Rod Stewart


Rod Stewart

Stewart performing in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in August 2014
Born
Roderick David Stewart

(1945-01-10) 10 January 1945 (age 79)
Highgate, London, England
Other namesRod the Mod
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • musician
Years active1961–present
Spouses
  • (m. 1979; div. 1984)
  • (m. 1990; div. 2006)
  • (m. 2007)
Partners
  • Susannah Boffey (1963–1964)
  • Jennie Rylance (1965–1967)
  • Dee Harrington (1971–1975)
  • Britt Ekland (1975–1977)
  • Kelly Emberg (1983–1990)
Children8; including Kimberly, Sean and Ruby
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Member ofFaces
Formerly of

Sir Roderick David Stewart CBE (born 10 January 1945)[2] is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 120 million records worldwide.[3] He has had 10 number-one albums and 31 top-ten singles in the UK, six of which reached number one.[4] Stewart has had 16 top-ten singles in the US, with four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.[5]

Stewart's music career began in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica. In 1963, he joined The Dimensions as a harmonica player and vocalist. In 1964, Stewart joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars before moving to the Jeff Beck Group in 1967. Joining Faces in 1969, he also maintained a solo career releasing his debut album that year. Stewart's early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music, and R&B.[6][7] His third album, 1971's Every Picture Tells a Story, was his breakthrough, topping the charts in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, as did its ballad "Maggie May". His 1972 follow-up album, Never a Dull Moment, also reached number one in the UK and Australia, while going top three in the US and Canada. Its single, "You Wear It Well", topped the chart in the UK and was a moderate hit elsewhere.

After Stewart had a handful more UK top-ten hits, the Faces broke up in 1975. Stewart's next few hit singles were ballads with "Sailing", off the 1975 UK and Australian number-one album, Atlantic Crossing, becoming a hit in the UK and the Netherlands (number one), Germany (number four) and other countries, but barely charting in North America. A Night on the Town (1976), his fifth straight chart-topper in the UK, began a three-album run of going number one or top three in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia with each release. That album's "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" spent almost two months at number one in the US and Canada, and made the top five in other countries. Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977) contained the hit "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" as well as the rocker "Hot Legs". Blondes Have More Fun (1978) and its disco-tinged "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" both went to number one in Canada, Australia and the US, with "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" also hitting number one in the UK and the top ten in other countries. Stewart's albums regularly hit the upper rungs of the charts in the Netherlands throughout the '70s and in Sweden from 1975 onward.

After a disco and new wave period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Stewart's music turned to a soft rock/middle-of-the-road style, with most of his albums reaching the top ten in the UK, Germany and Sweden, but faring less well in the US. The single "Rhythm of My Heart" was a top five hit in the UK, US and other countries, with its source album, 1991's Vagabond Heart, becoming, at number ten in the US and number two in the UK, his highest-charting album in a decade. In 1993, he collaborated with Bryan Adams and Sting on the power ballad "All for Love", which went to number one in many countries. In the early 2000s, he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook.

In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists".[8] A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at No. 33 in Q Magazine's list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time.[9] As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and he was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces.[10][11]

  1. ^ Silva, Carly (15 June 2023). "Rod Stewart Announces He's Switching Music Genres". Parade. Retrieved 9 July 2023 – via MSN.
  2. ^ Walsh, John (23 October 2011). "The Saturday Profile: Rod Stewart, Rock Star: Do ya still think I'm sexy?". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Rod Stewart's Christmas Chart Topper Offers Music Business Lessons For 50-Year Career Survival". Forbes. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  4. ^ "UK Top 40 Hit Database (Rod Stewart)". Everyhit.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  5. ^ "No. 61608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2016. p. B2.
  6. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Truth: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Faces: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  8. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 Chart 50th Anniversary". Billboard. Archived from the original on 29 September 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  9. ^ "The Music That Changed The World Q Magazine – 3 Special Editions Jan, Feb, March 2004". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Rod Stewart: Inducted in 1994 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  11. ^ Greene, Andy (7 December 2011). "Rod Stewart: 'I'll Definitely Make Myself Available' for a Faces Reunion". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 September 2014.