Rod Stewart

Born on January 10, 1945, in London, England, Rod Stewart's childhood ambition was to play professional football, but after an apprenticeship at Brentford F.C. he found himself diverted towards music. He recorded his first single, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," in 1970 with the Hoochie Coochie Men, who evolved into Steampacket. He then became lead singer with the Jeff Beck Group, where he first worked with guitarist Ronnie Wood. After working with Jeff Beck, both Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood joined former Small Faces members Ronnie Lane (bass), Kenney Jones (drums), and Ian McLagan (keyboards) to form the band Faces. The group released their debut album, First Step, in 1970, laying the groundwork for Rod Stewart's marathon reign as a solo artist. Rod Stewart’s solo career had begun with the release of his debut album An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down, in 1969, and he continued to record solo albums and singles while also fronting the Faces until 1975. A string of solo number 1 singles like "Maggie May" (1971), "You Wear It Well" (1972), "Sailing" (1975), and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (1978) followed along with albums Every Picture Tells a Story (1971), Never a Dull Moment (1972), Smiler (1974), Atlantic Crossing (1975) and A Night On the Town (1976), all which achieved the number 1 spot on the UK Albums Chart. Album and singles sales dropped off in the 1990s, but he was able to garner interest from the press again when he released the album When We Were the New Boys (1998), which featured songs originally recorded by then-modern Britpop bands Oasis, Superstar, and Primal Scream plus songs penned by acclaimed songwriters like Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, and Ron Sexsmith. Rod Stewart had a career resurgence in the 2000s with four volumes of songs from the so-called Great American Songbook. In 2013, he released Time, his 28th studio album, which marked a return to songwriting after a considerable break. The album charted at number 1 in the UK, and he wasted no time in making his next record, Another Country, which he released in 2015. His 30th album, Blood Red Roses, was released in 2018 and also topped the UK Albums Chart. In 2019 he released You're in My Heart: Rod Stewart With the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring some of his most successful songs with new orchestral arrangements. Rod Stewart emerged in 2021 with his 32nd studio album, The Tears of Hercules, which peaked at Number 5 on the UK Albums Chart. Continuing to explore new musical avenues, he released the big band-influenced Swing Fever in 2024. The album included the boogie-woogie and jazz inspired piano playing of musician and TV host Jools Holland.