Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart, CBE (born January 10, 1945), a singer and songwriter born and raised in London, England of Scottish parentage. With a distinctive, husky voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early '70s with The Jeff Beck Group and then The Faces and began a solo career in 1969, with his debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down.
Stewart is one of rock’s best selling artists, with single and album sales estimated in excess of than 250 million.

Early life
Stewart was born the youngest of five children in Highgate, North London to parents Robert and Elsie Stewart. Rod was the first of his siblings (two brothers, two sisters) to be born in England after the family moved from Scotland. He picked up the guitar at the age of eleven.

1960–1969
Rod Stewart had trials with football clubs including and worked as a grave digger before taking up music.  In the spring of 1962 he helped to found The Ray Davies Quartet, later known as the successful British band The Kinks, as their lead singer. He performed with the group on at least one occasion, but was soon dropped due to complaints about his voice from then-drummer John Start's mother as well as musical and personality differences with the rest of the band. This has been denied by both Ray and Dave Davies; however he did play on a football team with Ray at that time.
After Stewart's return to London he also joined Jimmy Powell & the Five Dimensions in 1964 as a vocalist and harmonica player. He and the band recorded a single for Pye Records. Long John Baldry reportedly discovered him drunk and busking for his train fare and invited him to join The Hoochie Coochie Men which recorded a single "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", which failed to enter the charts. The Hoochie Coochie Men evolved into Steampacket featuring Stewart, Baldry, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger, Mickey Waller and Rick Brown. Steampacket supported the Rolling Stones and the Walker Brothers on tour in the summer of 1965. They also recorded tracks that would not be released as an album until 1970, after Stewart had become well known in musical circles. Stewart also earned the nickname "Rod the Mod" during that period, as a result of his appearance in a 1965 BBC documentary on the mod subculture.
Steampacket broke up in early 1966 with Stewart joining Shotgun Express as lead vocalist with Beryl Marsden. Shotgun Express also contained Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green who would go on to form Fleetwood Mac and Peter Bardens. Shotgun Express released one single before breaking up.
Stewart then joined the Jeff Beck Group as vocalist. In 1968 their first album Truth became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic and the group toured extensively. The second album Beck-Ola also was a hit in the middle of 1969 but the group had broken up by the end of the year. Much of Stewart's sense of phrasing was developed during his time with the Jeff Beck Group.

