Rod Stewart, the #28 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"Just brilliant, what a legend."

"Rod was one of the greatest ever!"

"A living legend."

"One of the greatest."

"My all-time favorite singer."

"He's so freakin' cool.  Always was and always will be..."

'I'm still mesmerized by this man's music."

"Rod you are a hit machine! A true legend...One of the best of all time !!"

"Rod is the best."

"This man has done some wonderful music.  Love the lyrics."

"He has some killer songs!"

"One of the best artists of his generation."

"Rod Stewart's sound is fantastic!"

"Great singer with many classics under his belt."

"Just brilliant.  What a legend."

"Rod was one of the greatest ever."

"One of the best singers.  He sings with his whole heart and soul."

"Thank you for for the beautiful music, beautiful songs and unforgettable melodies"

Rod Stewart was born on January 10, 1945 during World War II.  When his father retired from building, he bought a shop on Archway Road and the family lived over the shop.

Rod's father played and managed amateur soccer (renamed "football" in Europe about 30 years ago), and Rod was a star centre-half player for Middlesex.

Stewart followed the career of Al Jolson, influenced by Jolson's style.  Not long after seeing Bill Haley & the Comets in concert, Rod's father bought him a guitar.  Rod joined a skiffle group known as the Kool Kats with his classmates.


Rod never did well in his studies, and left school at the age of 15, working as a silk screen printer for a short time in the family business and as a paperboy delivering newspapers.  He also worked as a gravedigger for Highgate Cemetery, for a North Finchley funeral parlour and as a sign writer and fence erector.

In 1961, Rod auditioned for the Raiders (not the accomplished and much more famous act from Boise, Idaho) and was accepted into the group, which attracted the attention of noted producer Joe Meek.  Meek liked the band but not its lead singer, so Rod was abruptly fired.

Stewart's first ambition was professional soccer, and he tried out for Brentford F.C.  Although some accounts say he was signed to the club, Rod wrote in his 2012 autobiography that he was never signed and in fact the club never called him back.

Stewart was most interested in British and American Folk by artists such as Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie.  He was a part of the literary "Beat Generation" that was prevalent at the time and lived in a beatnik houseboat at Shoreha-by-Sea for a while.

Rod became active in popular political causes such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, joining the annual Aldermaston Marches from 1961-63 and was arrested three times when he participated in sit-ins at Trafalgar Square and White Hall.  

A relationship with Suzannah Boffey resulted in Boffey becoming pregnant but as Rod had no interest in marriage, the baby girl was given up for adoption and the relationship ended.  

Rod began busking at Leicester Square and other London locations with his harmonica in 1962 with Folk singer Wizz Jones.  The two traveled Brighton, England, Paris, sleeping under bridges over the River Seine and then to Barcelona.  Eventually, Stewart was corralled and deported from Spain for vagrancy in 1963, adding to his lore. 

Rod (second from right, above) joined the Dimensions in 1963 as a harmonica player and part-time vocalist.  The following year, he got a big break when Long John Baldry invited Stewart into his band, later named the Hoochie Coochie Men.  A normally shy 19-year-old found his calling and was nicknamed Rod "the Mod" Stewart.    The band played regularly at the famous Marquee Club in London.   

Later that year, Rod signed a recording contract and released his first single, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", featuring bassist John Paul Jones, a session musician at the time who would later join the legendary group Led Zeppelin.  In October, Stewart left the Hoochie Coochie Men.

Although Stewart performed on his own in late 1964 and early 1965, he joined a new group Baldry put together called Steampacket, which made its live debut opening for the Rolling Stones in July. 

Rod continued to record solo during this time and released the singles "The Day Will Come" and "Shake", a remake of the Sam Cooke song.  

Stewart left Steampacket in March of 1966 before joining Shotgun Express (which included Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green, who would go on to form Fleetwood Mac) two months later.

Stewart joined two other prominent acts, The Jeff Beck Group and Faces, before going solo permanently.

Mercury Records A&R man Lou Reizner was impressed by Stewart and signed him to a solo recording contract on October 8, 1968.  Rod released his debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (known as simply the Rod Stewart Album in the United States).   Keith Emerson was one of the backing musicians on the album. 

 

Mike D'Abo of Manfred Mann wrote on themanfreds.com how it was that Stewart got to record "Handbags And Gladrags":

     Since I was writing a lot of songs, I offered my

     services as writer/producer to Andrew Oldham,

     who had just started up Immediate Records. Andrew 

     also put me together with Rod who wanted to 

     record the song as well. Unfortunately, since 

     I had promised it to Chris, Rod had to settle for 

     another of my songs, "Little Miss Understood," which

     was released in 1968. Rod made me promise to let 

     him record H&G once he got himself an album deal 

     (his deal with Immediate was for singles only). In 

     1969 he knocked on my door saying he had 

     secured an album deal with Mercury Records.

 

Here is another Top Track* on the album:  "Cindy's Lament".

Stewart continued to be in Faces during this stage, which gave Rod additional exposure.  In 1970, he released the album Gasoline Alley before touring the United States with Faces.  Stewart covered Elton John's "Country Comfort".

Stewart's 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story was his breakthrough, featuring the classic song "Maggie May".  When both the album and single catapulted to #1 in the U.S. and the United Kingdom simultaneously, it was the first time it had happened in the Rock Era.  The single is one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*

Stewart wrote the title song with friend Ron Wood, who he met in the Jeff Beck Group and who he later played with in Faces.  "I can remember the buildup," Stewart told Mojo in May of 1995.  "You know what the song's about - your early teenage life when you're leaving home and you're exploring the world for yourself."   

 

Faces released the albums Long Player and A Nod is as Good as a Wink...To a Blind Horse.  Tim Hardin originally recorded this song in 1965 and performed it at Woodstock four years later.  Rod included his cover of "Reason To Believe" on the album.  

 Stewart's remake of Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is A Long Time"  is another of Rod's career best.

  

"(I Know) I'm Losing You" reached #4 in Canada but only #24 in the United States.

"Mandolin Rain" is the only song on the album that Stewart wrote himself.  Ray Jackson from the group Lindisfarne played the mandolin on the track.

Faces toured in 1972 but there was resentment that Stewart was more successful than the band.  Rod released the album Never a Dull Moment, which reached #1 in the U.K. and #2 in the U.S.  "You Wear It Well" gave him another #1 in U.K. while stopping at #13 in the United States, one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

Rod's cover of the Jimi Hendrix song "Angel" is a highlight of the album.  It is another example of a huge hit in the U.K. (#4) that got little airplay anywhere else. 

Faces released their final album Ooh La La in 1973, but the tensions escalated during recording sessions.  In 1974, Stewart released the album Smiler, his third consecutive #1 in the U.K.

Rod released the double compilation album The Best of Rod Stewart and then switched to Warner Brothers Records.  Faces toured the United States twice in 1975 before Stewart announced the group was splitting at the end of the year.

 

Rod moved to Los Angeles and released the album Atlantic Crossing with help from producer Tom Dowd and the famous Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.  "Sailing" was a huge hit in the U.K. (#1 for four weeks), and also topped charts in Ireland and the Netherlands and also reached #2 in Australia and Sweden.

We present more of Rod Stewart in Part Two on Inside The Rock Era!