The Taj Mahal ( or ; , from Persian/}} "crown of buildings", ; also "the Taj") is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."

Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural styles.

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.

Origin and inspiration

Should guilty seek asylum here, Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin. Should a sinner make his way to this mansion, All his past sins are to be washed away. The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs; And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes. In this world this edifice has been made; To display thereby the creator's glory.

Architecture

The tomb

The marble dome that surmounts the tomb is the most spectacular feature. Its height of around is about the same as the length of the base, and is accentuated as it sits on a cylindrical "drum" which is roughly high. Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome or ''amrud'' (guava dome). The top is decorated with a lotus design, which also serves to accentuate its height. The shape of the dome is emphasised by four smaller domed ''chattris'' (kiosks) placed at its corners, which replicate the onion shape of the main dome. Their columned bases open through the roof of the tomb and provide light to the interior. Tall decorative spires (''guldastas'') extend from edges of base walls, and provide visual emphasis to the height of the dome. The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldastas. The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial, which mixes traditional Persian and Hindustani decorative elements.

The main finial was originally made of gold but was replaced by a copy made of gilded bronze in the early 19th century. This feature provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements. The finial is topped by a moon, a typical Islamic motif whose horns point heavenward. Because of its placement on the main spire, the horns of the moon and the finial point combine to create a trident shape, reminiscent of traditional Hindu symbols of Shiva.

Exterior decoration

Throughout the complex, passages from the Qur'an are used as decorative elements. Recent scholarship suggests that the passages were chosen by Amanat Khan. The texts refer to themes of judgment and include: Surah 36 – Ya Sin Surah 39 – The Crowds Surah 48 – Victory Surah 67 – Dominion Surah 77 – Those Sent Forth Surah 81 – The Folding Up Surah 82 – The Cleaving Asunder Surah 84 – The Rending Asunder Surah 89 – Daybreak Surah 91 – The Sun Surah 93 – Morning Light Surah 94 – The Solace Surah 95 – The Fig Surah 98 – The Evidence Surah 112 – The Purity of Faith

The calligraphy on the Great Gate reads ''"O Soul, thou art at rest. Return to the Lord at peace with Him, and He at peace with you."''

The calligraphy was created by a calligrapher named Abd ul-Haq, in 1609. Shah Jahan conferred the title of "Amanat Khan" upon him as a reward for his "dazzling virtuosity". Near the lines from the Qur'an at the base of the interior dome is the inscription, "Written by the insignificant being, Amanat Khan Shirazi." Much of the calligraphy is composed of florid thuluth script, made of jasper or black marble, inlaid in white marble panels. Higher panels are written in slightly larger script to reduce the skewing effect when viewed from below. The calligraphy found on the marble cenotaphs in the tomb is particularly detailed and delicate.

Abstract forms are used throughout, especially in the plinth, minarets, gateway, mosque, jawab and, to a lesser extent, on the surfaces of the tomb. The domes and vaults of the sandstone buildings are worked with tracery of incised painting to create elaborate geometric forms. Herringbone inlays define the space between many of the adjoining elements. White inlays are used in sandstone buildings, and dark or black inlays on the white marbles. Mortared areas of the marble buildings have been stained or painted in a contrasting colour, creating geometric patterns of considerable complexity. Floors and walkways use contrasting tiles or blocks in tessellation patterns.

On the lower walls of the tomb there are white marble dados that have been sculpted with realistic bas relief depictions of flowers and vines. The marble has been polished to emphasise the exquisite detailing of the carvings and the dado frames and archway spandrels have been decorated with pietra dura inlays of highly stylised, almost geometric vines, flowers and fruits. The inlay stones are of yellow marble, jasper and jade, polished and levelled to the surface of the walls.

Interior decoration

The interior chamber of the Taj Mahal steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. Here, the inlay work is not pietra dura, but a lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones. The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face, although only the door facing the garden to the south is used.

The interior walls are about high and are topped by a "false" interior dome decorated with a sun motif. Eight pishtaq arches define the space at ground level and, as with the exterior, each lower pishtaq is crowned by a second pishtaq about midway up the wall. The four central upper arches form balconies or viewing areas, and each balcony's exterior window has an intricate screen or ''jali'' cut from marble. In addition to the light from the balcony screens, light enters through roof openings covered by chattris at the corners. Each chamber wall has been highly decorated with dado bas-relief, intricate lapidary inlay and refined calligraphy panels, reflecting in miniature detail the design elements seen throughout the exterior of the complex.