1969–1975
The U.S. band Cactus offered Stewart a job as lead singer but he and Jeff Beck Band mate Ron Wood decided instead to join The Faces (the remnants of Small Faces after the departure of singer Steve Marriott).
Stewart also signed a solo recording contract with Mercury Records. An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down became his first solo album in 1969 (it was known as The Rod Stewart Album in the U.S.). It established the template for his solo sound: a heartfelt mixture of folk, rock, and country blues, all informed by a British working-class sensibility, with both original material ("Cindy's Lament" and the title song) and cover versions (Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" and Mike d'Abo's "Handbags and Gladrags") being very effective.
The Faces released their debut album First Step in early 1970 with a rock and roll style similar to the Rolling Stones that was a major departure from the psychedelic-tinged pop of Small Faces. While the album did better in the UK than in the U.S., the Faces quickly earned a strong live following. Stewart would release his second album, Gasoline Alley that autumn (Elkie Brooks would go on to achieve a hit with a version of the title track in 1983). Rod's new approach was similar to his first album, as exemplified by the dynamic but haunting title track; also mandolin was introduced into the sound. He also launched a solo tour.
Stewart sang guest vocals for the Australian group Python Lee Jackson on "In a Broken Dream" in 1970. His payment was a set of seat covers for his car. It was re-released in 1972 to become a worldwide hit.
Stewart's 1971 solo album Every Picture Tells a Story made him a household name when the B-side of his minor hit "Reason to Believe", "Maggie May", started receiving radio play. The album and the single hit number one in both the U.S. and the UK simultaneously, a chart first, in September. A loss of innocence tale set off by a striking mandolin part (by Ray Jackson of Lindisfarne), "Maggie May" was also named in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, which is one of three songs by him to appear on that list. The rest of the album was equally strong, with "Mandolin Wind" again showcasing that instrument, "(I Know) I'm Losing You" adding hard-edged soul to the mix, and "Tomorrow is a Long Time" a cover of a Bob Dylan song. But the ultimate manifestation of the early Stewart solo style was the Stewart-Wood-penned "Every Picture Tells a Story" itself: powered by Mick Waller's drumming and a mostly acoustic arrangement, it is a fast, rocking, headlong romp relating the picaresque adventures of the singer.
The second Faces album, Long Player, was released in early 1971 and enjoyed greater chart success than First Step. The Faces also got their only U.S. Top 40 hit with "Stay With Me" from their third album A Nod Is as Good as a Wink...To a Blind Horse released in late 1971. This album reached the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic on the back of the success of Every Picture Tells A Story. Throughout this period there was a marked dichotomy between Stewart's solo and group work, the former being meticulously crafted while the latter tended towards the boozy and sloppy. The Faces were unable to perform Stewart's solo work effectively in concert, as the subsequent Rod Stewart/Faces Live album would show; faithful renditions of those songs would have to wait two decades until Stewart's MTV Unplugged appearance. However Steve Jones from The Sex Pistols regarded The Faces very highly and named them as a main influence on the British punk rock movement.
The Faces had an extensive tour in 1972 with growing tension in the band over Stewart's solo career enjoying more success than the band's. Stewart released Never a Dull Moment in the same year. Repeating the Every Picture formula for the most part, it reached number two on the U.S. album charts and number one in the UK, and enjoyed further good notices from reviewers. "You Wear It Well" was a hit single that reached number 13 in the U.S. and went to number one in the UK, while "Twisting the Night Away" made explicit Stewart's debt to Sam Cooke.
The Faces released their final album Ooh La La which reached number one in the UK and number 21 in the U.S. in 1973. The Faces went on their final tour in 1974 to support Ooh La La and the single "Pool Hall Richard". The band formally broke up in 1975 with Ron Wood joining The Rolling Stones as their guitar player and Stewart pursuing his solo career.
Stewart would release the Smiler album, which proved to be a disappointment, in late 1974. In Britain it reached number one, and the single "Farewell" number seven, but only number 13 on the Billboard pop album charts and the single "Mine For Me" only number 91 on the Billboard pop singles charts. Smiler is generally regarded as Stewart's weakest album of the 1970s; it was also his last original album for Mercury Records. After the release of the double album compilation The Best Of Rod Stewart he switched over to Warner Bros. Records and remained with them throughout the vast majority of his career.

1975–1981
In 1975 Rod Stewart moved to the U.S., applying for citizenship due to his love affair with Britt Ekland and a fight with the UK tax authorities. He released the Atlantic Crossing album for his new record company, using producer Tom Dowd and a different sound based on the Muscle Shoals rhythm section. Atlantic Crossing marked both a return to form and a return to the Top 10 of the Billboard album charts. The first single, a cover of the Sutherland Brothers song "Sailing", was a massive number one hit in the UK, but it only reached the Top 60 of the U.S. charts. The single returned to the UK Top 10 a year later when used as the theme music for a BBC documentary series about HMS Ark Royal, and having been a hit twice over became, and remains, Stewart's biggest-selling single in the UK. Holland-Dozier-Holland cover "This Old Heart Of Mine" was also a Top 100 hit in 1976. Musically Atlantic Crossing showed Stewart was clearly distinguishing his slow material (such as Danny Whitten's wrenching "I Don't Want To Talk About It") from his largely by-the-numbers rockers (such as "Three Time Loser"). Additionally in 1976 Stewart covered the Beatles song “Get Back” for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.
Later in 1976 Stewart topped the Billboard singles charts for eight weeks and the Australian singles charts with the glossy seduction ballad "Tonight's the Night", with a steamy accompanying music video featuring Ekland. It came from the A Night on the Town album, which went to number two on the Billboard album charts and was Stewart's first album to go platinum. By explicitly marking the album as having a "fast side" and a "slow side", Stewart continued the trend started by Atlantic Crossing. "The First Cut is the Deepest", a cover of a Cat Stevens song, went Top 30 in the U.S. in 1977 and number one in the UK (even though "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols is widely believed to have sold more records in that week). "The Killing of Georgie (Part 1 and 2)", about the murder of a gay man, was also a Top 40 hit for Stewart during 1977.
Foot Loose & Fancy Free from 1978 continued Stewart's run of chart success, again reaching number two and featuring much the same sound as from A Night on the Town. "You're In My Heart" was the hit single, reaching number four in the U.S. The rocker "Hot Legs" achieved a lot of radio airplay as did the confessional "I Was Only Joking". In appearance, Stewart's look had evolved to include a glam element, including make-up, spandex clothes and the like.
Stewart scored another UK number one and U.S. number one single with "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" which was a crossover hit reaching number five on the Billboard black charts due to its disco sound. This was the lead single from 1979's Blondes Have More Fun...or do they? which went to number one on the Billboard album charts and sold 4 million albums. It was to be Stewart's last number one album for 25 years.
Rod moved a bit to a more New Wave direction in 1980 by releasing the album Foolish Behaviour. Not very well received, the album produced one hit single in the song "Passion". In 1981 Stewart added further elements of New Wave and synth pop to his sound for the Tonight I'm Yours album. The title song and "Young Turks" both reached the Top 5 of the Billboard charts with the album going platinum.
On 118 December 1981 Stewart played the Los Angeles Forum, along with Kim Carnes and Tina Turner. This show was broadcast around the world to a television audience of 35 million.

