Rod Stewart is one of the best. From the Faces, and his blues-rock roots to the disco pop of the 80s, he's one of the best-selling and most-loved artists of all time.
Stewart has sold over 100 million records worldwide, has had six consecutive number one albums in the UK, and 16 top ten singles in the US.
The I Like: Rod Stewart playlist offers a collection of covers, originals and an exciting musical journey – a daring mix of folk, rock, pop, blues and country you won’t want to miss!
Here are some highlights!
Da Ya Think I’m Sexy
Featured track, “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” was released on the 1978 album, Blondes Have More Fun. Despite being criticised for breaking Stewarts’ blues-rock roots, the single topped British and Australian charts and landed at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks.
Regarded as one of his signature songs, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” is a disco-fueled party anthem you can’t help but sing along to…
“If you want my body and you think I’m sexy…”
Have I Told You Lately
Van Morrison released “Have I Told You Lately” on his nineteenth studio album Avalon Sunset (1989). The tender ballad is said to be about his relationship with God, and might have originally been written as a prayer. Rod Stewart famously performed “Have I Told You Lately” on his MTV Unplugged special in 1993, and soon after released an acoustic cover of the song on his album Unplugged…And Seated. His version was a commercial success, hitting #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. There's just something about his raspy vocal delivery that makes it more likely to pertain to a lover than a religious figure, though.
Sailing
Next up is “Sailing,” a song originally recorded by the Sutherland Brothers on their Lifeboat album in 1972. Three years after its release, Stewart brought the group to significance by covering their song. Upon moving to the US, Stewart recorded his version at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama. Although not as popular in his new home-country, the song became Stewart’s best-selling single in the UK, initially topping the charts and later being used as the theme song for a BBC documentary series.
Maggie May
Stewart released “Maggie May” on his 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story. Well, it appears that this one definitely tells a memorable story for Stewart, who has revealed that the song reflects a fictionalised version of his first sexual encounter with an older woman at Beaulieu Jazz Festival in 1961.
A supposed “Maggie May” took Stewart’s virginity in a beer tent, and we’re not exactly sure how much older she was, but Stewart does give us a hint… “old enough that she was highly disappointed by the blink-and-you'll-miss-it-brevity of the experience."