The octagonal marble screen or ''jali'' which borders the cenotaphs is made from eight marble panels which have been carved through with intricate pierce work. The remaining surfaces have been inlaid in extremely delicate detail with semi-precious stones forming twining vines, fruits and flowers.

Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves. Hence, the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan were put in a relatively plain crypt beneath the inner chamber with their faces turned right and towards Mecca. Mumtaz Mahal's cenotaph is placed at the precise center of the inner chamber on a rectangular marble base of by .

Both the base and casket are elaborately inlaid with precious and semiprecious gems. Calligraphic inscriptions on the casket identify and praise Mumtaz. On the lid of the casket is a raised rectangular lozenge meant to suggest a writing tablet. Shah Jahan's cenotaph is beside Mumtaz's to the western side, and is the only visible asymmetric element in the entire complex. His cenotaph is bigger than his wife's, but reflects the same elements: a larger casket on a slightly taller base, again decorated with astonishing precision with lapidary and calligraphy that identifies him. On the lid of this casket is a traditional sculpture of a small pen box.

The pen box and writing tablet were traditional Mughal funerary icons decorating the caskets of men and women respectively. The Ninety Nine Names of God are found as calligraphic inscriptions on the sides of the actual tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, in the crypt including ''"O Noble, O Magnificent, O Majestic, O Unique, O Eternal, O Glorious... "''. The tomb of Shah Jahan bears a calligraphic inscription that reads; "He traveled from this world to the banquet-hall of Eternity on the night of the twenty-sixth of the month of Rajab, in the year 1076 Hijri."

The garden

Most Mughal charbaghs are rectangular with a tomb or pavilion in the center. The Taj Mahal garden is unusual in that the main element, the tomb, is located at the end of the garden. With the discovery of Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden" on the other side of the Yamuna, the interpretation of the Archaeological Survey of India is that the Yamuna river itself was incorporated into the garden's design and was meant to be seen as one of the rivers of Paradise. The similarity in layout of the garden and its architectural features with the Shalimar Gardens suggest that they may have been designed by the same architect, Ali Mardan. Early accounts of the garden describe its profusion of vegetation, including abundant roses, daffodils, and fruit trees. As the Mughal Empire declined, the tending of the garden also declined, and when the British took over the management of Taj Mahal during the time of the British Empire, they changed the landscaping to resemble that of lawns of London.

Outlying buildings

The main gateway (''darwaza'') is a monumental structure built primarily of marble which is reminiscent of Mughal architecture of earlier emperors. Its archways mirror the shape of tomb's archways, and its ''pishtaq'' arches incorporate the calligraphy that decorates the tomb. It utilises bas-relief and pietra dura inlaid decorations with floral motifs. The vaulted ceilings and walls have elaborate geometric designs, like those found in the other sandstone buildings of the complex.

At the far end of the complex, there are two grand red sandstone buildings that are open to the sides of the tomb. Their backs parallel the western and eastern walls, and the two buildings are precise mirror images of each other. The western building is a mosque and the other is the ''jawab'' (answer), whose primary purpose was architectural balance, although it may have been used as a guesthouse. The distinctions between these two buildings include the lack of ''mihrab'' (a niche in a mosque's wall facing Mecca) in the ''jawab'' and that the floors of ''jawab'' have a geometric design, while the mosque floor was laid with outlines of 569 prayer rugs in black marble. The mosque's basic design of a long hall surmounted by three domes is similar to others built by Shah Jahan, particularly to his ''Masjid-Jahan Numa'', or Jama Masjid, Delhi. The Mughal mosques of this period divide the sanctuary hall into three areas, with a main sanctuary and slightly smaller sanctuaries on either side. At the Taj Mahal, each sanctuary opens onto an enormous vaulting dome. These outlying buildings were completed in 1643.

Construction

The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway. Since the complex was built in stages, discrepancies exist in completion dates due to differing opinions on "completion". For example, the mausoleum itself was essentially complete by 1643, but work continued on the rest of the complex. Estimates of the cost of construction vary due to difficulties in estimating costs across time. The total cost has been estimated to be about 32 million Rupees at that time.

