to the attention of a much larger audience. The band's debut album, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band , was released in 1965, reaching number 123 in the Billboard 200 album chart. On March 28, 1966, Butterfield appeared on the CBS game show To Tell the Truth . At the end of his segment, he performed "Born in Chicago" with
15738-683: Was popular on the late-1960s concert and festival circuit, with performances at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, the Fillmore East in New York City, the Monterey Pop Festival , and Woodstock . The band was known for combining electric Chicago blues with a rock urgency. and for their pioneering jazz fusion performances and recordings. The band was also among the first racially integrated blues groups. After
15867-405: Was released in 1999. Butterfield next pursued a solo career and appeared as a sideman in several different musical settings. In 1975, he again joined Muddy Waters to record Waters's last album for Chess Records , The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album . The album was recorded at Levon Helm 's Woodstock studio with Garth Hudson and members of Waters's touring band. In 1976, Butterfield performed at
15996-605: Was released in May 1978. 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 and was heralded as a "return to form" after the string of prog records with Utopia. 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 . To promote
16125-803: Was talk of putting the album out on the Colgems label, but the band objected to this as they did not want to be seen as another Monkees, who recorded for Colgems. An attempt at recording in England in January 1969 was cut short when the Musicians' Union found they had not obtained proper permission to record in the country, though before returning to the United States the Nazz did a shopping spree to update their wardrobe, building their definitive look. The Nazz then recorded their second album in Los Angeles in late 1968 and early 1969. Sources have claimed
16254-446: Was that extra layer that made her influential. A lot of those chords she got from other people. But beyond the elements of her composition, I always thought it was the way she played her own material that really sold it. ... I met her right after Eli and the Thirteenth Confession . I actually had arranged a meeting, just because I was so infatuated with her and I wanted to meet the person who had produced all this music. ... after I met her
16383-466: 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." Released in mid-1970, Runt
16512-515: 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. He is also the co-developer of the computer screensaver system Flowfazer . During this period, Rundgren's Mink Hollow home was robbed. He and his girlfriend were tied up in
16641-403: 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." The use of Ritalin also helped him focus on the process as he worked up to 12 hours
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