'''Roderick David Stewart''' (s. brittiläinen 1960-luvulla mainetta The Jeff Beck Groupin laulusolistina, mutta parhaiten hänet tunnetaan menestyksekkäästä soolourasta. Hänellä on hyvin omaleimainen karhea lauluääni, joka on erityisesti tunnistettavissa kappaleessa "Maggie May".

==Tunnetuksi (1968-1969)==

Rod Stewart liittyi The Jeff Beck Groupiin vuonna 1968, jolloin ilmestyi albumi ''Truth''. Seuraavana vuonna yhtyeeltä ilmestyi albumi ''Beck-Ola'', mutta se hajosi samana vuonna ja Rod ja Ron Wood siirtyivät The Jeff Beck Groupista The Faces -yhtyeeseen. Samana vuonna Rod teki myös ensimmäisen sooloalbuminsa ''An Old Rain Coat Won't Let You Down''. Siinä vaiheessa Stewart tunnettiin vielä The Jeff Beck Groupista, ei soolourastaan eikä The Faces -yhtyeestä.

==1970-1975==

Vuonna 1970 The Faces julkaisi debuuttialbuminsa ''First Step'', joka oli tyylillisesti lähellä The Rolling Stonesia. Samana vuonna Rod julkaisi sooloalbumin ''Gasoline Alley'', jota seurasi ensimmäinen soolokiertue. Vuonna 1971 ilmestynyt ''Every Picture Tells It's Story'' herätti huomiota kappaleella "Maggie May". Samana vuonna ilmestyi The Facesin kolmas albumi ''A Nod is as Good as a Wink...to a Blind Horse'', ja sen kappale "Stay With Me" oli yhtyeen ensimmäinen menestys Yhdysvalloissa. Vuonna 1972 yhtye teki suuren kiertueen. Vuonna 1973 The Faces teki albumin ''Ooh La La''. Singlestä "Pool Hall Richard" tuli menestys. Vuonna 1974 ilmestyi Stewartin sooloalbumi ''Smiler'', joka tuotti pettymyksen. The Faces hajosi vuonna 1975, ja Ron Wood siirtyi The Rolling Stonesiin.

==1975-1980==

Rod Stewartin ensimmäinen menestyskappale oli vuoden 1975 "Sailing" albumilta ''Atlantic Crossing''. "Tonight's Tonight" -niminen kappale vuoden 1976 lopulla oli Rod Stewartin ensimmäinen menestyskappale Amerikassa ja Cat Stevens -cover "The First Cut Is the Deepest" vuonna 1977 oli seuraava. Vuonna 1978 suosiota kasvattivat kappaleet "You're In My Heart" ja "Hot Legs". Discovaikutteinen "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" vuodelta 1979 jatkoi Rodin menestystä, ja hän nousi suurimpien suosikkien joukkoon.

==1981-2001==

Vuonna New Wavesta ja syntetisaattoripopista ''Tonight I'm Yours'' -nimiselle albumille, josta nousi menestyskappaleeksi "Young Turks". Vuosina 1990-luvun puolella ura lähti taas uuteen nousuun muun muassa Tom Waits -coverilla "Downtown Train" sekä "All For Love" -kappaleella, jossa hän lauloi Bryan Adamsin ja Stingin kanssa. Myös "Motown Song" ja "Rhythm of My Heart" nousivat menestyksiksi. Vuonna 1993 Rod Stewart esiintyi ohjelmassa ''MTV Unplugged''.

==2002- ==

Rod Stewart mukaili amerikkalaisia suosikkikappaleita albumilla ''It Had to Be You: the Great American Songbook''. Vuonna 2003 hän julkaisi albumin ''As Time Goes By: the Great American Songbook 2'', joka sai jatkoa vuonna 2004: ''Stardust: the Great American Songbook 3''. Vuonna 2005 ilmestyi sarjaan vielä neljäs osa ''Thanks For The Memory: the Great American Songbook 4''.

==Rod Stewart eri yhtyeissä==

{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| Name                = Rod Stewart
| Img                 = Rod stewart 05111976 12 400.jpg
| Img_capt            = Rod Stewart in Oslo 1976<br />Photo: Helge Øverås
| Img_size            = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels. Set the value as a number without "px". -->
| Landscape           = 
| Background          = solo_singer
| Birth_name          = Roderick David Stewart
| Alias               = Rod the Bod<br/>Rod the Mod
| Born                = 
| Died                = 
| Origin              = London, England
| Instrument          = Vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica
| Genre               = Rock, pop, blues-rock
| Occupation          = Singer-songwriter, musician
| Years_active        = 1962-Present
| Label               = Vertigo Records<br/>Mercury Records<br/>Riva Records<br/>Warner Bros. Records<br/>Atlantic Records<br />J Records
| Associated_acts     = The Faces<br>The Jeff Beck Group
| URL                 = [http://www.rodstewart.com/ RodStewart.com]
| Notable_instruments = 
}}
'''Roderick "Rod" David Stewart''', CBE (born Scottish and English parentage.

With a distinctive, raspy voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early '70s with The Jeff Beck Group and then The Faces and began a solo career in 1969, with his debut album ''An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down''.

With his career in its fifth decade, Stewart has achieved numerous hit singles worldwide, most notably in the UK, where he has garnered six consecutive number one albums and his tally of 62 hit singles include 24 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position. It has been estimated that Stewart's album and single sales total more than 250 million,<ref>[http://www.barrystickets.com/concert-tickets/rod-stewart-tickets.php] Barry's Tickets; Accessed December 2006; Claims 250 million records</ref> earning him a place on the list of best-selling music artists. His biggest-selling song was the 1978 disco hit "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?", which was atypical of his earlier output, marking the beginning of a blatantly commercial era for Stewart, and which actually damaged his credibility amongst many critics and longtime fans.<ref>[http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:3vfixvq5ld0e Mason, Stewart, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"] from Allmusic.com</ref>

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== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Stewart was born the youngest of five children in Archway, William Grimshaw School in Hornsey.<ref> Dafydd Rees & Luke Crampton,''Q Encyclopedia of Rock Stars'', (1996), Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 0-7513-0393-3</ref>

The Stewart family were great fans of the singer Al Jolson and would sing and play his hits. Rod collected his records, read books about him and was influenced by his performing style<ref name="VisualDoc"> ''Rod Stewart the Visual Documentary'' by John Gray, (1992), Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-2906-8</ref>. He decided to take up guitar at the age of eleven and joined a skiffle group with schoolfriends called the Kool Kats<ref name="VisualDoc"/>, playing Lonnie Donegan and Chas McDevitt hits.

=== 1960–1969 ===
After he left school Rod Stewart worked briefly as a silk screen printer<ref name="VisualDoc"/>. He also had trials with football clubs including Brentford (based in West London).<ref name="BBC04"/> He then worked as a grave digger<ref>[http://www.spinner.com/2007/04/27/20-worst-pre-rock-star-jobs-no-7/ 20 Worst Pre-Rock Star Jobs: No. 7 - Spinner.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, fence erector and sign writer. He was also an active supporter of CND at this time. He joined protest marches to Aldermaston and was arrested when he took part in sit ins for the cause <ref name="VisualDoc"/>. He soon switched to a career in music joining folk singer Wizz Jones in the early 1960s busking and travelling around Europe; this resulted in his being deported from Spain for vagrancy.<ref name="BBC04"/>. 

In the spring of 1962, he helped to found The Ray Davies Quartet, later known as the successful British band The Kinks, as their lead singer. He performed with the group on at least one occasion, but was soon dropped due to complaints about his voice from then-drummer John Start's mother as well as musical and personality differences with the rest of the band. This has been denied by both Ray and Dave Davies; however he did play on a football team with Ray at that time.

After returning to mod subculture.

Steampacket broke up in early 1966 with Stewart joining Shotgun Express as lead vocalist with Beryl Marsden. Amongst the members of Shotgun Express were Peter Green (who would go on to form Fleetwood Mac), and Peter Bardens. Shotgun Express released one single before disbanding.  

Stewart then joined the Truth'' became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic and the group toured extensively. The second album ''Beck-Ola'' also was a hit in 1969 but the group members had parted ways by the end of the year. Much of Stewart's sense of phrasing was developed during his time with the Jeff Beck Group.

=== 1969–1975 ===

The US band Cactus offered Stewart a job as lead singer but he and Faces (the remnants of Small Faces after the departure of singer Steve Marriott).

Stewart also signed a solo recording contract with folk, rock, and country blues, inclusive of a British working-class sensibility, with both original material ("Cindy's Lament" and the title song) and cover versions (Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" and Mike d'Abo's "Handbags and Gladrags").

The Faces released their debut album ''First Step'' in early 1970 with a rock and roll style similar to the Rolling Stones that was a major departure from the psychedelic-tinged pop of Gasoline Alley'' that autumn (Elkie Brooks later achieved a hit with a version of the title track in 1983). Rod's approach was similar to his first album, as exemplified by the title track; and mandolin was introduced into the sound. He then launched a solo tour.

