It seems strange that there was ever a time when Rod Stewart wasn’t a well known ladies man and singer, but this rock n roller wasn’t always crooning into the mike. A quick look at any Rod Stewart biography will show that he has worked in a number of professions before taking on a singing profession and becoming one of Britain’s best known crooners.
Early Years
Image via Wikipedia
Rod Stewart’s biography begins with his birth in the 10th of January, 1945. He and his family lived above their newsagent’s shop in Archway Road in North London. The youngest of five children Rod experienced a fairly strict upbringing although he was also quite spoilt. His childhood passion for football and model railways has never left him, and he remains an avid football fan to this day. In fact, his father and brothers were also such big fans that they started their own local team called the ‘Highgate Redwings’.
But the singing aspect of Rod Stewart’s biography truly began when he and his family gathered around the piano and sang along to Al Jolson’s hits. Stewart would later declare that Johnson was his biggest influence.
First Jobs
As declared in many a biography of Rob Stewart, he didn’t like school much and because he was good at football, he felt that a career in this was the way forward. However, an apprenticeship with Brentford FC proved different to what Stewart was expecting, and he dropped out of the apprenticeship after a couple of weeks.
To make money while he was as a teenager, Rod Stewart famously worked as a grave digger before joining various bands and becoming a singer. Working in office space Cambridge was never something that appealed to Stewart, so as his biographies suggest he and the bands he’d joined performed in various pubs and clubs as they toured first the UK and then the US.
Singing Career
In 1966 Rod Stewart joined the Jeff Beck Group, in 1969 he joined Faces and shortly thereafter he began his solo career. The 70s saw Stewart releasing a number of number one hit singles, and his style changed from rock to pop as did many other bands during that decade. According to various biographies the 80s proved to be more of a challenge for Rod Stewart. While his “Tonight I’m Yours” album (1981) went platinum, the rest released during that decade were not received anywhere near as well. However, 1989 saw his cover of “Downtown Train” perform exceptionally well and the 90s and 2000s were also positive for the singer.
Despite recording studios taking over serviced offices Manchester, Rod Stewart never had to spend much time in them and the singer continues to live his rock n roll lifestyle like a true star.
Dave Tucker is a freelance writer with a keen interest in celebrity lifestyles and biographies.
