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)
Ooh Baby Baby
Todd Rundgren Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm so proud, I'm so proud, I'm so proud of you
'Cause you're only one fellow's girl
I'm so proud, I'm so proud, I'm so proud of you
I'm so proud of being loved by you
And it would hurt, hurt to know,
if you ever were untrue, yeah
Sweeter than the taste of a cherry so sweet
I'm so proud of you
Compliments to you from all the people we meet
Yes babe and I'm so proud, I'm so proud,
I'm so proud of you
I'm so proud of being loved by you
I did you wrong
My heart went out to play
But in the game I lost you
What a price to pay
I'm crying - ooh baby, baby
Mistakes
I know I've made a few
But I'm only human
You've made mistakes too
I'm crying - ooh, baby, baby
I'm just about at
The end of my rope
But I can't stop trying
I can't give up hope
'Cause I believe
One day I'll hold you near
Whisper I still love you
Until that day is here
I'm crying - ooh baby, baby
Many guys have come to you
With a line that wasn't true
And then you pass them by
Now you're in the center ring
And their lies don't mean a thing
Why won't you let me try
Now I don't have a diamond ring
I don't even know a song to sing
All I know is La La means
I love you
If I ever saw a girl
That I needed in this world
You are the one for me
Let me take you in my arms
And fill you with my charms
I'm sure that you will see
The things I am saying are true
And the way that I say them to you
Can't you hear me, La La means
I love you
Cool jerk, cool jerk, cool jerk, cool jerk
This cat they're talking about
I wonder who could it be
'Cause I know I'm the heaviest cat
The heaviest cat you ever did see
When you see me walking down the street
And they clapping and they speak
All the business they wish to whisper it
But they know I'm the king of the cool jerks
Ah ha ha
Look at them guys looking at me like I'm a fool
Ah but deep down inside they know I'm cool
I said now,
I said now the moment of truth has finally come
When I was gonna do some, some of that cool jerk
All right, now I want to hear a little bit
of the drums by himself here
All right, now I want to hear a little bit of
a bass with those eighty-eights
All right, now let's hear the organ player fall in
All right now everybody, I wanna hear you howl
Ah you're cooking, you're smoking
Come on people can you do it?
The lyrics to Todd Rundgren's song Medley: I'm So Proud / Ooh Baby Baby / La La Means I Love You / Cool Jerk are a mix of four different songs. The first song, "I'm So Proud," speaks of the pride one feels in a loved one. The singer sings of how he is proud of his girl and how she is the only one for him. He praises her beauty and sweetness and talks about how hurt he would be if she were ever untrue. The second song, "Ooh Baby Baby," talks about a man who has hurt his lover and lost her but is filled with remorse and sadness. He acknowledges his mistakes but still hopes for a reunion. The third song, "La La Means I Love You," is a classic love song that speaks of how the singer has found the one he needs in the world and is certain that La La means "I love you." The fourth and final song, "Cool Jerk," is a dance song that celebrates the singer's coolness and the attention he gets from others.
The medley showcases Todd Rundgren's versatility as a singer and musician. The four songs are all different genres and styles, but they blend together seamlessly in the medley. The medley also displays Rundgren's ability to tell a story through his music. Each song has a different focus and tells a different story, but together they create a cohesive narrative of love, loss, and celebration.
Line by Line Meaning
You're prettier than all the world
You are the most beautiful person in the world
And I'm so proud, I'm so proud, I'm so proud of you
I am very proud of being with you
'Cause you're only one fellow's girl
You belong to only one guy
I'm so proud of being loved by you
I am very proud of being loved by you
And it would hurt, hurt to know, if you ever were untrue, yeah
It would be very painful for me if you were to cheat on me
Sweeter than the taste of a cherry so sweet
You are sweeter than a cherry
Compliments to you from all the people we meet
Everyone we meet compliments you
Yes babe and I'm so proud, I'm so proud, I'm so proud of you
Yes, I am very proud of being with you
I did you wrong
I made a mistake and hurt you
My heart went out to play
I let my emotions and desires get the best of me
But in the game I lost you
But as a result, I lost you
What a price to pay
It was a heavy price to pay for my mistake
Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes
I know I've made a few
I have made some mistakes too
But I'm only human
But I am only human
You've made mistakes too
You have made mistakes as well
I'm just about at the end of my rope
I am almost at my breaking point
But I can't stop trying
But I cannot give up
I can't give up hope
I cannot lose hope
'Cause I believe
Because I believe
One day I'll hold you near
One day I will hold you close to me
Whisper I still love you
Whispering that I still love you
Until that day is here
Until that day comes
Many guys have come to you
Many guys have tried to get with you
With a line that wasn't true
With lies and false promises
And then you pass them by
But you rejected them
Now you're in the center ring
Now you are in the spotlight
And their lies don't mean a thing
Their lies are meaningless now
Why won't you let me try
Why won't you let me give it a shot
Now I don't have a diamond ring
I do not have a diamond ring to offer you
I don't even know a song to sing
I do not even have a song to sing to you
All I know is La La means I love you
All I know is that 'La La' means I love you
If I ever saw a girl
If I ever saw a girl like you
That I needed in this world
That I desperately needed in my life
You are the one for me
You are the perfect one for me
Let me take you in my arms
Let me hold you in my arms
And fill you with my charms
And charm you with my love
I'm sure that you will see
I am certain that you will understand
The things I am saying are true
The things I am saying are genuine
And the way that I say them to you
And the way I express them to you
Can't you hear me, La La means I love you
Can't you hear me saying that 'La La' means I love you?
