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45s.com -- Recording Artist Information: Rod Stewart
Date Born January 10, 1945 Location London, England Music Rock and Roll singer Charted Pop/Rock Hits 53 and counting Period Active August 14, 1971 to.... Biggest Hits Tonight's The Night; Maggie May; Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?; All For Love; Downtown Train. Music List and Data Search Music List Notable Information Rod Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Other Names Born Roderick Stewart Other Web Sites Jessica's Rod Stewart Page Rod Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. The following information was obtained from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
Rod Stewart's raspy, soulful voice has made him the rock generation's answer to Sam Cooke. Like Cooke, Stewart delivers both romantic ballads and uptempo material with conviction and panache. A singer's singer, he seemed made to inhabit the spotlight. The London-born Stewart's long-lived career extends back to 1964, when he cut his first record (the blues standard "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"). Soon after, he began turning up in such mid-Sixties R&B bands as Long John Baldry's Hootchie Cootchie Men and Steampacket. Stewart really came into his own as the singer with the Jeff Beck Group, the guitarist's post-Yardbirds ensemble, formed in 1968. From there, Stewart graduated to the Small Faces. He and guitarist Ron Wood joined founding members Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane and Kenney Jones in the wake of Steve Marriott's departure, and the Small Faces - which soon adopted the shortened name Faces - became an enormously popular touring group, rivaling the Rolling Stones for good-natured, sloppily ribald rock and roll.
At the same time, Stewart launched a parallel career as a solo artist, developing a distinctive voice and persona over the course of a brilliant string of albums that included Gasoline Alley and Every Picture Tells a Story. His talent lay in his synthesis of American soul (Sam Cooke, Otis Redding) and folk (Bob Dylan, Ramblin' Jack Elliott) influences, into which he distilled his own life experiences as a busker and bohemian. Stewart's solo career effectively went into orbit with the 1971 release of "Maggie May," an enduring rock classic with a rustic, ramshackle style. However, it was with "Tonight's the Night," a seductive ballad that shot to #1 for eight weeks in 1976, that Stewart cemented an indelible bond with the listening public. He has charted hit singles and platinum albums in nearly every year since that time.
Stewart's career reached a divide with the album Atlantic Crossing in 1975, which found him recording for a new label (Warner Bros.) and newly relocated to America. By this time, the Faces had gone from disarray to disbanding as well. For Stewart, the picaresque tales and rootsy, knockabout rock and roll of his first five solo albums - not to mention his work with the Faces, especially on Long Player and A Nod Is as Good as a Wink (to a Blind Horse) - were largely behind him. He confidently assumed the mantle of glamorous Seventies rock star, anteing up discofied rockers like "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" and such boudoir-minded love songs as "Tonight's the Night." A popular concert entertainer, he'd twirl mike stands and kick soccer balls into the audience while strutting across stages in flashy garb.
Through it all, Stewart has never failed to rise to the occasion in the presence of a great song. He's asserted himself across the decades as a masterful songwriter ("Maggie May," "You're in My Heart," "Young Turks") and skilled interpreter. Over the years, numbers originally associated with the likes of the Temptations ("[I Know] I'm Losing You"), Van Morrison ("Have I Told You Lately"), Tom Waits ("Downtown Train"), Jimi Hendrix ("Angel") and the Sutherland Brothers ("Sailing") have been definitely rendered by Stewart in his expressive and soulful voice. His career came full circle in 1993 when he recorded Unplugged...and Seated for MTV's "Unplugged" series, reuniting with his most fruitful collaborator, Ron Wood, for a run-through of vintage material.
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