Rod Stewart part 1

During the last few weeks, we have examined a number of little known artists from the 60s and the 70s. Now, we're going back to the very well known ones: We'll start with the Scot, who, in the 70s, was one of the three major British solo artists, alongside David Bowie and Elton John. We are talking, of course, about Rod "the Mod" Stewart.

The reason that I'm including Rod in this list is not the bisexual rumors that have persistently been following him for most of his adult life. After all, nothing has been confirmed. In fact, he recently debunked the nastiest (or most exciting, depending on your point of view) one of all; that he had to be taken to the hospital for a stomach pump, after ingesting the semen of an entire football team. This rumor, which has been around since the early 70s, seems to have been spread by a vindictive ex-employee. And that's the last bit of gossip you're going to hear from me... Today.

The actual reason that Stewart belongs to this story is a song that he released in the mid 70s, with a clear pro-gay message, which became an international hit. A bold and unusual move at the time. Also, to be honest, I like the guy's voice, plus he's had a long, varied, and distinctive career that included many classic songs. So, since we have a lot to say, let's get moving.

First, some statistics: Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. He has had six consecutive number one albums in the UK and his tally of 62 UK hit singles includes 31 that reached the top ten, six of which gained the #1 position. Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.

In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists". A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at #33 in Q Magazine's list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time, and #59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time. 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 was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces.

Roderick David Stewart was born at 507 Archway Road, Highgate, North London on 10 January 1945, the youngest of five children of Robert Stewart and Elsie Gilbart. His father was Scottish and had been a master builder in Leith, Edinburgh, while Elsie was English and had grown up in Upper Holloway in North London. Married in 1928, the couple had two sons and two daughters while living in Scotland, and then they moved to Highgate. Stewart came after an eight-year gap following his youngest sibling; he was born at home during World War II. The family was neither affluent nor poor; Stewart was spoiled as the youngest, and has called his childhood "fantastically happy".

His roller-coaster ride of musical tastes began directly under the family piano at their home in North London. "We used to have house parties around Christmas and birthdays, and I used to sneak downstairs and hide underneath our small grand piano," he said. "I'd watch everybody dancing and getting drunk. They were awful dancers, really, but I think it gave me a very early love of music." After his older brother took him to see a Bill Haley and the Comets show, Rod got turned on to rock & roll. Soon he saw Otis Redding and began a lifelong love affair with Sam Cooke.

In his teens he busked on the streets of Paris and Spain, performing folk and blues songs. "Those were my beatnik years," he remembers fondly. "I was so smelly." When he returned home, his parents burned his filthy clothes. "After that, I became a mod," he said. "And you couldn't get me out of the bathroom."

Then came the first of what Stewart calls "the three key points of success." Drunkenly playing the harmonica on a train platform one night in 1964, he was taken under the wing of British bluesman Long John Baldry, whom he'd perform with for years, and who would lend Stewart albums to study, like Muddy Waters' Live at Newport, before Stewart then passed them along to Mick Jagger.

Quitting his day job at age nineteen, Stewart gradually overcame his shyness and nerves and became a visible enough part of the act that he was sometimes added to the billing as "Rod the Mod" Stewart, the nickname coming from his dandyish style of grooming and dress. In June 1964, Stewart made his recording début (without label credit) on Up Above My Head, the B-side to a Long John Baldry and Hoochie Coochie Men single.

While still with Baldry, Stewart embarked on a simultaneous solo career. He made some demo recordings, was scouted by Decca Records at the Marquee Club, and signed to a solo contract in August 1964. Turning down Decca's recommended material as too commercial, Stewart insisted that the experienced session musicians he was given, including John Paul Jones (later of Led Zeppelin), learn a couple of Sonny Boy Williamson songs he had just heard. The resulting single, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, was recorded released in October 1964; despite Stewart performing it on the popular television show Ready Steady Go!, it failed to enter the charts. Also in October, Stewart left the Hoochie Coochie Men after having a row with Baldry.

Stewart played some dates on his own in late 1964 and early 1965, sometimes backed by the Southampton R & B outfit The Soul Agents. The Hoochie Coochie Men broke up, Baldry and Stewart patched up their differences (and indeed became lifelong friends), and legendary impresario Giorgio Gomelsky put together Steampacket, which featured Baldry, Stewart, Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll, Micky Waller, Vic Briggs and Ricky Fenson; their first appearance was in support of The Rolling Stones in July 1965. Steampacket was unable to enter the studio to record any material due to its members all belonging to different labels and managers, although Gomelsky did record one of their Marquee Club rehearsals. Here they are with Wonderful One:

Rod departed from Steampacket in March 1966, with Stewart saying he had been sacked and Auger saying he had quit. Stewart then joined a somewhat similar outfit, Shotgun Express, in May 1966 as co-lead vocalist with Beryl Marsden. The other members included Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green (who would go on to form Fleetwood Mac), and Peter Bardens. Shotgun Express released one unsuccessful single in October 1966, the orchestra-heavy I Could Feel The Whole World Turn Round, before disbanding.