Stewart sang guest vocals for the Australian group Python Lee Jackson on "In a Broken Dream" in 1970. His payment was a set of seat covers for his car. It was re-released in 1972 to become a worldwide hit.

right|thumb|200px|The single cover to "Maggie May"Stewart's 1971 solo album ''Lindisfarne), "Maggie May" was also named in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's ''500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll'', which is one of three songs by him to appear on that list. The rest of the album was equally strong, with "Mandolin Wind" again showcasing that instrument; "soul to the mix; and "Tomorrow Is a Long Time", a cover of a Bob Dylan song. But the ultimate manifestation of the early Stewart solo style was the Stewart-Wood-penned "Every Picture Tells a Story" itself: powered by Mick Waller's drumming and a mostly acoustic arrangement, it is a fast, rocking, headlong romp relating the picaresque adventures of the singer.

The second Faces album, ''Long Player'', was released in early 1971 and enjoyed greater chart success than ''First Step''. The Faces also got their only US Top 40 hit with "Stay With Me" from their third album ''Steve Jones from The Sex Pistols regarded The Faces very highly and named them as a main influence on the British punk rock movement.

The Faces toured extensively in 1972 with growing tension in the band over Stewart's solo career enjoying more success than the band's. Stewart released ''Never a Dull Moment'' in the same year. Repeating the ''Every Picture'' formula for the most part, it reached number two on the US album charts and number one in the UK, and enjoyed further good notices from reviewers. "You Wear It Well" was a hit single that reached number 13 in the US and went to number one in the UK, while "Twisting the Night Away" made explicit Stewart's debt to Sam Cooke.

For the body of his early solo work Stewart earned tremendous critical praise. ''Rolling Stone''’s 1980 ''Illustrated History of Rock & Roll'' includes this in its Stewart entry:

:Rarely has a singer had as full and unique a talent as Rod Stewart [...] a writer who offered profound lyricism and fabulous self-deprecating humour, teller of tall tales and honest heartbreaker, he had an unmatched eye for the tiny details around which lives turn, shatter, and reform [...] and a voice to make those details indelible. [... His solo albums] were defined by two special qualities: warmth, which was redemptive, and modesty, which was liberating. If ever any rocker chose the role of Everyman and lived up to it, it was Rod Stewart.

The Faces released their final album ''Ooh La La'' which reached number one in the UK and number 21 in the US in 1973. The band toured Australasia, Japan, Europe and the UK in 1974<ref name="nzentgrafwoodworks"></ref> to support the album and the single "Pool Hall Richard". 

In late 1974 Stewart released his ''Smiler'' album, which proved to be a disappointment. In Britain, it reached number one, and the single "Farewell" number seven, but only number 13 on the ''Billboard'' pop album charts and the single "Mine for Me" only number 91 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles charts. ''Smiler'' is generally regarded as Stewart's weakest album of the 1970s; it was also his last original album for Mercury Records. After the release of the double album compilation ''The Best of Rod Stewart'' he switched to Warner Bros. Records and remained with them throughout the vast majority of his career.

In 1975 the Faces toured the US twice (with Ronnie Wood joining The Rolling Stones' US tour in between)<ref name="nzentgrafwoodworks"/> before Stewart announced the Faces' break-up at the end of the year.<ref name="tioos-chronicle75"></ref>

=== 1975–1981 ===
In 1975, Rod Stewart moved to the US, applying for citizenship due to his love affair with UK tax authorities. He released the ''Sailing", was a massive number one hit in the UK, but it only reached the Top 60 of the US charts. The single returned to the UK Top 10 a year later when used as the theme music for a series about ''HMS Ark Royal'', and having been a hit twice over became, and remains, Stewart's biggest-selling single in the UK. documentary ''All This and World War II''.

Later in 1976, Stewart topped the ''Billboard'' singles charts for eight weeks and the Australian singles charts with the glossy seduction ballad "Tonight's the Night", with a steamy accompanying A Night on the Town'' album, which went to number two on the ''Billboard'' album charts and was Stewart's first album to go platinum. By explicitly marking the album as having a "fast side" and a "slow side", Stewart continued the trend started by ''Atlantic Crossing''. "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols is widely believed to have sold more records in that week). "The Killing of Georgie (Part 1 and 2)", about the murder of a gay man, was also a Top 40 hit for Stewart during 1977.

