Rod Stewart

Roderick David Stewart (born January 10, 1945 in Highgate, London) is an English born singer and songwriter of Scottish descent, most known for his uniquely raspy, gravelly voice and personable singing style, as exemplified in his signature song "Maggie May".

Out of Order 1981-2001

In 1981, Stewart added elements of new wave and synth pop to his sound for the Tonight I'm Yours album. The title song and "Young Turks" both reached top 5 of the Billboard charts with the album going platinum.

Related Topics:
New wave - Synth pop - Young Turks

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Stewart's career then went into a relative slump. He only had three top ten singles between 1982 and 1988 and only 1983's Camouflage album went gold in the UK. A reunion with Jeff Beck produced a successful take on Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready", but an attempt to tour together fell apart after a few dates.

Related Topics:
1982 - 1988 - Curtis Mayfield

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In 1988, he returned with Out Of Order produced by Duran Duran's Andy Taylor and by Bernard Edwards of Chic. "Forever Young" and "Lost in You" from that album were both significant hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and mainstream rock charts. ("Forever Young" was an unconscious revision of Bob Dylan's song of the same name; the artists reached an agreement about sharing royalties.)

Related Topics:
Duran Duran - Andy Taylor - Bernard Edwards - Chic

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His version of the Tom Waits song "Downtown Train" went to #2 of the US singles charts. This song was taken from a four CD compilation set called Storyteller. The Vagabond Heart album continued his comeback with "Rhythm of My Heart" and "Motown Song" both reaching the top 10.

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In 1993, he recorded "All For Love" with Sting and Bryan Adams for the soundtrack to the movie The Three Musketeers; the single reached #1 on the US charts.

Related Topics:
1993 - Sting - Bryan Adams - The Three Musketeers

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Also in 1993, Stewart reunited with Ron Wood and a talented backup group to record an MTV Unplugged special. For the first time Stewart's early solo pieces were done justice in concert; highlights included a heartfelt "Handbags and Gladrags", a furious "Cut Across Shorty", and four selections from Every Picture Tells A Story. The show also featured an acoustic version of Van Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately" which topped the Billboard adult contemporary chart and went top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. A rendition of "Reason to Believe" also garnered considerable airplay. The Unplugged album reached #2 on the Billboard album charts.

Related Topics:
1993 - MTV Unplugged - Van Morrison

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Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

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In 1995, Stewart released A Spanner in the Works containing a cover of Tom Petty's "Leave Virginia Alone" which reached the top 10 of the adult contemporary charts. The latter half of the 1990s was not as commercially successful with If We Fall In Love Tonight not making much of an impression on the charts.

Related Topics:
Tom Petty's - 1990s

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When we Were the New Boys from 1998 contained versions of Britpop acts such as Oasis and Primal Scream. Hoever, it only reached #44 on the UK album charts. Human, his final album on the Warner Brothers label only just reached the top 50 in 2001 with the single "I Can't Deny It" going top 40 in the UK and top 20 in the adult contemporary.

Related Topics:
Britpop - Oasis - Primal Scream - Warner Brothers

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The Story So Far: the Very Best Of a greatest hits album compiled from his time at Warner Brothers went to the top ten in the UK and reached number 1 in places like Belgium and France in 2001.

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