Todd Rundgren is an American singer-songwriter and producer who has perform… Read Full Bio ↴Todd Rundgren is an American singer-songwriter and producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as founder of the band Utopia. Starting in the 1960s with the psychedelic band Nazz in Philadelphia, his solo career started out successfully with such hits as "I Saw the Light" and "Hello It's Me" (a reworked Nazz tune). With his 1972 release 'Something/Anything?' seen as a magnum opus due to its mix of power pop, rock n roll, and more. Utopia (or Todd Rundgren's Utopia) concentrated on eccentric progressive epics. His acclaimed production effort started early, with work for Sparks and the New York Dolls, and continued with Meat Loaf, XTC, The Psychedelic Furs, and many others. Continuing to release solo albums over the years, he's created many other hits, the novelty tune "Bang the Drum All Day" in particular seeming timeless.

Rundgren is well known among his fans as being an electronic music revolutionary. His skilled production techniques, matched by his belief that he has ability to play just about any instrument at a mastery level, has allowed him to release some of the most honest and personal music of his time. Many of his solo albums, including Something/Anything?]' were made completely by himself. That is, he played all the instruments, sang all the vocals, did all of the recording, editing, mixing, and mastering.

Website: http://www.tr-i.com/

Core discography:

With Nazz:
1968 - Nazz
1969 - Nazz Nazz
1970 - Nazz III

Solo:
1970 - Runt
1971 - Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
1972 - Something/Anything?
1973 - A Wizard, a True Star
1974 - Todd
1975 - Initiation
1976 - Faithful
1978 - Hermit of Mink Hollow
1978 - Back to the Bars (live)
1981 - Healing
1983 - The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect
1985 - A Cappella
1989 - Nearly Human
1991 - 2nd Wind
1993 - No World Order
1995 - The Individualist
1997 - With a Twist
1998 - Up Against It
2000 - One Long Year
2003 - Can't Stop Running (live box set)
2004 - Liars
2008 - Arena
2011 - Todd Rundgren's Johnson
2011 - (re)Production
2013 - State
2015 - Global
2015 - Runddans (collaboration with Emil Nikolaisen and Hans-Peter Lindstrøm)
2017 - White Knight

With Utopia:
1974 - Todd Rundgren's Utopia
1975 - Another Live
1976 (released 2001) - Disco Jets
1977 - Ra
1977 - Oops! Wrong Planet
1980 - Adventures in Utopia
1980 - Deface the Music
1982 - Swing to the Right
1982 - Utopia
1984 - Oblivion
1985 - P.O.V.
2003 - Last of the New Wave Riders (live box set)

Breathless
Todd Rundgren Lyrics

Instrumental

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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TRACKS

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01We Got To Get You A Woman2:52

02Baby Let's Swing / The Last Thing You Said / Don't Tie My Hands5:28

03Be Nice To Me3:25

04Broke Down And Busted4:32

05A Long Time, A Long Way To Go2:12

06Parole4:22

07I Saw The Light3:00

08Marlene3:54

09Couldn't I Just Tell You3:22

10Wolfman Jack2:56

11Hello It's Me3:52

12Cold Morning Light3:35

13Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel4:16

14Does Anybody Love You?1:31

15A Dream Goes On Forever2:21

PT3M15S

21Good Vibrations3:44

22When I Pray2:58

23Love Of The Common Man3:36

24Black And White4:44

25Can We Still Be Friends?3:37

26Determination3:24

27You Cried Wolf2:33

28Onomatopoeia1:34

29It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference3:50

30Don't You Ever Learn?6:06

35Bang The Drum All Day3:38

36Chant4:20

37Hideaway5:00

38Emperor Of The Highway1:39

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Comments from YouTube:

@rosyrose123

2y↑12

This is my favorite Todd Rundgren song. I can't explain why, it just is.

@rembeadgc

4y↑36

Nobody but Todd Rundgren makes depressing chord progressions feel so good.