''glam element, including make-up, spandex clothes and the like.

Stewart scored another UK number one and US number one single with "Blondes Have More Fun...or do they?'' which went to number one on the ''Billboard'' album charts and sold 4 million albums. It was to be Stewart's last number one album for 25 years.

There are two schools of critical thought about this whole period of Stewart's career. One is exemplified by the same 1980 Rolling Stone ''History'' entry quoted above, as it actually begins:

:Rarely has a singer had as full and unique a talent as Rod Stewart; rarely has anyone betrayed his talent so completely. Once the most compassionate presence in music, he has become a bilious self-parody — and sells more records than ever... full of the rewards he received for his work, and seemingly without noticing, he exchanged passion for sentiment, the romance of sex for a tease, a reach for mysteries with tawdry posturing...

The other school acknowledges that Stewart has never surpassed his earliest work, but states that by ''Never a Dull Moment'' and certainly ''Smiler'' it was clear that that formula had run dry, and that he needed to make a musical change in direction. Furthermore, Stewart's early solo work had inadvertently benefited from The Faces drawing off his less-inspired, straight-rocking party efforts; without The Faces around, this side of him became more manifest in his solo work. Given that, this view concludes that his albums during this period are not so bad and in particular ''Atlantic Crossing'' and ''A Night on the Town'' are more than occasionally inspired.

A focal point of this debate was "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?". To detractors, this was the epitome of Stewart's egotism and the nadir of his career. Supporters defend the music by saying this was Stewart's try at the disco sound, much in the same way as Paul McCartney did "Silly Love Songs" or The Rolling Stones did "Miss You". In interviews, Stewart, while admitting his accompanying look had become "tarty", has defended the lyrics by pointing out that the song is a third-person narrative slice-of-life portrayal, not unlike those in his earlier work, and that it is not about him. In any case, the song's refrain was identical to Brazilian Jorge Ben Jor's earlier "Taj Mahal"; a lawsuit ensued. Stewart donated his royalties from the song to UNICEF, and he performed it at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in 1979.

Rod moved a bit to a more New Wave direction in 1980 by releasing the album ''Foolish Behaviour''. Not very well received, the album produced one hit single in the song "Passion". In 1981, Stewart added further 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 the Top 5 of the Billboard charts with the album going platinum.

In August 1981, MTV was launched in the US with several of Stewart's videos in heavy rotation.

On 18 December 1981, Stewart played the Los Angeles Forum, along with Kim Carnes and Tina Turner. This show was broadcast around the world to a television audience of 35 million.

=== 1982–2001 ===
Stewart's career then went into a relative slump, and his albums between ''Tonight I'm Yours'' (1981) and ''Out of Order'' (1988), received harsh criticism from many critics. He only had three Top 10 singles between 1982 and 1988, although "Baby Jane" became his sixth and final UK number one in 1983. The corresponding ''Camouflage'' album went gold in the UK, and the single ''Infatuation'' received considerable play on People Get Ready", but an attempt to tour together fell apart after a few dates. He reached UK number two in 1986 with "Every Beat Of My Heart", a song designed to be of similar crowd-waving qualities to "Sailing".

In January 1985, he performed at the Rock 'n Rio Festival before an estimated audience of 100,000+. His outstanding performance during a stormy night was described by Stewart himself as “winning the world soccer championship”.

In 1988, he returned with ''Out Of Order'', produced by Andy Taylor and by 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. The name of the child in the video is Alex Zuckerman.)

In January 1989, Rod set out on the River Plate Stadium, which seats 70,000+, was estimated to have had in attendance more than 90,000, with several thousand outside the stadium. Firehoses were sprayed on the crowd to avoid heat prostration, and the excitement was palpable.

Despite the rigours of traversing South America's questionable highway system with three separate convoys of equipment holding the million-dollar light show and stages (the loss of a truck in a landslide delayed one show in Brazil), the show went on with a gruelling schedule of performances. Venues in remote, seemingly desolate small towns would fill to standing-room-only capacity in the local soccer stadium, and ring the stadium in a sea of fans electrified by the music, the entertainer, and the fact that he was willing to perform for them.

Stewart's version of the Tom Waits song "Downtown Train" went to number two of the US singles charts in 1990. 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. Also in 1990 he recorded "It Takes Two" with Tina Turner which reached number five on the UK charts.

In 1993, he recorded "All For Love" with Sting and The Three Musketeers''; the single reached number one on the US charts.