In the Hall of Fame or Not, Todd Rundgren Continues to Chart His Own Course

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Upper Darby’s Todd Rundgren has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but it’s not something he really wanted, writes Dan DeLuca for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

While Rundgren’s talent and accomplishments earned him a Hall of Fame spot, he’s actually avoided the steady, career-building model of other inductees.

His career, instead, has been a restless, unfocused creative life.

He’s been eligible since 1996, but not nominated until 2019 and again in 2020. That’s for an artist who had hits like “Can We Still Be Friends,” and “Bang the Drum All Day”; an artist whose Bat Out of Hell is one of the biggest selling albums of all time, and who’s produced artists like Patti Smith, XTC, and Meatloaf.

Rundgren is lukewarm to the whole thing.

“True Halls of Fame, to me, are for retirees and dead people, because your legacy has been established,” he said. “I’m too busy working to worry about my legacy.”

The 72-year-old singer has followed his own creative instincts. It’s demonstrated in a career with multiple signature styles.  That, in the end, may be why it took the Rock Hall so long to recognize him.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about Todd Rundgren’s  different path to the Hall of Fame.

For Todd Rundgren fans, here’s a second performance video to check out.

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