Biographic - Sunday January 25, 2015 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

Born Roderick David Stewart in London on January 10, 1945, his first job in music saw him playing harmonica in an R&B band before he was recruited as a vocalist by Long John Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men. Following stints with Steampacket and Shotgun Express, "Rod The Mod" joined The Jeff Beck Group, along with his good friend, guitarist Ronnie Wood. The band enjoyed a lot of success in the U.S. but soon imploded. By late 1969, Ronnie Wood was playing with the remnants of British Pop outfit The Small Faces and Rod was recruited to the ranks. Renamed The FAces, the band's brand of Shambolic, good-time rock 'n' roll quickly endeared them to U.K. audiences. Meanwhile, Rod was also juggling a solo career and in 1971, it was his third solo album that gave him is major breakthrough. With "Every Picture Tells A Story" and the track "Maggie May" Rod made history by becoming the first artist to simultaneously top the album and singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic more hits followed. But Rod's continued success eclipsed the popularity of The Faces, creating internal friction. The band broke up in 1975s with Ronnie Wood joining The Rolling Stones and Rod relocating to America. By the end of the decade. Rod was one of the world's biggest stars. Following a relative lull in the 1980s, he enjoyed a number of hits in the 1990s and was inducted into the rock 'n' roll hall of fame in 1994. Eighteen years later, he was inducted again as a member of The Faces. In recent years, his reworking of classic songs has given him great success, taking him to the top of the U.S, album charts for the first time in two decades. A true rock legend who has so far sold more than 100 million records. This month sees the fourth year of his smash-hit Las Vegas residency "Rod Stewart: The Hits" before taking the show to Australia and New Zeeland in the spring.

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