Songfacts®:

• "Open My Eyes" is the lead single from the Nazz, a Philadelphia band active from 1967-1969 led by Todd Rundgren, who wrote the song. It's a very psychedelic track, in line with the sound of 1968. Rundgren wasn't into drugs but he knew that a catchy song about wandering in the haze could catch on and help launch the band. The lyric could be about mysterious woman, but many assumed it was LSD or some other hallucinogenic that could open his eyes.
• The song didn't catch on, stalling at #112. The B-side, "Hello It's Me," was then released as a single and did better, reaching #71. That song, also written by Rundgren, was re-released in 1969 after the Nazz broke up and went to #66. It showed up again in 1972 when Rundgren released a new version on his solo album Something/Anything? Issued as a single, it went to #5 in 1973.
• "Open My Eyes" is milestone in Todd Rundgren's career. It was the first single he wrote, and recording the song gave him a look at the role of producer. According to Rundgren, their producer, Bill Traut, just sat around reading trade papers - Todd ended up remixing the song along with the rest of the Nazz album. Rundgren took on official production duties for the group's next album, Nazz Nazz.
  
  The band broke up soon after, and Rundgren became one of the top solo artists and producers of the '70s. He produced Badfinger and Grand Funk, but most famously was in the booth for Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell in 1977.
  
  In his time with the Nazz, Rundgren wasn't the lead singer. That was Robert "Stewkey" Antoni, who also played organ in the group.
• The theme of suddenly being able to see (metaphorically) is one Rundgren revisited on his 1972 song "I Saw The Light."
• The Nazz didn't have many fans when they were active, but developed a following later on as Todd Rundgren's career took off. In 1971, their label issued an album of outtakes called Nazz III to cash in.
• "Open My Eyes" appears on the 1972 compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, which is where many heard it for the first time.
• The Nazz were signed to a subsidiary of Colgems Records, whose main act was The Monkees. They wanted the Nazz to follow that lead, giving them another young, fashionable group to promote in videos showing them having lots of madcap fun. As a result, "Open My Eyes" got a music video - a rarity in 1968 (especially for American bands) - showing the band stumbling around in a meadow, pulling off Monkees-esque antics like playing the drums with twigs.
  
  This vision was at odds with what Todd Rundgren had in mind for the group, so it didn't take.
• The song has another major role in music history. In 1968, there was a band in Phoenix, Arizona that was also called the Nazz. Their lead singer was a guy named Vince Furnier. When "Open My Eyes" was released, they realized they had to change their name, so they became Alice Cooper, with Furnier taking on the image of dangerous, snake-loving lunatic.