Ahead of Abu Dhabi gig, 11 important milestones and facts about Rod Stewart

In another world he could have been a member of The Kinks
Born in 1945, Rod Stewart’s life on the road began while in his mid-teens, busking around Europe with folk guitarist Wizz Jones – he was even rounded up and deported from Spain for vagrancy in 1963. That same year, Ray and Dave Davis, old school friends of his, briefly considered him as a singer for their band, which became The Kinks.
He learnt harmonica by watching Mick Jagger
In late 1963, while working in his brother’s shop, Stewart started attending The Rolling Stones’ regular gigs at London’s Studio 51 club, where Jagger’s harmonica style on these early blues covers informed his own approach to the instrument. Later, when he joined impresario Giorgio Gomelsky’s group, Steampacket, the band’s first gig was as support to The Rolling Stones in 1965.
His distinctive vocal style was the result of trying to imitate Sam Cooke
Stewart’s early, overlooked solo work was largely inspired by two years of listening to soul great Sam Cooke, whose Shake he covered in 1966. Decades later, he covered Cooke’s Wonderful World on the 2009 album Soulbook. He later dismissed his own effort, saying: "I’m a poor imitation of him. I just hear myself trying to sound like Sam Cooke. It’s a waste of time."
His best loved song was originally a B-sid
If you know only one Rod Stewart song, it is probably Maggie May, that soft-rock radio staple that opens with the quintessential, raspy Stewart vocal. Crazy as it sounds today, the song was originally judged only worthy of being a B-side, in 1971, to early minor hit Reason to Believe. Maggie May was later named as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
Some believe he should have remained a hard rocker
Stewart first reached a wider audience in the late 1960s as a member of the short-lived Jeff Beck Group, the first solo project launched by the guitar legend after leaving The Yardbirds. Steeped in a blues-rock sound, the two albums released by the band, Truth and Beck-Ola (1968-9), are regarded as influential touchstones that paved the way for Led Zeppelin’s hard-rock sound, led by fellow ex-Yardbird Jimmy Page.
Or a stadium rocker
When rhythm guitarist Ronnie Wood left Beck’s group to join the ashes of The Small Faces in 1969, Stewart followed suit, birthing British rock icons the Faces. The loose and lively outfit enjoyed a raucous reputation to rival The Rolling Stones – until 1975, when Wood joined Jagger and co, and Stewart went solo for good, pursuing more diverse sounds.
After Rod went disco, the critics turned
It was one thing to leave an iconic rock band, another sacrilege altogether to record a disco tune. It is his best-selling track, but 1978’s Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? provoked a press backlash, prompting influential critic Greil Marcus’s infamous put-down in Rolling Stone’s 1980 Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: "Rarely has a singer had as full and unique a talent as Rod Stewart; rarely has anyone betrayed his talent so completely."
The myth grew bigger than the music
Now rich beyond his wildest dreams, Stewart’s readiness to show off his latest car, house or girlfriend often overshadowed his music. Known for dating a string of blondes – and fathering eight children to five mothers – much of his autobiography is devoted to descriptions of keeping his relentless infidelities secret from the women in question.

Source: The National