Rod Stewart

**Sir Roderick David Stewart** CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 250 million records worldwide. He has had ten number-one albums and 31 top ten singles in the UK, six of which reached number one. Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching number one on the *Billboard* Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.

Stewart's music career began 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. In 1967 he joined the Jeff Beck Group before becoming the singer for the Faces in 1969. He maintained a solo career alongside a group career, releasing his debut solo album, *An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down* in 1969. Stewart's early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music, and R&B. His third solo album, 1971's *Every Picture Tells a Story* was his breakthrough album, topping the charts in the UK, US, Canada and Australia. The ballad "Maggie May" off of it went to number one for multiple weeks in those same countries. His 1972 follow-up album, *Never a Dull Moment*, was another UK and Australian chart-topper while reaching the top three in the US and Canada. Its lead single, "You Wear It Well", also topped the chart in the UK while being a moderate hit elsewhere.

Following a handful more top ten songs in the UK, Stewart announced the breakup of the Faces in 1975. His next few singles were ballads with "Sailing", off the 1975 UK and Australian number-one album, *Atlantic Crossing*, becoming a hit in the UK (number one), Germany (number four) and other countries, but barely charting in North America. *A Night on the Town* (1976), his fifth straight chart-topper in the UK, began a three-album run of going number one or top three in North America, the UK and Australia with each release. That album's "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" spent eight and six weeks at number one in the US and Canada, respectively, and made the top five in other countries. *Foot Loose & Fancy Free* (1977) featured the major hit "You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim) as well as the rocker "Hot Legs". *Blondes Have More Fun* (1978) and its disco-tinged "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy", were returns to number one in the US for Stewart, with "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" also hitting number one in the UK, Canada and Australia and the top ten in other countries.

After a disco and new wave period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Stewart's music turned to a soft rock/middle-of-the-road style, with most of his albums reaching the top ten in the UK, but faring less well in the US. The single "Rhythm of My Heart" was a top five hit in the UK, US and several other countries, with its source album, 1990's *Vagabond Heart*, becoming, at number ten in the US and number two in the UK, his highest charting album in a decade. In 1993, he collaborated with Bryan Adams and Sting on the power ballad "All for Love", which went number one in many countries. In 1994, Stewart staged the largest free rock concert in history when he performed in front of 3.5 million people in Rio de Janeiro. In the early 2000s, he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook.

In 2008, *Billboard* magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "*Billboard* Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists". A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at #33 in *Q Magazine*'s list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and he was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces.