Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945)[2] is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English[3] ancestry.
With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group and then Faces. He launched his solo career in 1969 with his debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (US: The Rod Stewart Album). His work with The Jeff Beck Group and Faces proved to be influential on the formation of the punk rock and heavy metal genres.[4][5]
With his career in its fifth decade, Stewart has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling artists of all time.[6] In the UK, he has garnered six consecutive number one albums, and his tally of 62 hit singles include 31 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position.[7] He has had 16 top ten singles in the U.S, with four of these reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists".[8] He was voted at #33 in Q Magazine's list of the top 100 Greatest Singers of all time.[9] In 1994, Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[
Roderick David Stewart was born in Highgate, North London, the youngest of the five children of Robert Stewart and Elsie Gilbart.[11] His father was Scottish and had been a master builder in Leith, Edinburgh, while Elsie was English and had grown up in Upper Holloway in North London.[12] Married in 1928,[12] the couple had two sons and two daughters while living in Scotland, then they moved to Highgate.[11] Stewart came after an eight-year gap following his youngest sibling; he was born at home during World War II, half an hour after a German V-2 missile warhead fell on the local Highgate police station.[11][12]
The family was neither affluent, nor poor and by all accounts Stewart was a spoiled child as the youngest;[11][12] Stewart has called his childhood "fantastically happy".[12] He had an undistinguished record at Highgate Primary School and failed the eleven plus exam.[13] He then attended the William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School in Hornsey.[14] His father retired from the building trade at age 65, then opened a newsagent's shop on the Archway Road when Stewart was in his early teens; the family lived over the shop.[11][12] Stewart's main hobby was railway modelling.[15]
The Stewart family was mostly focused on football;[16] Robert had played on a local amateur side and managed some as well, and one of Stewart's earliest memories were the pictures of Scottish players such as George Young and Gordon Smith that his brothers had on the wall.[17][18] Rod was the most talented footballer in the Stewart family and was a strong supporter of Arsenal F.C..[17][19] Combining natural athleticism with near-reckless aggression, he became captain of the school football team and played for Middlesex Schoolboys as centre-half.[17]
The family were also great fans of the singer Al Jolson and would sing and play his hits.[16][20] Stewart collected his records and saw his films, read books about him, and was influenced by his performing style and attitude towards his audience.[16][18][21] His introduction to rock and roll was hearing Little Richard's 1956 hit "The Girl Can't Help It" and seeing Bill Haley & His Comets in concert.[20] His father bought him a guitar in January 1959; the first song he learned was the folk tune "It Takes a Worried Man to Sing a Worried Song" and the first record he bought was Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody".[15] In 1960, he joined a skiffle group with schoolfriends called the Kool Kats, playing Lonnie Donegan and Chas McDevitt hits.[15][22]
Stewart left school at age 15[23] and worked briefly as a silk screen printer.[24] Spurred on by his father, his ambition was to become a professional footballer.[19][23] In 1961 he joined on as an apprentice with Brentford F.C.,[23][25][26] a Third Division club at the time.[27] However, he disliked the early morning travel to West London and the daily assignment to clean the first team's boots.[23] His playing effectiveness at centre-half was hindered by his slight build — 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) but only 9 stone (130 lb; 57 kg) — and he pushed himself so much that he sometimes vomited at the side of the pitch.[23] After up to two months of play in pre-season fixtures,[nb 1] Stewart left the team, to the great disappointment of his father.[23] Stewart later reflected that: "I had the skill but not the enthusiasm."[23] Regarding possible career options, Stewart concluded, "Well, a musician's life is a lot easier and I can also get drunk and make music, and I can't do that and play football. I plumped for music ... They're the only two things I can do actually: play football and sing."
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