Stewart later disparaged Shotgun Express as a poor imitation of Steampacket, and said "I was still getting this terrible feeling of doing other people's music. I think you can only start finding yourself when you write your own material." By now, Stewart had bounced around without achieving much success, with little to distinguish himself among other aspiring London singers other than the emerging rasp in his voice.

Then came the second of "the three key points of success." Guitarist Jeff Beck recruited Stewart for his new post-Yardbirds venture, and in February 1967, Stewart joined the Jeff Beck Group as vocalist and sometime songwriter. This would become the big break of his early career. There, he first played with Ronnie Wood whom he had first met in a London pub in 1964; the two soon became fast friends. During its first year, the group experienced frequent changes of drummers and conflicts involving manager Mickie Most wanting to reduce Stewart's role; they toured the UK, and released a couple of singles that featured Stewart on their B-sides. The B-side of Love Is Blue was the Stewart composition I've Been Drinking:

The B-side of Tallyman was the also Stewart-penned Rock My Plimsoul:

The only UK Top 20 hit single by the Jeff Beck Group was Hi Ho Silver Lining. In fact it was a Top 20 hit twice: in 1967 it peaked at #14 and when it was re-released in 1972 it peaked at #12. Jeff Beck is on lead vocals here:

(To be typically correct, the Jeff Beck Group hit the UK Top 20 once more, but this time as Donovan's [link] backing band, the song being Goo Goo Barabajagal.

This beautiful Blues ballad called Stone Crazy was recorded in 1967 with Rod on vocals, his current Jeff Beck Group bandmate Aynsley Dunbar on drums, his former bandmate Peter Green from Shotgun Express on guitar, and Cream's Jack Bruce on bass:

Stewart's sputtering solo career also continued, with the March 1968 release of non-hit Little Miss Understood on Immediate Records.

The Jeff Beck Group toured Western Europe in spring 1968, recorded, and were nearly destitute; then assistant manager Peter Grant booked them on a six-week tour of the United States starting in June 1968 with the Fillmore East in New York. The first-time-in-America Stewart suffered terrible stage fright during the opening show and hid behind the amplifier banks while singing; only a quick shot of brandy brought him out front. Nevertheless, the show and the tour were a big success, with Robert Shelton of The New York Times calling the group exciting and praising "the interaction of Mr. Beck's wild and visionary guitar against the hoarse and insistent shouting of Rod Stewart," and New Musical Express reporting that the group was receiving standing ovations and pulling receipts equal to those of Jimi Hendrix and The Doors.

In August 1968, their first album Truth was released; by October it had risen to #15 on the US albums chart but failed to chart in the UK. The album featured Beck's masterly guitar technique and manipulated sounds as Stewart's dramatic vocalising tackled the group's varied repertoire of blues, folk, rock, and proto-heavy metal. Stewart also co-wrote three of the songs, and credited the record for helping to develop his vocal abilities and the sandpaper quality in his voice. The album, which has received 5 out of 5 stars from AllMusic, contained the Stewart penned Let Me Love You:

The other Stewart penned song included in this album was Blues Deluxe:

The second album by the Jeff Beck Group, Beck-Ola, was released in 1969. It peaked at #15 in the US and #39 in the UK. Nicky Hopkins (piano) who took part in Truth, was upgraded to full-time band member. Also, Tony Newman replaced Micky Waller on drums. Spanish Boots was written by Beck, Stewart and Wood:

Plynth (Water Down the Drain) was written by Stewart, Wood and Hopkins:

The Hangman's Knee was written by the group collectively:

Having listened to these songs, don't you think that the sound of these two albums influenced Led Zeppelin more than a bit?

Following the sessions for this album, the Jeff Beck Group toured the United States. They were scheduled to play Woodstock and are listed on posters promoting the festival, but by then internal friction had reached the breaking point and both Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart were out of the band. Stewart and Wood would join the Faces in 1969, while Hopkins played Woodstock with Jefferson Airplane, joined Quicksilver Messenger Service, and would tour with The Rolling Stones in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Beck himself would be out of commission by December due to an automobile accident.

The Faces was Rod's third "key point of success." It so happened that in May 1969, guitarist and singer Steve Marriott left popular English mod band The Small Faces. Ron Wood was announced as the replacement guitarist in June and on 18 October 1969, Stewart followed his friend and was announced as their new singer. The two joined existing members Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, and Kenney Jones, who soon decided to call the new line-up Faces.

