Today we want to tell you about musician and singer Rod Stewart (and there is also a special playlist we prepared for you at the end):
(Photo: Discogs)
1. He was born in London on January 10, 1945, as Roderick David "Rod" Stewart.
2. His father was Scottish and his mother was English and they had five children, Stewart was the youngest among them.
3. Stewart was born in the house where his parents lived during World War II.
4. His first acquaintance with rock music was with the song "The Girl Can't Help It" by Little Richard, from 1956.
5. His father bought him his first guitar in 1959. The first song he learned to play was "It Takes a Worried Man to Sing a Worried Song."
6. In 1960 he joined the Skipple band at the school named "Kool Kats".
(Photo: The Times)
7. He dropped out of school at the age of 15 and has since exchanged several jobs including working as an undertaker.
8. At the time all he wanted was to be a professional football player. It went on with him as a die-hard Celtic fan.
9. In 1962 he joined folk singer Wiz Jones, with whom he embarked on a tour in Europe.
10. In 1963 Stewart was part of the band that was one of the first incarnations of "the Kinks".
11. Later that year Stewart joined a rhythm and blues band called "Dimensions" as a singer and harmonica player.
12. In 1964 "the Dimensions" will become the backing band of singer Jimmy Powell and together with him the band will record one single.
13. That same year he recorded his first single as a solo artist - "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" which was originally recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson. The brother of the session players in the song recording was John Paul Jones.
14. Starting in 1964 Stewart will replace various bands, including the Baldry and Hoochie Coochie Men "Steampacket", "the Shotgun Express" and "The Soul Agents". "The Shotgun Express" line-up also included Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green who would later form "Fleetwood Mac".
15. In February 1967 Stewart joined his first significant band "The Jeff Beck Group", along with the legendary Jeff Beck where he also played for the first time with Ronnie Wood. Along with this band, Stewart would release the album "Truth" in February 1968 and later the album "Beck-Ola" but the band disbanded immediately afterward.
16. In April 1969, Stewart recorded with the Australian band "Python Lee Jackson" the immortal song "In a Broken Dream". The Australian band came to England to record an album, keyboardist Dave Bentley who wrote the song also tried to sing it but the result was not to the satisfaction of the band members and Stewart was called in to complete the task.
17. In May 1969, Steve Marriott, lead singer and guitarist of "The Small Faces", left the band. Ronny Wood and Rod Stewart took his place alongside Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, and Kenney Jones and the band changed its name to "Faces".
18. At the same time, in November 1969, Stewart released his first solo album, "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down." His backing band on the album includes Ronny Wood and Keith Emerson, among others.
19. On March 19, 1970, Stewart and "Faces" release their first album "First Step".
20. A few months later in June 1970 Stewart released his second album "Gasoline Alley".
21. Stewart continues to lead a "double life" and until 1973 simultaneously releases 2 more albums with the "Faces" and 3 more albums as part of his solo career. Stewart co-wrote the songs on all the albums.
22. Starting in 1974, Stewart will focus on his solo career and released another 25 studio albums, which will put the total studio albums he released as part of his solo career, at 30 albums !!!!
23. In 1983 he recorded a demo called "Another Piece Of My Heart" with "Queen". The song was supposed to be included on Queen's album "The Works", but did not end up there. After the death of Freddie Mercury, members of "Queen" returned to handle the song. They removed Stewart's vocals, but Freddie's singing was not enough to fill the whole song, so Brian May and Roger Taylor added more vocals, the song was renamed "Let Me Live" and was released as part of the "Made in Heaven" album.
24. Stewart's name was associated with a supergroup that was to be called Nose, Teeth & Hair which was to include him, Elton John, and Freddie Mercury. The name of the supergroup was composed of prominent parts of each of the three members. Stewart said the three used to meet and sing together while living nearby in Los Angeles.
25. Stewart will become one of the artists with the largest number of album sales in the world, which is currently estimated at over 100 million albums.
26. Stewart has six consecutive albums that reached number one on the UK charts.
27. In 2000 he underwent surgery to remove a tumor in his throat, after which he could not sing for 6 months.
28. In 2005 his 6th son was born. Stewart was then 60 years old.
29. In 2007 Stewart was awarded the title of "Officer of the Order of the British Empire", for his contribution to music.
30. In 2008 Billboard Magazine ranked him 17th on the list of the 100 most successful artists of all time.
31. He was ranked 33rd among the 100 greatest singers of all time by "Q Magazine" and 59th in the same list compiled by Rolling Stone magazine (this list also includes singers).
32. Stewart entered the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" twice, the first time in 1994 as a solo artist, and the second time in 2006 as a member of the band Faces.
33. He wrote his famous poem "Maggie May" about his first sexual experience with someone older than him.
34. He wrote one of the first songs to support the gay community - "The Killing of Georgie".
35. He holds the Guinness record for the biggest free show ever held. It happened on New Year's Eve 31.12.1994 at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Estimates speak of 4.2 million people, but some have apparently come to watch the fireworks.
36. During his illustrious career, Stewart has collaborated with many diverse artists, including: Cher, Diana Ross, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Brian Adams, and more.
And now for the playlist!!