Hello It's Me

"Hello It's Me" is a song written by American musician Todd Rundgren. It was the first song he wrote, and was recorded by his group Nazz as a slow ballad, released as the B-side of the band's first single, "Open My Eyes", in 1968. A mid-tempo version, recorded for Rundgren's 1972 solo album Something/Anything?, was issued as a single in 1973, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

"Hello It's Me" was the first song written by Todd Rundgren.^[1] Written in 1967 as a slow ballad about the breakup of a relationship,^[2] it was released in October 1968 as the B-side of his band Nazz's debut single "Open My Eyes", and included on the debut album Nazz (1968). Although released as a B-side, it was picked up in preference to the A-side by Boston radio station WMEX, where it rose to No. 1, and was subsequently picked up by other stations. It entered the Billboard chart in February 1969, peaking at number 71, and re-entered the charts the following January, this time peaking at number 66. In Canada, it ranked number 41 in March 1969,^[3] and number 58 in February 1970.^[4]

Rundgren's songs in this phase of his career were influenced by the work of Laura Nyro,^[5] but in a 2005 interview he said that the basic structure of the song was adapted from the introduction of a Jimmy Smith recording:

...the main influence for Hello It's Me was an eight bar intro that Jimmy Smith played on a recording of When Johnny Comes Marching Home.  He had this whole sort of block chord thing that he did to set up the intro of the song.  I tried to capture those changes, and those changes became what are the changes underneath Hello It's Me.  I then had to come up with melody and words, but the changes are actually almost lifted literally from something that was, from Jimmy Smith's standpoint, a throwaway.

Rundgren recorded a more midtempo version of "Hello It's Me" for his 1972 solo album Something/Anything? It was released twice as a single, with the second issue in 1973 becoming Rundgren's only top ten pop hit, reaching No. 5 on the Hot 100. It also reached No. 17 on the Adult Contemporary chart.^[13]

• Todd Rundgren – lead vocals, piano
• Mark "Moogy" Klingman – organ
• John Siomos – drums
• Stu Woods – bass guitar
• Robbie Kogale – guitar
• Randy Brecker – trumpet
• Michael Brecker – tenor sax
• Barry Rogers – trombone
• Hope Ruff – backing vocals
• Richard Corey – backing vocals
• Allan Nicholls – backing vocals
• Vicki Robinson – backing vocals
• Dennis Cooley – backing vocals
• Cecilia Norfleet – backing vocals^[14][15]

• Hello It's Me was featured in That '70s Show for its pilot episode "That '70s Pilot"^[25] and in its final episode "That 70's Finale",^[26] both during the ending credits and sung by Eric, Donna, Michael, Jackie, Steven and Fez in the Vista Cruiser, after returning home from one of his concerts.
• In 2021, it was used during a pivotal scene in the series premiere of And Just Like That..., the sequel to Sex and the City.^[27] It was repeated at various points during the show's 2021–22 season.
• Rundgren's version of the song was sampled by American indie pop band TV Girl on their song "If You Want It", from their 2010 self-titled EP.^[28] The song attracted the attention of Rhino Entertainment, who issued a takedown notice on the band.^[29]

• A cover version of "Hello It's Me" was recorded by The Isley Brothers for their 1974 album Live It Up.^[30]
• Robin Beck recorded her cover version as part of her debut album Sweet Talk in 1979.
• A version influenced by the Isley Brothers' cover was recorded by Groove Theory for their 1995 self-titled album.^[31]
• Big Heavy Stuff recorded a version that appeared a B-side on their 2003 single "Mutiny" and was included as a bonus track on the 2023 vinyl reissue of their 2001 album Size of the Ocean.^[32]
• Todd Rundgren recorded a new "Latin" version in 1997 on his album With a Twist...

• Todd Rundgren's "Hello, It's Me": Wild Success Story, Marc Nathan, August 13, 2015, Best Classic Bands