But Rod was also looking after his solo career; An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down became Stewart's first solo album in 1969 (it was known as The Rod Stewart Album in the US). It established the template for his solo sound: a heartfelt mixture of folk, rock, and country blues, inclusive of 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). The backing band on the album included Wood, Waller and McLagan, plus Keith Emerson and guitarists Martin Pugh (of Steamhammer, and later Armageddon and 7th Order) and Martin Quittenton (also from Steamhammer). Here's my favorite song from this album, Handbags and Gladrags, written by Mike D'Abo:

Here's the Stewart penned I Wouldn't Ever Change a Thing (with Keith Emerson of ELP on organ):

And here's his cover of the Rolling Stones' Street Fighting Man:

Faces released their début album First Step in early 1970 with a rock and roll style similar to the Rolling Stones. While the album did better in the UK than in the US, the Faces quickly earned a strong live following. The album's centerpiece was Flying. Here, they are live at the Olympia, Paris. 26th January 1971.

Here are two songs where Stewart shares lead vocals with Ronnie Lane. First, Shake, Shudder, Shiver:

... And here's Three Button Hand Me Down, live at the BBC in 1971:

Stewart released his second album, Gasoline Alley that autumn. Rod's approach was similar to his first album, as exemplified by the title track; and mandolin was introduced into the sound. The album was well received, with Langdon Winner of Rolling Stone feeling that Stewart had "a rare sensitivity for the delicate moments in a person's existence", and that this, Stewart's second solo album, was the work "of a supremely fine artist". Here's the title track:

Also in this album, a fun song, originally made popular by Eddie Cochran, called Cut Across Shorty:

The album includes a song written by Rod's long-standing friend Elton John (together with Bernie Taupin). It's Country Comfort:

Here's a duet of Rod & Elton, live at Watford, 1974. The sound is meh, but it's worth watching for historical reasons.

Meanwhile, Rod's success had older recordings resurfacing: Stewart, being brought in by DJ/producer John Peel, sang guest vocals for the Australian group Python Lee Jackson on In a Broken Dream, recorded in April 1969 but not released until 1970. His payment was a set of seat covers for his car. It was re-released in 1972 to become a worldwide hit. It was also beautifully used in the film Breaking The Waves.

In September, 1970, the Faces entered the studio to record their second long player, which was released in February, 1971, and simply titled... Long Player. The best thing in the album is their cover of Paul McCartney's Maybe I'm Amazed:

Also good: Sweet Lady Mary.

Another good one: Had Me a Real Good Time.

Not wasting time, Rod began recording his next solo album in January 1971, with the rest of the Faces, as well as many other musicians, taking part. The album was called Every Picture Tells a Story, it was released in May 1971, and was the album that made Stewart a true superstar. In the US it hit #1 and was certified platinum, selling more than 1 million copies. It also went to #1 in the UK (the second-biggest-selling album of the year), also in Australia and Canada. It peaked at #2 in the Netherlands, #4 in Spain, #5 in Sweden, #9 in Norway, #20 in Italy and #23 in Germany. It has been an enduring critical success, including a number 172 ranking on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The song that made it all happen was Maggie May, inspired by true events: In 1961, a teenaged Rod Stewart went to the Beaulieu Jazz Festival with some buddies. It was there that he met an older woman that took his virginity in a beer tent. "How much older, I can't tell exactly," he writes in his 2012 memoir Rod: The Autobiography. "But old enough that she was highly disappointed by the blink-and-you'll-miss-it-brevity of the experience." The memory came back to him 10 years later when he wrote Maggie May, a highly fictionalized experience of the early sexual encounter. It became his first huge international hit, peaking at #1 in the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada, #2 in Ireland, #3 in New Zealand, and #5 in Switzerland.

The hit almost didn't happen; after all, it was on the B-side of the single. It was a DJ (reportedly in Cleveland, Ohio), who became fonder of the B-side - and Maggie May eventually became the more popular side and history was made.

The A-side, by the way, Rod's cover version of Tim Hardin's Reason To Believe, was also a great song:

Another great track was the title song:

Another stellar song in this wonderful album was Mandolin Wind:

His version of the Motown classic (I Know) I'm Losing You became so popular that it was played on every concert at the time. It first appeared on record here.

These guys must have been workaholic, because, no sooner did Rod finish recording Every Picture Tells a Story, that the Faces went in the studio to record their next album. Recorded between March and September 1971 and released on November, the record was imaginatively titled A Nod's As Good As a Wink... to a Blind Horse and contained their most popular hit. The swaggering Stay with Me hit #4 in Canada, #6 in the UK and #17 in the US.

