Jack Goldstein - 101 Amazing Facts About Rod Stewart

Title Page

101 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT ROD STEWART

Jack Goldstein & Frankie Taylor

Publisher Information

Published in 2013 by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

The rights of Jack Goldstein and Frankie Taylor to be identified as the Authors of this Work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

Copyright 2013 Jack Goldstein and Frankie Taylor

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

All facts contained within this book have been researched from reputable sources. If any information is found to be false, please contact the publishers, who will be happy to make corrections for future editions.

Introduction

Are you the worlds biggest Rod Stewart fan? Or do you want to find out everything there is to know about one of the worlds best-loved singers?

If so, then this is the book for you! Contained within are 101 amazing facts about how Rod got started in the music industry, the numerous awards he has won, the beautiful women he has dated, plus many more. The book is easily organised into sections so you can find the information you want fast!

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Biographical Facts

1. Rods full name is Roderick David Stewart.
2. He was born in London on the 10 th of January 1945.
3. Rods father, Robert, was a Scottish master builder.
4. His mother, Elsie, was English.
5. Rod was the youngest of five children, and has said he was quite spoilt as a child!
6. Rod is five feet eight inches tall.
7. Rod has been a member of a number of bands, as well as having had a hugely successful solo career.
8. He was featured at number 33 in Q Magazines list of the 100 greatest singers of all time, and 59 th on Rolling Stone s equivalent list.
9. In the UK, Rod had an amazing six consecutive number one albums, and released a total of 62 hit singles, half of which reached the top ten and six of which secured the number one slot.
10. Although Rod is best known nowadays for his singing, he is also a multi-instrumentalist, playing the harmonica, guitar, piano, banjo and mandolin.

Growing Up

1. As a young teenager, Rod enjoyed railway modelling.
2. Rod wasnt the best student - he failed his eleven plus exam!
3. As a youngster, Rod supported Arsenal FC.
4. Despite his initial leaning towards the club however, Rod later developed a true love for Celtic FC, and switched to Manchester United when it came to the English league.
5. He was the most talented member of his family when it came to football, and even played at centre-half for Middlesex Schoolboys.
6. Rods first step at performing music came when his dad bought him a guitar. The first song he learned how to play was a folk tune by the name of It Takes a Worried Man to Sing a Worried Song .
7. The first record that Rod bought was Cmon Everybody by Eddie Cochran.
8. Seeking a career in football, Rod had trials for Brentford Football Club - however they didnt call him back after the days events.
9. Jobs that Rod held before breaking into the music industry included working at his dads newsagents (which he had bought after retiring from the building trade), working as a screen printer, digging graves as a labourer for Highgate cemetery, working in a funeral parlour, putting up fences and painting signs!
10. When deciding between focusing on a career in football or in music, Rod is rumoured to have said that he could get drunk and make music, but couldnt do that and play football.

Best Singles

Here is a list of Rods best ten singles, as voted for by a panel of experts...

1. Maggie May
2. You Wear it Well
3. Sailing
4. I Dont Wanna Talk About It
5. Da Ya Think Im Sexy?
6. Baby Jane
7. Rhythm of My Heart
8. The First Cut is the Deepest
9. Have I Told you Lately
10. Some Guys Have All the Luck

Breaking Into the Music Industry

1. Rods first band was a skiffle one he formed with some school friends, playing Lonnie Donegan and Chas McDevitt hits. It was (not very originally!) called the Kool Kats.
2. He later secured a singing audition with Joe Meek, a well-known record producer, however Rods style was not to Meeks liking, which he expressed rather crudely towards the end of the audition by making a rude sound!
3. Whilst trying to break into the music industry, Rod hooked up with folk singer Wizz Jones and the two toured Europe, playing minor gigs together (with Rod on the Harmonica) and sleeping rough whilst they travelled from city to city. Eventually, Rod was deported back to England from Spain for vagrancy.
4. Rod actually became a member of The Ray Davies Band for a short while - they would later go on to become The Kinks of course! At the time Rod was with them, he held the role of lead vocalist (as Ray Davies wasnt sure he wanted it). However, musical differences between Rod and the other members - and the mother of John Stuart (the drummer at the time) not liking his raspy voice - meant that he was quickly dropped from the line-up.
5. After listening to Otis Redding and Sam Cooke records, Rod began to develop a strong love for soul music and rhythm & blues, and with this in mind he joined a rhythm and blues group called The Dimensions. Here, he was the harmonica player and sometimes took the lead vocal role.
6. Jimmy Powell, at the time a well-known singer from Birmingham liked the Dimensions so much that he joined them, changing the name to Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions. He relegated Rod to solely playing the Harmonica with no vocal input at all. This didnt go down too well with Rod, so he soon left the band.
7. Long John Baldry, singer with the All Stars heard Rod playing a harmonica version of Smokestack Lightning at Twickenham Railway Station. He was so impressed that he offered Rod the chance to sit in with his group, and paid him 35 a week.
8. This gave Rod the confidence to let his personality shine, and he was nicknamed Rod The Mod Stewart, hinting at his rather dandyish dress sense. The All Stars were renamed the Hoochie Coochie men, and Rods first actual record was released - he was featured on a song called Up Above My Head , which was a B side to one of the bands singles!
9. Rod was set on becoming a vocalist in his own right, and recorded some demos which were touted to the major labels. He actually signed to Decca records and released a solo single called Good Morning Little Schoolgirl , however it was a complete flop, despite him performing it on the TV show Ready Steady Go! .
10. Rod then spent time with two soul revue style outfits - first Steampacket and then Shotgun Express. He didnt particularly enjoy this period however as it was mostly performing other peoples music. Rod said that he felt that one could only start finding yourself when you write your own material.

Relationships

1. The first woman Rod claims to have fallen in love with was Susannah Boffey, an art student who he dated in 1963.
2. After Susannah, Rod entered into his first serious relationship with model Dee Harrington and on their first night together he wore her knickers!
3. Rods next serious relationship was with model Britt Ekland; she believes she was the start of his life-long obsession with leggy blondes! After two years of living together, the two broke up after it emerged that Rod had been having an affair behind her back. Britt has said the breakup was painful and even caused her to become anorexic.