@user-yj8bs5kj7b

20w

I remember hearing this for the first time many years ago when stereo systems had big boxes full of woofers, midrange and tweeters. The speakers could be spread out and could reproduce and carry anything that was done in the studio. Hearing "Breathless" for the first time was a transcendental experience.

@brucehutchison5260

5y↑38

True 70's madness.

@RufusT9

2y↑6

That, and the intro track preceding it opening side 2 of Something/Anything?, quite possibly the coolest sounds of 1972.

@janpoelkamp4229

3y↑16

The first part sounds like an alien’s idea of 70’s pop music. Then it moves into this peppy piano-led thing (check out Wings’ Little Woman Love) mixed with La Bamba. It’s over before you know it, but it (and the sound effects sibling) pops up just when you think you’re listening to a 70’s singer/songwriter album, it pushes boundaries and it really foreshadows A Wizard, A True Star.

@k-leb4671

What do you mean by the sound effects sibling?

@progrockdude2691

2y↑1

@K-leb Pretty sure they're referring to the track "Intro" that preceded it on the album.

@benbrownjr.7626

3y↑5

Only Todd could make muzak sound amazing

@ricarleite

4y↑16

So ahead of its time... I wonder what people who originally heard this thought of it...

@adityaroy7616

3y↑6

Still feels hella visionary.

@sk83below

3y↑1

Dude. My thoughts exactly.

@janpoelkamp4229

Critics didn’t know what to make of it. They preferred Todd The Songwriter, but his love for the bizarre made him (and Utopia) difficult to categorize.

@grantbusse9073

For real though!!!

@meyou3217

2y↑1

This sounds like a variation of Vince Guaraldi's "Pitkin County Blues" from the early 1970's. That progressive bass line is a near match! Both songs sound like each artist's take on a specific bass line foundation.

@KylesDigitalLab

Do you mean the middle section with the piano? It sounds more like Guaraldi's "Treat Street" from 1964. If I ever get to meet Todd (might get the the meet and greet package if he does another tour near me) I'll ask him. I've met his wife Michele back in November.

@syakaifukki

21w

めっちゃ懐かしい。。
高校の時最高にハマってた😂

@SonofMrPeanut

3y↑10

The first/third parts would make for a great JRPG battle theme, and the middle would work perfectly in Mario Kart.

Play at 1.25x to really hear what I mean.

@reubenc0039

3y↑1

yooooooo so true

@k-leb4671

2y↑3

@Swiggu Jones What's funny to me about Japan being the dominator of video games, is that many kids grew up with both recent pop music (recent in this context being the past 25 years) and Japanese video games. These same kids think a lot of the video game music they heard is super unique, perhaps better and more interesting than the radio music of their time.
But in reality, it's almost all heavily inspired by Western artists that they just haven't been able to hear yet.

@andywebb2778

1y↑1

Sweeter Memories...the whole darn double album.

@Ivybeck2000

4y↑3

timeless.

@ambueh22

4y↑5

I'm convinced that Of Montreal's album 'Satanic Panic in the Attack' uses this particular track as a singular source for its inspiration. Go listen and hear for yourself!

@benbrownjr.7626

3y↑1

I would also add almost anything on Haunted Graffiti by Ariel Pink

@balmainrichard1335

46w↑2

@Ben Brown Jr. Oh yeah i agree, wasn't Todd one of Ariel Pink's favourite artists?

@ptownsgm

6y↑11

Background music for CONCERT HAPPENINGS on the best radio station ever WNEW FM 102.7 New York New York and we miss them!

@zorantaylor3190

I wasn't around for that, but this comment is interesting for me because I've always felt that if I had my own radio show, I would use this as a consistent opening theme....

@benkleschinsky

4y↑8

Keep in mind at 2:03, this was a decade before Nintendo released Mario Brothers.