The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia and over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. The translucent white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, twenty eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.

thumb|upright|Artist's impression of the Taj Mahal, from the Smithsonian Institution A labour force of twenty thousand workers was recruited across northern India. Sculptors from Bukhara, calligraphers from Syria and Persia, inlayers from southern India, stonecutters from Baluchistan, a specialist in building turrets, another who carved only marble flowers were part of the thirty-seven men who formed the creative unit. Some of the builders involved in construction of Taj Mahal are: Ismail Afandi (a.ka. Ismail Khan) of the Ottoman Empire — Turkish architect, designer of the main dome. Ustad Isa and Isa Muhammad Effendi of Persia — Turkish architect, trained by Koca Mimar Sinan Agha of the Ottoman Empire and frequently credited with a key role in the architectural design. 'Puru' from Benarus, Persia — has been mentioned as a supervising architect.

History

Soon after the Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the mausoleum next to his wife.

By the late 19th century, parts of the buildings had fallen badly into disrepair. During the time of the Indian rebellion of 1857, the Taj Mahal was defaced by British soldiers and government officials, who chiselled out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls. At the end of the 19th century, British viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908. He also commissioned the large lamp in the interior chamber, modelled after one in a Cairo mosque. During this time the garden was remodelled with British-style lawns that are still in place today.

More recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura Oil Refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives. The pollution has been turning the Taj Mahal yellow. To help control the pollution, the Indian government has set up the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), a 10,400 square kilometre (4,015 square mile) area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place.

Tourism

The small town to the south of the Taj, known as Taj Ganji or Mumtazabad, was originally constructed with caravanserais, bazaars and markets to serve the needs of visitors and workmen. Lists of recommended travel destinations often feature the Taj Mahal, which also appears in several listings of seven wonders of the modern world, including the recently announced New Seven Wonders of the World, a recent poll with 100 million votes.

The grounds are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, except for Friday when the complex is open for prayers at the mosque between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The complex is open for night viewing on the day of the full moon and two days before and after, excluding Fridays and the month of Ramadan. For security reasons only five items—water in transparent bottles, small video cameras, still cameras, mobile phones and small ladies' purses—are allowed inside the Taj Mahal.

Controversies

Ever since its construction, the building has been the source of an admiration transcending culture and geography, and so personal and emotional responses have consistently eclipsed scholastic appraisals of the monument. A longstanding myth holds that Shah Jahan planned a mausoleum to be built in black marble across the Yamuna river. The idea originates from fanciful writings of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a European traveller who visited Agra in 1665. It was suggested that Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb before it could be built. Ruins of blackened marble across the river in ''Moonlight Garden'', Mahtab Bagh, seemed to support this legend. However, excavations carried out in the 1990s found that they were discolored white stones that had turned black. A more credible theory for the origins of the black mausoleum was demonstrated in 2006 by archaeologists who reconstructed part of the pool in the Moonlight Garden. A dark reflection of the white mausoleum could clearly be seen, befitting Shah Jahan's obsession with symmetry and the positioning of the pool itself.

No evidence exists for claims that describe, often in horrific detail, the deaths, dismemberments and mutilations which Shah Jahan supposedly inflicted on various architects and craftsmen associated with the tomb. Some stories claim that those involved in construction signed contracts committing themselves to have no part in any similar design. Similar claims are made for many famous buildings. No evidence exists for claims that Lord William Bentinck, governor-general of India in the 1830s, supposedly planned to demolish the Taj Mahal and auction off the marble. Bentinck's biographer John Rosselli says that the story arose from Bentinck's fund-raising sale of discarded marble from Agra Fort.

Another myth suggests that beating the silhouette of the finial will cause water to come forth. To this day, officials find broken bangles surrounding the silhouette.

In 2000, India's Supreme Court dismissed P. N. Oak's petition to declare that a Hindu king built the Taj Mahal. Oak claimed that origins of the Taj, together with other historic structures in the country currently ascribed to Muslim sultans pre-date Muslim rule of India and thus, have a Hindu origin.

Replicas

See also

References

External links

Category:1654 establishments Category:Agra Category:Buildings and structures in Agra Category:Domes Category:Indian architecture Category:Islamic architecture Category:Mausoleums in India Category:Monuments and memorials in India Category:Mughal architecture Category:Mughal gardens Category:Tourism in Uttar Pradesh Category:Visitor attractions in Agra Category:World Heritage Sites in India Category:Persian gardens

Jorge Ben Jor (born March 22, 1942 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian popular musician. His characteristic style fuses samba, funk, and rock into samba-rock, with lyrics that blend humor and satire with often esoteric subject matter.

Biography

Early life and career

Jorge Ben obtained his first pandeiro (Brazil's most popular type of tambourine) when he was thirteen, and two years later, was singing in a church choir. He also took part as a pandeiro player in the blocos of Carnival, and from eighteen years of age, he began performing at parties and nightclubs with the guitar his mother gave him.