Miss Judy's Farm was another highlight from the album:

Debris is a moving examination of father-son relationships, with lead vocals by Ronnie Lane:

The Faces toured extensively 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 #2 on the US album charts and #1 in the UK, and enjoyed further good notices from reviewers. You Wear It Well was a hit single that reached #13 in the US and went to #1 in the UK. It peaked at #2 in Ireland, at #4 in New Zealand, at #7 in Canada, and at #13 in Australia. Possibly my favorite Rod Stewart song.

The album opened with True Blue:

This was followed by Lost Paraguayos:

... There was also a beautiful rendition of Jimi Hendrix's Angel:

Angel was also released as a single, as a double A-side with the non-album country-tinged What Made Milwaukee Famous (Made A Loser Out Of Me):

The album closed with Twistin' the Night Away, a cover version of a hit by Rod's biggest idol, Sam Cooke. This was also a single.

Rod even found time to perform in the 1972 all-star orchestral version of the Who's Tommy; he was the Pinball Wizard.

In 1973 Rod Stewart charted with Oh No, Not My Baby, a single with no parent album. The Goffin-King composition reached #6 in the UK in September 1973, subsequently reaching #59 on both the US and Canadian charts before the year's end.

With his career in the stratosphere due to successes from his solo albums, Rod Stewart became increasingly distanced from his Faces band mates, who by this point had come to be perceived by the public as little more than Stewart's backing band for concerts. With Stewart distracted enough to have missed the first two weeks of recording sessions entirely, the production of the latest Faces album would continue to be hindered by the singer's apparent lack of commitment. As a result, according to Ian McLagan, Ooh La La was "Ronnie [Lane]'s album", with founder member Lane's quietly soulful contributions setting the tone of the LP's gentler, more reflective second side. The A-side, however, opened with the jaunty Stewart-Wood composition, Silicone Grown:

Cindy Incidentally was one of their best songs - and certainly their biggest hit in the UK, where it peaked at #2.

There were indeed more good songs on the B-side. If I'm on the Late Side was one of the few songs that were written by Lane and Stewart together.

Just Another Honky was a Lane composition, but he graciously offered the lead vocals to Stewart.

The closing track, which was also the title track, was possibly the best song in the album. It was co-written by Lane and Wood, and surprisingly the lead vocals were handed over to Wood.

Shortly after the album's release, Stewart reported to the New Musical Express that he felt that Ooh La La was a "stinking rotten album". He then made things worse by attempting to play his statement down, telling Rolling Stone that what he had actually meant was that the group was "capable of doing a better album than we've done. I just don't think we've found the right studios, or the right formula." The rest of the group were understandably dismayed by his comments. Ronnie Lane was especially stung by Stewart's criticism, and no longer content with the prospect of being increasingly sidelined in the band that he had founded as The Outcasts back in 1965 with Kenney Jones, he left the group early in June. His role as bassist (but notably not as a songwriter) was filled shortly thereafter by former Free bassist Tetsu Yamauchi. Faces recorded two further singles, but while they toured extensively over the next two years they never again recorded a full album. The group eventually ground to a halt in late 1975 as Stewart seemed to lose interest in them entirely while guitarist Ronnie Wood moonlighted in The Rolling Stones prior to his official enlistment as Mick Taylor's replacement.

Here are the two singles. The first was a double-sided hit; on one side was Pool Hall Richard:

On the other side was a cover version of the Temptations' I Wish It Would Rain. This is a live version:

The single peaked at #8 in the UK. Their last single, You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (Even Take the Dog for a Walk, Mend a Fuse, Fold Away the Ironing Board, or Any Other Domestic Shortcomings), peaked at #12 in the UK. The song still holds the record for the longest song-title ever to hit the UK chart.

With the Faces in shambles and his solo recording contract almost over, Mercury Records rush-released a compilation called Sing It Again Rod. It was tastefully done (the die-cut album sleeve was shaped like a glass of whisky, through which a smiling Stewart can be seen), and the song selection was good, so, despite it being too early for a greatest hits collection, the album peaked at the top of the UK charts. His next solo album would indeed be his last for Mercury, as well as the last he recorded as a British resident. The Atlantic Crossing will open the second part of Rod's story, while 1974's Smiler will close today's first part.

Smiler reached #1 in the UK, but only #13 in the US. It eventually sold 1 million copies worldwide. Farewell, the album's lead single, peaked at #7 (UK):

Elton John offered Stewart yet another one of his compositions, called Let Me Be Your Car, in which he duets with Rod:

Finally, no less a figure than Paul McCartney, offered Stewart a song for his last British album: Mine For Me (with Paul on backing vocals) was fittingly the album's last song, as well as his last US hit (#91) for Mercury. Also fittingly, this lovely song will be our last song for today.