Todd Rundgren

A pop savant who fastidiously avoided easy categorization throughout the course of his career, Todd Rundgren straddled the gap separating a mainstream star from a cult figure. Rundgren had plenty of hits in the 1970s and '80s, many of them becoming enduring contemporary standards, such as the Carole King pastiche "I Saw the Light," the ballads "Hello, It's Me" and "Can We Still Be Friends," plus the goofy novelty "Bang on the Drum All Day." These hits displayed his sharp commercial instincts, impulses he'd wind up subverting and tweaking on such heady '70s LPs as Something/Anything, A Wizard, A True Star, and Todd, records at the core of a discography that attracted a cult audience and stayed faithful for decades. His dedicated following allowed him to pursue a number of different creative avenues, whether it was leading his art-rock-cum-AOR side band Utopia, pioneering music video and computer software, or dabbling in electronic music. Rundgren balanced these explorations with scores of productions for artists as diverse as Badfinger, Meat Loaf, Grand Funk Railroad, the New York Dolls, and XTC. Collaborations remained a key component of his work even in the 21st century: he often toured as part of Ringo Starr's All-Star Band, teamed with electronica artist Lindstrom for Runddans in 2015 and polished off unfinished tunes by the likes of Rivers Cuomo, Neil Finn and Sparks for 2022's Space Force.