It was at one of those clubs in which he performed that his musical career took off. In 1963, Jorge came on stage and sang "Mas Que Nada" (or "no way") to a small crowd that happened to include an executive from the recording company, Philips. One week later, Jorge Ben's first single was released.

The hybrid rhythms that Jorge employed brought him some problems at the start of his career, when Brazilian music was split between the rockier sounds of the Jovem Guarda and traditional samba with its complex lyrics. But as that phase in Brazilian pop music history passed, and bossa nova became more well known throughout the world, Jorge rose to prominence.

Jorge Ben's first public appearances were in small festivals organised by his friends, where bossa nova and rock and roll predominated. As with most musicians of the time, Jorge was initially influenced by João Gilberto even though he was quite innovative in his own right. The aforementioned song, "Mas Que Nada", was his first big hit in Brazil, and remains to this day the most played song in the USA sung entirely in Portuguese. Outside of Brazil, the song is better known by its cover versions from both Sérgio Mendes and Tamba Trio. The song has also been reinterpreted by jazz luminaries such as Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie and Al Jarreau; as well as other samba artists of the time, such as Elza Soares. His song 1976 song about soccer, called"Umbabarauma", is a tune which is also frequently covered by many artists—of many genres.It was originally featured on his album África Brasil.

Success

In the 1970s, Jorge Ben released his most esoteric and experimental albums, most notably "A Tábua de Esmeralda" in 1974, "Solta o Pavão" in 1975 and "África Brasil" in 1976; the latter album's track "Xica da Silva" receiving a single release in many territories in Europe but retitled as "Chica da Silva" for ease of pronunciation. These three albums were not greeted with much popular success at the time but are regarded as classics today.

In 1989, Jorge changed his recording label as well as his artistic name, becoming Jorge Benjor (or Jorge Ben Jor). At the time, it was said that there were numerological reasons for his change in name, although it did in fact have more to do with problems in relation to his rights as a composer of music. Nonetheless, from this point on, Jorge's music became more pop oriented even though it did manage to maintain its swing.

He is known internationally as the composer of the Sérgio Mendes hit "Mas Que Nada", his own hit single "Taj Mahal" is recognizable (and was legally recognized in a plagiarism lawsuit) as the source of the melody in Rod Stewart's hit "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?". "Taj Mahal" originally appeared on 1972's "Ben" album, becoming a big hit on the charts in Brazil that year. An alternative version of the track also appeared on the 1977 album "Tropical"; this was an attempt to add soul and disco to his sound, after which he reverted to more familiar ways. Additionally, versions appear on Ben's 1975 collaboration with Gilberto Gil and his 1976 África Brasil album.

Recent career

In 2006, a remake of Ben Jor's "Mas Que Nada" became an international chart hit for Sérgio Mendes with The Black Eyed Peas after being used by Nike in a global TV advertisement during the 2006 FIFA World Cup; this remake (the second time Mendes had covered the track) reached the Top 10 in several European countries, including the UK and Germany, in addition to reaching Number 1 in the Netherlands.

He is also a big fan of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, a Brazilian football club, located in Rio de Janeiro, where Zico, Junior and Leandro are among former stars. His passion is demonstrated in a song he wrote, called "Flamengo;" Flamengo's crest also features in the cover of the 1969 album "Jorge Ben." Ben's "Camisa 10 da Gávea" is an ode to Zico.

On 7 July 2007 he performed at the Brazilian leg of Live Earth in Rio de Janeiro.

Discography

References

External links

Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:Brazilian composers Category:Brazilian guitarists Category:Brazilian singers Category:Brazilian people of Black African descent Category:Brazilian people of Ethiopian descent Category:Música Popular Brasileira singers Category:People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Category:Samba musicians Category:Wrasse Records artists

Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP ''Something/Anything?'' in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings as solo artist, and during the seventies and eighties with the band Utopia. He has also been prolific as a producer and engineer on the recorded work of other musicians.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Rundgren engineered and/or produced many notable albums for other acts, including ''Straight Up'' by Badfinger, ''Stage Fright'' by The Band, ''We're an American Band'' by Grand Funk Railroad, ''Bat Out of Hell'' by Meat Loaf (now ranked as the fifth biggest-selling album of all time), and ''Skylarking'' by XTC. In the 1980s and 1990s his interest in video and computers led to Rundgren's "Time Heals" being the eighth video played on MTV, and "Change Myself" was generated on commercially available Amiga Computers.