1982–2001
Stewart had three Top 10 singles between 1982 and 1988, although "Baby Jane" became his sixth and final UK number one in 1983. The corresponding Camouflage album went gold in the UK, and the single Infatuation received considerable play on MTV. A reunion with Jeff Beck produced a successful take on Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready", but an attempt to tour together fell apart after a few dates. He reached UK number two in 1986 with "Every Beat Of My Heart", a song designed to be of similar crowd-waving qualities to "Sailing".
In January 1985 he performed at the Rock 'n Rio Festival before an estimated audience of 100,000+. His outstanding performance during a stormy night was described by Stewart himself as “winning the world soccer championship”.
In 1988 he returned with Out Of Order, produced by Duran Duran's Andy Taylor and by Bernard Edwards of Chic. "Forever Young" and "Lost in You" from that album were both significant hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and mainstream rock charts. ("Forever Young" was an unconscious revision of Bob Dylan's song of the same name; the artists reached an agreement about sharing royalties.)
In January 1989 Rod set out on the South American leg of the Out of Order Tour playing to sell-out audiences throughout South America. Audiences hung on every line, often prompting Rod and the band to stop and listen to the crowd, as it knew every word to every song. In Buenos Aires the famed River Plate Stadium, which seats 70,000+, was estimated to have had in attendance more than 90,000, with several thousand outside the stadium. Firehoses were sprayed on the crowd to avoid heat prostration, and the excitement was palpable.
Despite the rigors of traversing South America's questionable highway system with three separate convoys of equipment holding the million-dollar light show and stages (the loss of a truck in a landslide delayed one show in Brazil), the show went on with a grueling schedule of performances. Venues in remote, seemingly desolate small towns would fill to standing-room-only capacity in the local soccer stadium, and ring the stadium in a sea of fans electrified by the music, the entertainer, and the fact that he was willing to perform for them.
Stewart's version of the Tom Waits song "Downtown Train" went to number two of the U.S. singles charts in 1990. This song was taken from a four-CD compilation set called Storyteller. The Vagabond Heart album continued his comeback with "Rhythm of My Heart" and "Motown Song" both reaching the Top 10. Also in 1990 he recorded "It Takes Two" with Tina Turner which reached number five on the UK charts.
In 1993 he recorded "All For Love" with Sting and Bryan Adams for the soundtrack to the movie The Three Musketeers; the single reached number one on the U.S. charts.
Also in 1993 Stewart reunited with Ron Wood and a talented backup group to record an MTV Unplugged special. For the first time Stewart assembled a musical line-up whose instrumentation and musical approach could do justice to his earliest solo work. Highlights included a heartfelt "Handbags and Gladrags", a furious "Cut Across Shorty", and four selections from Every Picture Tells A Story. The show also featured an acoustic version of Van Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately" which topped the Billboard adult contemporary chart and went Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. A rendition of "Reason to Believe" also garnered considerable airplay. The Unplugged album reached number two on the Billboard album charts.
Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. On 31st December on the same year he played in front on 3.5 million people on Copacabana Beach in Rio. This became and still is the largest audience for a gig ever. It has been noted, however, that it was also New Year's Eve.
In 1995 Stewart released A Spanner in the Works containing a single written by Tom Petty "Leave Virginia Alone" which reached the Top 10 of the adult contemporary charts. The latter half of the 1990s was not so commercially successful with If We Fall In Love Tonight not making much of an impression on the charts.
When we Were the New Boys, his final album on the Warner Bros. label released in 1998, contained versions of songs by Britpop acts such as Oasis and Primal Scream, and reached number two on the UK album charts. In 2000 Stewart decided to leave Warner Bros. Records and moved to Atlantic Records, another division of Warner Music Group. In 2001 he released his only album "Human" on the Atlantic label. Human only just reached the Top 50 in 2001 with the single "I Can't Deny It" going Top 40 in the UK and Top 20 in the adult contemporary. Because of the poor sales Atlantic Records dropped him from their roster and he signed to Clive Davis' new J Records label. Of note is that Rod was unable to promote Human properly due to a cancer diagnosis. Indeed, a second single from the album Run back into your arms was scheduled but never released.
The Story So Far: the Very Best Of, a greatest hits album compiled from his time at Warner Bros., went to the Top 10 in the UK and reached number one in places like Belgium and France in 2001.
The song Handbags and the Gladrags was used as the theme tune for the comedy The Office.

