As an undergraduate studying English literature at Hamilton College, he developed an interest in the Elizabethan ballad.
Here he made the acquaintance of Alan Lomax (who later facilitated the Archive of American Folk Song's support of the Todd/Sonkin collecting expedition), along with other notables of the day such as Woody Guthrie, Huddie Ledbetter (better known as "Leadbelly"), Burl Ives, John Jacob Niles, and Frank M. Warner.
In addition to the ethnographic research Todd did with Sonkin in California, he also documented folk music in upstate New York and parts of New Jersey.
During his tenure at Tulare many of the men in camp left to assist in the war effort, either by working in the San Francisco shipyards or by joining the military.
Todd and Sonkin once again undertook a collaborative project during this period, which resulted in a book titled Alexander Bryan Johnson: Philosophical Banker, published in 1977.