His best-known songs include "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light" which have heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations, and "Bang the Drum All Day" featured in many sports arenas, commercials, and movie trailers.

Early career

Rundgren's distinctive style was informed by a wide variety of musical influences—British pop-rock (notably The Beatles, The Who, The Yardbirds, Cream and The Move), the intricate vocal harmonies of The Beach Boys, classic American rock'n'roll, Broadway musicals, the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan and American soul and R&B;, but as his music evolved he demonstrated an increasing interest in other genres as well, such as hard rock and experimental music.

Particularly during the early years of his career, Rundgren's songwriting was heavily influenced by the music of singer-songwriter Laura Nyro:

:"I knew her fairly well. 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. We got along, and we were kind of friendly, and actually, after I met her 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."

Rundgren's debut solo album ''Runt'' (1970) includes the strongly Nyro-influenced "Baby Let’s Swing", which was written about her and mentions her by name.

Nazz manager Michael Friedman who had joined Albert Grossman management brought Rundgren to the firm where he became both a solo artist and producer for many artists in the Grossman stable.

Solo work

By 1972, the Runt persona/band identity had been abandoned, and Rundgren's next project, the ambitious double LP ''Something/Anything?'' (1972) was credited simply to Rundgren, who wrote, played, sang, engineered, and produced everything on three of the four sides of the album. ''Something/Anything?'' featured the top 20 U.S. hits "I Saw The Light" (#16; an original song, not the Hank Williams classic), and a remake of the Nazz near-hit "Hello It's Me", which reached #5 in the U.S. and is Rundgren's biggest hit. The former song featured Rundgren on all vocals and instruments. On his ensuing concert tour, his backing band was the Hello People, whose own album he later produced.

Changing style

:"It (Ritalin) caused me to crank out songs at an incredible pace. 'I Saw the Light' took me all of 20 minutes. You can see why, too, the rhymes are just moon/June/spoon kind of stuff..."

Speaking of the effect on ''A Wizard, A True Star'', Rundgren commented:

:"With drugs I could suddenly abstract my thought processes in a certain way, and I wanted to see if I could put them on a record. A lot of people recognised it as the dynamics of a psychedelic trip - it was almost like painting with your head."

Though he often revisited the classic popular song format, during the early 1970s Rundgren's music began to incorporate elements of progressive rock. 1973's transitional ''A Wizard, a True Star'' marked the beginning of this trend, which came to fruition with his next two solo albums ''Todd'' (1974) and ''Initiation'' (1975) and the early recordings under the aegis of his new group project Utopia.

''A Wizard, A True Star'', which was sequenced as a continuous medley, featured a wildly eclectic range of songs set in dazzling arrangements and production, with Rundgren experimenting with the synthesiser and exploiting virtually every studio effect and technique then available. Backing musicians included renowned horn players Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker, guitarist Rick Derringer and several other musicians who subsequently joined the original incarnation of Utopia. Although it featured predominantly original material (including the anthemic "Just One Victory", which became a concert favorite), the album set a pattern followed on subsequent solo albums, with Rundgren recording cover versions of his favorite songs—in this case, "Never Never Land", from the Broadway musical version of ''Peter Pan'', and a medley of soul classics, including a unique version of the Capitols' "Cool Jerk" played in the 7/8 time signature. The album was also notable for its extended running time—over 55 minutes in length, compared to around 40–45 minutes for a typical pop-rock LP of the period. This reflected Rundgren's skills as a mastering engineer, since this extended running time took the album close to the practical maximum for an LP—due to the inherent physical limitations of the vinyl LP medium, on records with running times over 45 minutes there is an unfavorable trade-off between duration and the audio quality and volume. On the album cover, packed with his handwritten notes, he advised listeners to crank up their Victrolas accordingly.

''Todd'' (1974) continued in this vein and featured similarly diverse material. Alongside originals such as "A Dream Goes On Forever" and "Heavy Metal Kids", both of which became concert staples, Rundgren also satirised his chosen profession with the song "An Elpees' Worth of Tunes" and revisited his teenage obsession with the music of Gilbert & Sullivan in a rendition of "The Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song" (from ''Iolanthe'').

By contrast, Rundgren's work with Utopia (see below) and his next solo album took him decisively into progressive rock. ''Initiation'' (1975) addressed cosmic themes, showed a strong interest in spirituality (particularly Far Eastern religion and philosophy), and displayed the musical influence of psychedelic rock, as well as 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.