Cool jerk, cool jerk, cool jerk, cool jerk
The cool dance, cool dance, cool dance, cool dance
This cat they're talking about
This guy they are referring to
I wonder who could it be
I wonder who that could be
'Cause I know I'm the heaviest cat
Because I know I am the coolest guy
The heaviest cat you ever did see
The coolest guy you have ever seen
When you see me walking down the street
When you see me walking by
And they clapping and they speak
And they are clapping and talking about me
All the business they wish to whisper it
All the rumors they want to spread about me
But they know I'm the king of the cool jerks
But they know I am the king of the cool dance
Ah ha ha
Haha
Look at them guys looking at me like I'm a fool
Look at those guys looking at me as if I am foolish
Ah but deep down inside they know I'm cool
But deep down they know I am cool
I said now, I said now the moment of truth has finally come
Now the moment of truth has finally arrived
When I was gonna do some, some of that cool jerk
When I was going to do some of that cool dance
All right, now I want to hear a little bit of the drums by himself here
All right, now I want to hear the drums play alone for a bit
All right, now I want to hear a little bit of a bass with those eighty-eights
All right, now I want to hear the bass play a bit with the piano
All right, now let's hear the organ player fall in
All right, now let's hear the organ player join in
All right now everybody, I wanna hear you howl
All right now everybody, let's hear you shout
Ah you're cooking, you're smoking
You all are doing great
Come on people can you do it?
Come on people, can you dance the cool jerk?
Contributed by John F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Adrian Jae
Mike Bailey Notwithstanding ‘mike584’ posted his comment 10 years ago and for all we know may or may not add a comment at some future stage, I’m quite sure his closing narrative was meant with a jestful ‘wink of the eye’ as indeed was the subtlety of the amusing anecdote in your ‘return of serve’ as to interpret it as sarcasm is more of an insult to The Miracles and the 2 members that co-wrote it Pete Moore and lead vocalist Smokey Robinson who also produced their original recording which was released in 1965. It’s been covered by many recording artists since including Linda Ronstadt in 1978 and although a credible version the saxophone arrangement is instrumental (no pun intended) to the recording and to my ears sounds very much like David Sanborn . The sax adds another dimension to the recording and without that additional layer the onus is on her to perform it respectful of the original (which she does) but occasionally leaving her vocal comfort zone .
The original is out on its own , one of the greatest 3 minutes of heartache and remorse , pleading for forgiveness, the trembling quivering emotion in Smokey’s vocal , the harmonies and the orchestration overwhelms me every time, hair’s on end, tears in eyes . I’ve always maintained that a cover version should either improve on the original or totally and drastically different otherwise why bother ? Perfection can’t be improved so record it rearranged.
All the following artists versions are commendable:-
The Escorts
The Moments
The Five Stairsteps
Laura Nyro
Also the Darryl Hall sessions and the Teens Marie performance in front of Smokey himself !
Lridesagain
Todd never disappoints. What a voice. Makes you want to melt.
RMoribayashi
WMMR was one of the few good things about living in Philadelphia in the 1970's. The live broadcasts from Sigma Sound Studios (Same studio Bowie recorded "Young Americans") were manna from heaven.
Christian L
Philly in the 70s must have been fun but I would rather have lived in New York at that time
Joanne Krasnozon
I don't think there's a better version of this song 💖
Painting Tosser
Laura Nyro's cover is great.
Foxy Chariot
OG is more of a true 60s compressed-in-mono kind of soul song and this has more of that 70s polish to it
Freddy López
excelente interpretación de Todd, un clásico para escuchar
Bamaboompa
Great version I've never heard. Check Todd & Smokey out on Live From Daryl's House w/ Daryl Hall. Fantastic series.
Nicolás Aguilar
this sounds soooooo good, thanks!
Jackie Morris-Lopez
ahhh, love this man then and now! saw him 6 months ago and still kills it!