Interview and photo by Jeffrey Moellering

“What The World Needs Now N Burt Bacharach Featuring Todd Rundgren”
Tuesday, April 22nd, 8pm – Mahaffey Theater
Event link https://www.facebook.com/events/959831285585346

April 22nd promises to be a magical evening at the majestic Mahaffey Theatre in picturesque St. Petersburg, Florida. Get ready for a musical journey through the timeless works of Burt Bacharach with the concert tour, What the World Needs Now — The Burt Bacharach Songbook in Concert. The legendary composer who passed at 94 in 2023 practically wrote the great American songbook with lyricist Hal David.

This extraordinary show features Todd Rundgren in nine songs, alongside Wendy Moten and a nine-piece ensemble led by Rob Shirakbari, Bacharach’s longtime music director. The tour promises unforgettable performances of Bacharach’s iconic catalog, making 22 stops across the U. S., including one in our own backyard.

Featured artist Todd Rundgren was very gracious to sit down with Tampa Bay Music News during his hectic schedule to discuss participation in the tour, his own legendary career, and how Bacharach’s influence shaped his approach to songwriting.

TBMN: I appreciate you taking some time to speak with us, Todd. I’ve seen you perform live probably more than any other individual artist, so it’s great that you’re always visiting Tampa Bay. I’ve also been fortunate to photograph your shows, and I’m a huge Burt Bacharach fan, so this tour is really exciting. I read that you were in Houston yesterday, and are at the historic Ryman in Nashville this evening. It’s quite the whirlwind schedule!

Rundgren: “Yeah, it is. And we’re on a tear from here. We don’t get a lot of rest. We’re off to Akron tomorrow and Detroit after that. I think the whole schedule is just about five weeks or so, and we’re hitting as much of the country as we can.”

TBMN: I remember you mentioning about other tribute tours that you didn’t have control over scheduling, which made it difficult.

Rundgren: “Yeah, I really got burnt out on the David Bowie (tribute) tour. And I sort of swore that I wasn’t going to do that kind of thing again. And then lo and behold, this opportunity came up, and because it was Burt, I said, okay, I’ll make an exception! But, I also knew what could potentially happen, and I said, let’s not go too crazy with the booking. On that Bowie tour, we did one stretch that was eight shows in nine days, and I completely lost my voice, which hardly ever happens. Also, it can take so long to get from gig to gig (all day or night driving). We’re spread out and are kind of tearing it across the country. Normally, I would do probably at least a couple of weeks just on the West Coast alone (for his own tours). We don’t have that long a schedule here.”

TBMN: Who approached you about participating in this tour?

Rundgren: “One of the producers named Angelo Bondini – he was the guy who produced the David Bowie tribute. So, I think that was why he asked me, because I lived through that! And I would have said no, but for the fact that it was Bacharach, and Bacharach was such an influence on me, even before I started writing music. I had just a small handful of albums and Dionne Warwick’s album was one of them, and I would listen to it for hours on end. That’s how it was back in those days. It wasn’t even a stereo, but a little compact record player, and that influence just wormed its way into me. Then years later, when I did start writing songs, it was in there. It was in there with all the other stuff that stuck in my head. And I was kind of surprised that it was there.”

TBMN: It’s the same for me. My parents listened to it, and I have no apologies for being the sappy guy that I am!

Rundgren: “It was partly that I identified with all the sad songs. All the heartbreaks, you know, that I was living at the time. So, there was that. And there was also the fact that Burt was an arranger, an orchestrator, and had classical training. That’s the kind of music that my dad preferred to listen to, so I grew up with that and gravitated towards the more orchestrated things. Of course, I also gravitated towards the Beatles because I could play guitar. I didn’t have a lot of allowance, so I had to carefully choose what records I was going to buy, which were the Beatles’ second album, Dionne Warwick, and probably the Yardbirds’ first album.”

TBMN: At what point did music migrate from something you were interested in as simply a fan, to saying, okay, this is what I might want to do as a professional vocation?