When touring, the music was presented in a lavish stage setting that echoed the ambitious space-themed shows of acts like Parliament/Funkadelic and he adopted an outlandish space-rock image on stage, including multi-coloured dyed hair. In this period he regularly played the eye-catching psychedelic Gibson SG (known as "Sunny") which Eric Clapton had played in Cream. After he had stopped using it ca. 1968, Clapton gave the guitar to George Harrison, who subsequently 'loaned' it to British singer Jackie Lomax. In 1972, after meeting at a recording session, Lomax sold the guitar to Rundgren for $500 with an option to buy it back, which he never took up. Rundgren played it extensively during the early years of Utopia before retiring the instrument, which he eventually auctioned off; he now owns a reproduction ''NME'' - September 1974

His 1976 album ''Faithful'' marked a return to the pop/rock genre, featuring one side of original songs and one side of covers of significant songs from 1966, including the Yardbirds' "Happening Ten Years Time Ago" (the B-side of that Yardbirds single gave Nazz its name) and a nearly identical re-creation of the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations". ''Faithful'' was followed by ''Hermit of Mink Hollow'' (1978); this included the hit ballad "Can We Still Be Friends", which reached #29 in the U.S. and was accompanied by an innovative self-produced music video, and the album became the second most successful of his career (after ''Something? Anything!''), reaching #36 in the U.S. During 1978 Rundgren undertook an American tour playing at smaller venues including The Bottom Line in New York and the Roxy in Los Angeles; this 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, Edgar Winter, Spencer Davis, Daryl Hall and John Oates and Stevie Nicks.

Subsequent solo releases included the album-long concept work ''Healing'' (1981) and the New Wave-tinged ''The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect'' (1982) which included a cover of The Small Faces hit "Tin Soldier". The latter album also marked the end of Rundgren's tenure with Bearsville Records. He then 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. "Bang the Drum All Day", from ''The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect'' was a minor chart hit which has become more prominent in subsequent years, having been adopted as an unofficial theme by several professional sports franchises, notably the Green Bay Packers, and becoming popular on radio, where it was often featured on Friday afternoons. It is now considered one of Rundgren's most popular songs. In 1986, Rundgren scored four episodes of the popular children's television show Pee Wee's Playhouse.

''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, which was 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 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!''. ''2nd Wind'' was Rundgren's last release through a major label and all his subsequent recordings have been self-released.

After a long absence from touring, Rundgren hit the road with ''Nearly Human - 2nd Wind'' band, which included brass and a trio of slinky backup singers (one of whom, Michele Gray, Rundgren married). He also toured during this period with Ringo Starr's All-Starr band.

The next few years 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 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, 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, 1995's ''The Individualist'', 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 a Twist'', 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.

In early 2008, Rundgren launched his official Myspace page. Later that year, he released the rock album ''Arena''. In concert, he had been performing the album in full and in sequence before its release.

Rundgren released the live compilation album, ''For Lack of Honest Work'', in 2010. The album was advertised as a collection of bootleg recording that were approved by Rundgren himself.

April 2011 saw the release of ''Todd Rundgren's Johnson'', a collection of Robert Johnson covers which had been recorded more than a year earlier. On another 2011 release, scheduled for September 13, a further album of covers entitled ''re:Production''. sees him performing tracks he had previously produced for other acts, including Grand Funk Railroad's "Walk Like a Man" and XTC's "Dear God."

Utopia

A slightly altered version of this group performed on the eclectic 1975 live album ''Another Live''. It featured three new extended progressive tracks (which appear only on this LP), a version of "Heavy Metal Kids" (from ''Todd'') and covers of "Something's Coming" (from "West Side Story") and "Do Ya" by The Move. By the time this album was recorded the Utopia lineup included keyboard player/trumpeter/vocalist Roger Powell and drummer John "Willie" Wilcox.

In 1976 Siegler left Utopia and was replaced by Kasim Sulton (bass, keybaords, vocals), who had previously played with New York singer-poetess Cherry Vanilla. This formidable ensemble was widely regarded as one of the best live acts of its day—all four members were highly accomplished on their main instrument as well as being able to play multiple other instruments, and all four could sing lead vocals.

