Todd was on the road a lot during those days, leaving Bebe alone in their New York City apartment. It’s a nice image, romantic, but like so many stories from those wild rock ‘n’ roll days, larger than life and a little hard to credit. An outdoor concert ruined by a rainstorm, and Steven bounding towards her like some chivalrous hero, to lift her out of the mud. The image Bebe Buell paints of her first encounter with Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler is almost like something out of a movie. This was the mid-seventies, and they had achieved early success with their records Aerosmith and Get Your Wings and were looking to capitalize on their image as a blues-rock successor to the Rolling Stones. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that a band like Aerosmith would consider using him for their next album. His biggest hits include “I Saw the Light” and “Hello It’s Me,” mainstays of rock radio even today.īut he has also established himself as a big-name producer for other artists, including Grand Funk Railroad, New York Dolls, as well as working on one of the biggest selling albums of all time, Meat Loaf’s Bat out of Hell. From his early days as a founding member of The Nazz, he has always pushed musical boundaries. What made Todd Rundgren such a vital performer was his versatility, and this extended to other areas of the music industry too. It was through him that she met Rick Derringer, who would eventually become Bebe’s producer. But it’s safe to say that the most creatively fruitful relationship she had was with Todd. She has spoken of her friendship with Patti Smith, and how the pair used to share poetry and lyrics with one another. In spite of this, she has never subscribed to the term “groupie,” instead preferring “band-aide.” She likes to emphasize her muse-like status for these musicians, and the creative influence she has had over the years.Īround this time, she began to write her own songs too. For instance, a popular anecdote has Buell in bed trying to get some sleep while Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart all vie for her attentions.
Some of Bebe Buell’s stories are so outrageous that it is hard to know where the truth ends and the legend begins. Other famous names she has been linked with romantically include Jimmy Page, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Rod Stewart, and Elvis Costello. She has however dispelled such rumors as mere showbiz gossip.īut all the same, Bebe Buell was very much at ground zero of the rock revolution. She was very close both to him and to David Bowie and is central to some of the rumors of an affair between the two men. Mick Jagger serenaded her once from the sidewalk. Indeed, the notches on Bebe’s bedpost consisted of some of the biggest stars of the century. Both Bebe and Todd had plenty of other lovers during this period.
Embed from Getty Imagesīearing that in mind, the 1970s were a very different time, a less modest time, and monogamy was not such an essential characteristic for a good relationship. Bebe was plugging away at her modeling career, but when she met Todd he represented everything she adored about rock and roll music. Bebe Buell and Todd first encountered one another in 1974, and the attraction between them was immediate. But she is best known for the lengthy affair she had with Todd Rundgren. These included Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and Jimmy Page. And she soon acquired quite a roster of celebrity lovers. Because as she herself has admitted, the modeling was what led the rock stars to take an interest in her. Though she has shunned the term, it’s easy to characterize Bebe as the archetypal groupie. She was the Playmate of the Month for November 1974. She made her first major magazine appearance in no less a venue than Playboy Magazine. Her modeling career hit the ground running as she was managed by the modelling industry legend Eileen Ford, working at the Ford Modelling Agency. It was the modeling that made her recognizable, and which drew her to the attention of the various rock stars and music executives she would eventually be associated with. But she always had an eye on the music industry. Embed from Getty ImagesĪt the age of 18, she swiftly relocated to New York City to pursue a career as a fashion model. She was fascinated by music and celebrity life from a young age and from the moment she saw The Beatles make their legendary appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, her fate was sealed. Navy Officer and WWII veteran, Harold Lloyd Buell. Bebe Buell was born Beverle Lorence Buell on July 14th, 1953, daughter of Dorothea (Brown) Johnson (founder of the Protocol School of Washington) and U.S.