2002—Present
In recent years Stewart has concentrated on singing 1930s and 1940s pop standards from the "Great American Songbook", written by songwriters such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, with great popular success but middling critical success. These albums have been released on Clive Davis's J Records label and have seen Stewart enjoy album sales equal to the 1970s.
The first album from the songbook series, It Had to Be You ... The Great American Songbook, reached number four on the US album chart, number eight in the UK and number ten in Canada when released in late 2002. The track "These Foolish Things" reached number 13 on the Billboard adult contemporary charts and number two in Taiwan. "They Can't Take That Away From Me" went Top 20 on the world Internet charts and Top 30 on the adult contemporary charts.
The second series album, As Time Goes By: the Great American Songbook 2, reached number two in the US, number four in the UK and number one in Canada. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", a duet with Cher went Top 20 on the US adult contemporary charts and Top 5 in Taiwan. "Time After Time" was another Top 30 track on the US adult contemporary charts.
A musical called Tonight's The Night featuring many of Stewart's songs opened November 7, 2003 at London's Victoria Palace theatre. It is written and directed by Ben Elton, who previously created a similar production, We Will Rock You, with music by Queen.
In 2004 Stewart reunited with Ron Wood for concerts of The Faces material. A Rod Stewart and the Faces best of Changing Faces reached the Top 20 of the UK album charts. Five Guys Walk Into A Bar, a Faces box set compilation, went into the shops. Together with Wood he is still working on the album You Strum, I'll Sing.
In October 2004 Young Turks appeared on the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on fictional classic rock station K-DST.
In late 2004 Stardust ... The Great American Songbook 3, the third album in the series, was released. It was his first US number one album in 25 years, selling over 200,000 albums in its first week. It also debuted at number one in Canada, number three in the UK and Top 10 in Australia. His version of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World", featuring Stevie Wonder has made the Top 20 of the world adult charts. He also recorded a duet with Dolly Parton for the album - "Baby, It's Cold Outside". Stewart won his first ever Grammy Award for this album.
October 18 2005 saw the release of the fourth and final songbook album. Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook 4 it included duets with Diana Ross and Elton John. Within weeks of its release, the CD made it to number two on the Top 200 list.
In late 2006 Stewart made his return to rock music with the release of Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time, a new album featuring rock milestones from the last four decades, including a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" which was released as the first single. The album was released on October 10. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts with 184,000 copies in its first week. The number one debut was helped by a concert in NYC that was on MSN music and an appearance on Dancing With The Stars. He performed tracks from his new album Live from the Nokia Theater on October 9th. Control Room broadcast the event Live on MSN and in 117 movie theatres across the country via National CineMedia. The BBC quoted in their Breakfast Show on 1 November 2006 that Rod Stewart is one of the top ten biggest-selling artists in recording history, with well over 250,000,000 records sold.
On 12 December he performed for the first time at The Royal Variety Performance at The London Coliseum in front of HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, singing another Cat Stevens number, "Father and Son", and the Bonnie Tyler song It's a Heartache.
On 22 December 2006 Stewart hosted the 8th Annual 'A Home for the Holidays' special on CBS at 8:00 PM (PST).
In 2007 Rod's son Sean starred in the A&E television show called Sons of Hollywood, in which Rod's role as a parent is a major theme. He also performed "Sailing", Baby Jane", and "Maggie May" at the memorial concert for Princess Diana in the same year.