After 1977's prog-rock fusion homage, ''Ra'', Utopia moved toward a more concise pop-oriented style with 1977's ''Oops! Wrong Planet'', which included "Love Is the Answer", later a hit for England Dan & John Ford Coley, followed by the more successful ''Adventures In Utopia'' in 1980, which spawned the hits "Road to Utopia", "Set Me Free" and "Caravan". During that year Utopia also acted as the backing band for the Rundgren-produced Shaun Cassidy solo album ''Wasp''.

Other releases include ''Deface the Music'' (also 1980), an uncanny Beatles homage that borders on parody; the more politicised ''Swing to the Right'' (1982), incorporating more new wave elements; their pop-referenced, self-titled album ''Utopia'' (1982), as well as ''Oblivion'' (1984), which showed a cynical side of Utopia, sporting a black cover; 1985's ''P.O.V.'' includes "Mated", later a staple of Rundgren solo tours. Rundgren eventually disbanded Utopia in the mid-80s; they released ''Trivia'' (1986) as their "swan song" effort. However, in 1992 a brief tour of Japan reunited the Rundgren/Powell/Sulton/Wilcox lineup, and "Redux '92: Live In Japan" was released on Rhino Records.

Eventually, the compilation ''Oblivion'', ''P.O.V.'' and ''Some Trivia'' was released in 1996, an effort by Rhino Records to re-release selections from the Todd/Utopia discography. In addition, many Utopia concerts from the mid-1970s onwards were taped (e.g. their 1975 London debut, recorded by BBC Radio) and these were widely bootlegged by fans, although some have since gained an official release and can now be obtained as commercial digital downloads from iTunes.

Production, video and other work

Rundgren has long been on the cutting edge of music and video technologies. 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'', was used as a demo for their videodisc players. His 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.

In the 1990s, 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; he also used the system for videos from ''No World Order'' (songs "Fascist Christ" and "Property"). Later, he set up 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. Most of Rundgren's Toaster work is available on the video compilation ''The Desktop Collection.''

Rundgren composed music for the 1986 TV series ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' and ''Crime Story'' as well as the movies "Undercover" (a/k/a "Under Cover") (1987), and ''Dumb and Dumber'' (1994), plus background cues for several other TV shows. He hosted a syndicated radio show called "The Difference" in the early 1990s.

As the Internet gained mass acceptance in the mid-1990s 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 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. (However, as of November 2007, the PatroNet.com website offers the following message: "PatroNet is undergoing a major software revision and is not accepting memberships at this time.")

Rundgren produced the 1999 debut album for the band Splender, entitled "Halfway to the Sky."

In the summer of 2001, Rundgren joined artists such as Alan Parsons, The Who's John Entwistle, Heart's Ann Wilson and Ambrosia's David Pack for the successful "A Walk Down Abbey Road" tour, in which the musicians played their own hits alongside Beatles favorites. The also did a short tour of Japan in Winter of 2001. John Entwistle's guitarist/vocalist, Godfrey Townsend acted as musical director for the tours and stayed on for the following year's "sequel" tour which included Todd and Parsons returning, with a slightly changed lineup which featured Jack Bruce of Cream, Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, Christopher Cross and Eric Carmen. Godfrey also brought drummer/vocalist Steve Murphy on board for "A Walk Down Abbey Road's" 2002 Summer tour.

Rundgren toured the US and Europe in 2004 with Joe Jackson and the string quartet Ethel, appearing on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' performing their collaborative cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". (video)

In 2009, Rundgren produced ''Cause I Sez So'' by the New York Dolls. In October, in one of the last concerts at the famed Wachovia Spectrum, Rundgren and Philadelphia area musicians The Hooters and Hall & Oates headlined a concert titled "Last Call". Tickets were as low as $6.00, the deep discount reflected ticket prices in 1967 when the Spectrum first staged concerts.

The year also included a lecture at DePauw University in Indiana, in which he discussed "Music, Technology and Risk-Taking."

In late-October to early-November 2010, Rundgren was the IU Class of 1963 Wells Scholars Professor at Indiana University. He taught a course with IU Professor Glenn Gass entitled The Ballad of Todd Rundgren.

The New Cars

In early 2006, the new lineup played a few private shows for industry professionals, played live on ''The Tonight Show'' and made other media appearances before commencing a 2006 summer tour with the re-formed Blondie.

Rundgren has referred to the project as "an opportunity ... for me to pay my bills, play to a larger audience, work with musicians I know and like, and ideally have some fun for a year."

The New Cars' first single, "Not Tonight," was released on March 20, 2006. A portion of the song is featured on a promotional teaser for the band online. A live album/greatest hits collection, ''The New Cars: It's Alive'', was released in June, 2006. The album includes classic Cars songs (and two Rundgren hits) recorded live plus three new studio tracks.