@IvanDSM

4y↑5

Mario Brothers is not from Atari, it's from Nintendo. As for the song itself you're close but no cigar, the music for Mario Bros. is based on The Beatles' Ballad of John and Yoko.

@zachsmith3

@IvanDSM I don’t hear the similarities between ballad of John and Yoko and Mario theme

@IvanDSM

2y↑2

@Zach Smith Sorry, I made a mistake! The song that is based off of the Ballad of John and Yoko is the Donkey Kong theme.

@k-leb4671

Is this comment a joke?
I mean, Atari? Really?

@benkleschinsky

@K-leb Yes I don't know why I wrote that. Lol!

2 More Replies...

@naminanu23

4y↑24

2:31 Synthgasm

@genaldoaaujo1496

3y↑2

Dá vontade
Dançar ,v

@MikeHawk-tj3dz

3y↑4

PARA BAILAR LA BAMBA!!

@spmsc9586

47w

LO MISMO PENSE KAJKADJKADJKADJA

@pachucodreams

5y↑31

That breathing part is so goddamn attention grabbing.

@jondunmore4268

5y↑1

What IS that "breathing" anyway? So funny and cute and horrifying at the same time. 2:29

@naomiomiom

5y↑4

@Jon Dunmore not sure if this is actually how he actually did it but it sounds like to me he recorded the kick and hi hat pattern from the c78 drum machine he was using then proceeded to slow the tape down and record that little panting part so once its played at normal speed it has that weird alien quality to it. real inventive guy when it comes to production

@lea115511

@Declan’s World it sounds more like La Bamba

@pp-ff6bk

3y↑2

@Declan’s World C78 drum machine was invented in 1978

@naomiomiom

@p p yeah lol hehe idk why i said that it was 2 years ago. i was a younger man, a dumber man, a more hopeful man... these days all i seem to do is mope about the house, missing what i useta have. ah i can still picture my girl sittin in that chair on the porch, the way those sun beams danced around her golden head sometimes i couldnt tell where those beams began and she ended. she was funny like that, everyone that met that girl fell in love with her. shame what happened. well, i'd best be off, you don't wanna hear an old man patter on much longer. i'll be seein you (as i walk off i get hit by a bus)

1 More Replies...

@charlesmann5516

4y↑3

Around on the Carousel...A Renaissance of breathlessness....

@alandhopewell

3y↑3

One of the local tv public affairs programs used this as the opening theme.

@imautopian

5y↑4

Aaahhh so cool just gotta luv him!

@Frankincensedjb123

4y↑5

Good for the roller rink. Let's all grab hands and ...... roll!

@daleschilling9855

4y↑12

Correct me if I’m wrong, but at 1:38 (and other parts), isnt that the LaBamba riff?

@alyosha917

4y↑1

I think so!

@hgrunt100

Yeah it 100% is. This song is all over the place but it's amazing

@tryharder8614

3y↑5

It's Vince Guaraldi's "Treat Street."

@timc844

Try Harder got it correct: it's Guaraldi's "Treat Street"

@michaelhaniotes5104

34w

I did this once
A most difficult song

@michaelhaniotes5104

34w↑1

Todd refined Multi tracking

@michaelhaniotes5104

34w

Refined

@theonlycaamz

2y↑2

reminds me a lot of bruce haack

@johnkevany8963

3y↑1

A prmo theme on WNEW-FM in New York City in the 60s-80s

@timyoung8935

Anybody else catch the synth saying "I just want to fuck you?" This song even got used on ABC TV to accompany video clips on "Wide World of Sports!"

@dalexkom

genius proof here

@rolleddebacle7391

Sonic vibes

@thomasclafton563

5y↑9

Was Vince Guarldi ever given credit from Treat street. About 1:35 in.

@grannychannel

4y↑2

I don't think so. He wouldn't be around for much longer after this came out, I do'n't think he got credit for it on any pressing of this, but people noticed, certainly.