Rundgren: “A lot of it was sort of luck. I started out in the blues bands. You know, all I wanted to do was be a guitar player. But, when I started my own band, I realized you can’t get very far without writing some material. The very first song I wrote was Hello, It’s Me, where the Bacharach influence is there for all to see! So, that all goes back to Dionne Warwick singing Walk on By. And the way that the songs and her voice sort of married with each other was all you needed. She didn’t have to do a lot of histrionics or anything like that. What’s remarkable (about those recordings), was how everything was done live – that was live.”

TBMN: I read that you’re singing the Tom Jones classic What’s New Pussycat, which is interesting, given that you’re such a balladeer.

Rundgren: “I chose to do that song because so many of the other songs that I do (in the show) are really depressing. It’s just like one heartbreak after another. And, I’m afraid that as soon as people see me coming, they’re going to get depressed! So, I picked a couple of songs just to purposefully lighten it up because the others are often about the depths of depression, like (Elvis Costello’s) God Give Me Strength. And, I had trouble actually identifying with the lyrics. That’s a tough one, but it is of an era (of Burt’s music) – it’s like IT, so that’s gotta be in there. But most of the stuff that people remember is his earlier stuff. Dionne Warwick and the Carpenters. Burt’s heyday was the late sixties and early seventies.”

TBMN: Did you communicate at all with Dionne Warwick or Elvis Costello about this tour?

Rundgren: “Not directly, but I believe Dionne is going to be joining us for one of the gigs, I think in New Jersey, which is just a timing coincidence that she’ll be in the same place that we are. I’ve never met her before, so I’m quite anxious to make her acquaintance and gain whatever insight she has for us. She’s a very interesting person.”

TBMN: What is it that keeps you inspired? You’ve got that beautiful place in Hawaii and that Daryl’s House episode from out there was just amazing.

Rungren: “It IS fun to stay home. As a matter of fact, I got off the road last November, and for three and a half months, I didn’t do anything. I just stayed on the island and worked on other stuff. And it’s funny, I don’t get the island fever, like a lot of people who after a while feel like they’re too isolated or cut off, and they want to go to the big city. So, it’s only recently that I actually left the island!”

TBMN: Given that, how do you stay motivated? You could happily retire with such a marvelous career behind you. I guess I always think to myself that, musicians PLAY. That’s just what they do.

Rundgren: “I DO enjoy doing it. I think in some ways I might become more sedentary and that would affect my health. My theory is that you don’t take your foot off the pedal. You keep going, you don’t pump the brakes and just stand on the gas for as long as you can. And, at some point nature will tell you, okay, it’s time to stop. But that moment hasn’t happened yet! Tony Bennett was my idol, and he never lost a stitch even into his nineties. I just know that for as long as I can, I will probably perform.”

TBMN: I see that your long-time bassist Kasim Sulton is also participating in this tour, and you are doing a duet kind of thing?

Rundgren: “Yes, we do Trains and Boats and Planes, in actually a sort of Peter and Gordon version – just a couple of acoustic guitars with me and Kasim. And, it’s a fun moment for everyone to see us together. As if it was a Utopia reunion or something. But you know, Kaz plays in my band as well, so I see him all the time!”

TBMN: Are you working on any new material yourself?

Rundgren: “I don’t have anything that’s ready for release, but I am in that mode. When this tour is over, I’ve got about six weeks and am going to get some music recorded during that period.”

TBMN: Any direction in terms theme?

Rundgren: “I’d say, similar to an album called Liars in 2005. It was pretty successful and a thematic record in terms of subject matter, but it went all over the place stylistically. I have a feeling that’s probably what the next record will be like. It’ll have a theme, and there will be a lot of musical variety. The one thing I won’t do as much is some of the collaborations as I have been doing. My two most recent records were collaborations with a lot of different artists and that was a great calling, but at a certain point, people have to realize where you’re coming from, and some people thought it was just going to be, Hello, It’s Me for the rest of eternity. But, I think I accomplished what I needed to with the collaborations, and am probably going back to my hermit-like ways!”

For fans of the great American classic pop songs, mark your calendar and be sure to attend What the World Needs Now — The Burt Bacharach Songbook in Concert! It’s no accident that Burt’s musical director knew that Rundgren would be the proper fit as an interpreter who can imbue the warmth and character of Burt’s songs to audiences both old and new. Reviews of the early dates have been glowing, as I’m sure you heart will be on this springtime evening in St. Petersburg!