Touring, 2009-2011

In September 2009, Rundgren assembled a very limited-engagement tour with Jesse Gress, Kasim Sulton, Prairie Prince, Greg Hawkes, Bobby Strickland, and Roger Powell (and his wife Michele as costume designer and back-up singer for the concerts finale'), covering his 1973 album, "A Wizard, A True Star." The shows included a complete, start-to-finish rendition of the album, with multiple costume changes and theatrical props to accent the songs. The opening band for the shows was Utopia, with Roger Powell, Kasim Sulton, and Prairie Prince.

In December 2009, Rundgren once again took the AWATS Live show on the road with four shows in California. Roger Powell returned to his real job in the computer/software industry and was replaced by Ralph Schuckett, who played keyboards on the studio recording of the original album.

The AWATS show has had two European dates as well; playing in London, England at the Hammersmith Apollo on February 6, 2010, and the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Holland on February 8, 2010. Rundgren opened the London and Amsterdam shows by showcasing his new project, entitled 'Todd Rundgren's Johnson'; consisting of Rundgren, Jesse Gress (guitar), Prairie Prince (drums) and Kasim Sulton (bass) reworking Robert Johnson songs.

In January 2010 Rundgren gave his first ever concert performance in Australia as a participant in the ''Rogue's Gallery'' show, produced by Hal Willner for the 2010 Sydney Festival. In October 2010 Rundgren returned for a three-date tour of Australia performing his 'Johnson' project, with concerts at The Basement, Sydney, the Great Southern Blues Festival at Bateman's Bay and the Corner Hotel in Melbourne. The band consisted of Todd, guitarist Jesse Gress, Australian bassplayer Damien Steele Scott and Australian drummer Mick Skelton.

A Photographic Journal of each American show was created by rock photographer J Bloomrosen.

In October 2010, Rundgren was selected as the Class of 1963 Wells Scholars Professor at Indiana University (Bloomington). In that capacity, he taught two weeks of a four-week, one-credit hour honors seminar designed for 22 Wells Scholars (HON-H300: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren). Co-teaching the class was IU Professor of Music Glenn Gass—whose relationship with Rundgren helped make the professorship possible—and IU Distinguished Professor of Sociology Bernice Pescosolido, who was instrumental in helping to plan the course.

In September 2010, Rundgren performed his "Todd" and "Healing" albums live for the first time ever in Akron, OH and followed that up with five more of the album concerts in Muskegon MI, Indianapolis IN, St. Louis MO, Glenside PA, and Morristown NJ. A large LED display and lasers were on display throughout the shows with Todd and the band dressed in extravagant costumes. Todd brought out his SG Gibson "The Fool" replica guitar and also performed a few songs on the piano. Todd's band consisted of Jesse Gress, Greg Hawkes, Prairie Prince, Bobby Strickland, and Kasim Sulton. Led by Choir Master Dirk Hillyer, local choirs from near each venue joined Todd and the band during parts of the "Healing" album set which added a brand new element to the music for fans that had only heard it by listening to the album. The shows closed with the song, "Sons Of 1984" which included fan participation even after Todd and the band left the stage.

In January 2011, a reunion of the most of the members of the 1974 Utopia personnel (Rundgren, Klingman, Shuckett, Siegler, and Ellman) was held for two nights in New York City, with proceeds to defray medical treatment for Klingman. Material was drawn from the 1972-1975 catalogs of Rundgren and Todd Rundgren's Utopia.

In March 2011, Todd took the "Todd" and "Healing" albums live concerts back on the road for a mini-tour and included stops in Hartford CT, Boston MA, Red Bank NJ, Toledo OH, and Columbus OH. A summer tour promises a selection of the artist's "greatest hits."

Personal life

In popular culture

His song "Izzat Love?" was sampled by Neon Indian for their song "Deadbeat Summer".

His song "Hodja" from his album A Cappella is performed by John Stamos and others in the "Full House" episode "A Pox in Our House."

TV Girl sampled "Hello, It's Me" on "If You Want It" from their self-titled 2010 debut EP. Todd Rundgren replied by asking Warner Music Group to issue takedown notices to their bandcamp and all the blogs that featured the song.

Discography

References

External links

Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:People from Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American pop pianists Category:American record producers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:American New Wave musicians Category:Protopunk musicians Category:Progressive rock musicians Category:The New Cars members