Personal life
In 1982 Rod Stewart was car-jacked in Los Angeles, California. The incident occurred while he was standing next to his $50,000 Porsche which was parked on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
In 1999 Stewart was diagnosed as having thyroid cancer, for which he underwent surgery in July 2000. Besides being a major health scare, the resulting surgery also threatened his famous voice, and he had to re-learn how to sing. Since then he has been active in raising funds for The City of Hope Foundation charity to find cures for all forms of cancer, especially those affecting children.
Stewart has remained physically active in recent years, playing in a senior soccer league in Palos Verdes, California and still kicking balls into the audience during concerts. When discussing the rock 'n' roll excesses he has been through in his career, he maintains that his love of playing soccer has been his saviour. As a fan he is a well-known supporter of Celtic F.C. which he mentions in his hit "You're in my Heart", and the Scotland national team. Rod is one of only two people to have a seat for life at Celtic Park, the other one being the comedian Billy Connolly. Growing up in London, Stewart is said to follow West Ham United as his English side, and played in the celebrity match before the Steve Potts testimonial at Upton Park. In appearance Stewart still maintains his trademark rooster-style haircut.
Stewart is also a keen model railway enthusiast, having a 23 x 124-foot HO scale layout in his California home, model after the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroads during the 1940s, which has now made the pages of the December 2007 issue of Model Railroader Magazine. In it he said that he would rather be in a model railroading magazine than a music magazine, and his passion for the hobby has been blamed for contributing to the end of his second marriage. He has a layout based on Britain's East Coast Main Line at his UK home. He is also known for owning one of the 400 Enzo Ferraris.
On October 11, 2005 Stewart received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 2093 Hollywood Blvd.
On April 18 and April 19, 2006 Stewart was the guest artist and celebrity vocal coach on American Idol, leading the remaining seven finalists in singing entries from the Great American Songbook.

List of bands
During his career, Rod Stewart has been a member of a number of groups including:
.    Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions (1963)
 .    The Hoochie Coochie Men, later called Steampacket (1964–1965)
 .    Soul Agents (1965-1966)
 .    Shotgun Express (1966)
 .    The Jeff Beck Group (1966–1969)
 .    The Faces (1969–1975)


Discography
UK/U.S. number one albums
.    1971 Every Picture Tells a Story (UK/U.S.)
.    1972 Never a Dull Moment (UK)
.    1973 Sing It Again Rod (UK)
.    1974 Smiler (UK)
.    1975 Atlantic Crossing (UK)
.    1976 A Night on the Town (UK)
.    1978 Blondes Have More Fun (U.S.)
.    1979 Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (UK)
.    1981 Tonight I'm Yours (U.S.)
.    2004 Stardust: the Great American Songbook 3 (U.S.)
.    2006 Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of our Time (U.S.)

UK/U.S. number one singles
.    1971 "Maggie May" / "Reason To Believe" (UK/U.S.)
.    1972 "You Wear It Well" (UK)
.    1975 "Sailing" (UK)
.    1976 "Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)" (U.S.)
.    1977 "I Don't Want to Talk About It" / "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (UK)
.    1978 "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (UK, U.S.)
.    1983 "Baby Jane" (UK)
.    1990 "Downtown Train" (U.S. Adult Contemporary)
.    1990 "This Old Heart of Mine" with Ronald Isley (U.S. Adult Contemporary)
.    1993 "All for Love" (U.S.) (Featuring Bryan Adams and Sting, first appearing on the official soundtrack from the movie "The Three Musketeers")
.    1993 "Have I Told You Lately" (U.S. Adult Contemporary)