page_title: Rod Stewart
section_title: 2011–2012: Christmas album and autobiography
hierarchical_section_title: Rod Stewart / Music career / 2011–2012: Christmas album and autobiography
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Live @O2 World Hamburg English: Live @O2 World Hamburg
context_page_description: Sir Roderick David Stewart CBE is a British rock singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 250 million records worldwide. He has had nine number-one albums in the UK Albums Chart 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.
  With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and the early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group, and then with Faces, though his music career had begun in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica. In October 1963, he joined The Dimensions as a harmonica player and part-time vocalist. In 1964, Stewart joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars, and in August, Stewart signed a solo contract, releasing his first single, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", in October.
context_section_description: In 2011, Stewart performed with Stevie Nicks on their Heart & Soul Tour. Starting on 20 March in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the tour visited arena concerts in North America – with performances in New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa and Montreal, among others.
  Stewart headlined the Sunday show at the 2011 Hard Rock Calling Festival on 26 June in London's Hyde Park. Stewart signed on to a two-year residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, commencing on 24 August. Performing his greatest hits, the residency also saw him perform selected tracks from his upcoming, untitled blues album.
  On 7 June 2012, it was announced that Stewart had signed a recording agreement with Universal Music Group. On 4 September 2012, it was announced that Stewart would be releasing his first Christmas album, titled Merry Christmas, Baby, on the Verve Music Group label (a division of Universal Music Group) on 30 October 2012. The album was produced by David Foster and features several duets, as well as an original song written by Stewart, Foster and Amy Foster called "Red-Suited Super Man". According to IFPI, Merry Christmas, Baby was the seventh best-selling album worldwide in 2012. In October 2012, Stewart's autobiography titled Rod: The Autobiography was released (exact dates vary worldwide).
  In November 2012, Stewart performed "Auld Lang Syne" from his Christmas album and his hit "Sailing" at the Royal Albert Hall for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II. Later that month, Stewart again performed at the Royal Albert Hall in front of the Queen during the 100th Royal Variety Performance, singing "When You Wish upon a Star". On 26 November, Stewart's recording of "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" reached the top of the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. Stewart has had the number one song on this chart three times previously, the last being in 1993 with "Have I Told You Lately", giving him the second-largest hiatus between number ones in the history of the chart. The song remained in the No. 1 spot for a total of five weeks, tying it for the longest-leading holiday title in the chart's 51-year history. On 10 December 2012, Stewart was a guest singer on Michael Bublé's television Home for the Holidays Christmas special. Stewart was the tenth best-selling artist in Canada in the year 2012 according to year-end sales data from Nielsen Soundscan Canada. In February 2013, Stewart was nominated for a Canadian Juno Award in the International Album of the Year category for his album Merry Christmas, Baby.
caption: Performing in Hamburg in September 2013
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