Sir Roderick David Stewart can put another trophy up on his shelf.
On Monday, the English-born singer, 80, won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 American Music Awards. The accolade is not given each year and, unless their online database is lying to us, the only other person to win this specific prize was Diana Ross in 2017. (There are, however, several other ceremonial awards on the AMA’s books, including the “Award of Merit,” whose recipients range from Perry Como to Prince.)
Stewart’s win was particularly nice because the enormously popular singer, whose career has spanned bluesy-rock, disco, and several successful dips into the Great American Songbook, was surprised onstage by five of his children. (“I’ve got eight all together. I didn’t have a television,” he joked, then added, “Ugly, all of ’em!”)
Did you know that Stewart — the raspy voice behind “Maggie May,” “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?“, “Forever Young” and so many other hits — had eight kids? Well, yes or no, here are some other fun facts, in mostly chronological order, that may be new to you.
Early, eerie jobs
CA/Redferns
Rod Stewart in his teenage years.
There are some hazy truths out there about Rod Stewart’s early years. We remember hearing rumors that he played professional soccer before becoming a musician. Not so. He was fond of soccer, and did indeed try out for a local club, but that’s as far as it went.
Secondly, there was always talk that he used to dig graves. That one is kinda true.
Stewart, who grew up a working-class kid over his father’s newspaper shop in London, did briefly have a job at a funeral parlor. He didn’t actually dig the graves, though. He measured out plots and did other tasks, and ultimately didn’t stay there very long.
One of his earliest musical collaborators saved Elton John’s life
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Rod Stewart with Long John Baldry in 1965
Stewart and Elton John are great pals. (There’s a funny story about how Stewart tried to impress John by buying him a fancy refrigerator; in return, John gave Stewart a Rembrandt painting.) But they have another important connection: Long John Baldry.
Baldry is not a household name, but he was a key figure in the British music scene in the mid-to-late-1960s. When Stewart was coming up as a teenager (in his slick clothes, hence the nickname “Rod the Mod”), he played harmonica for some of Baldry’s early groups. It was an important step for Stewart, because Baldry knew everybody.
Years later, John wrote a song about Baldry, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” about a night in which he considered suicide. The “Sugar Bear” of the song is Baldry, who helped John think things through (and avoid entering an ill-fated marriage).
Psychedelic Stewart?
Malcolm Lubliner/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
The Grateful Dead in 1968, who you wouldn’t maybe think was connected to the “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” guy
This will take a minute to explain, but if you look at it the right way, those dirty, filthy hippies the Grateful Dead were a pretty big stepping stone for Stewart’s career.
Stewart had many false starts early on, and was in several bands that didn’t quite connect. (Some of his earliest colleagues included future stars like Mick Fleetwood and Jimmy Page.) Then, in 1967, he was recruited by Jeff Beck, formerly of the Yardbirds, to join the fledgling Jeff Beck Group as lead vocalist. (Future member of the Rolling Stones, Ron Wood, was in the band, too.)
Beck was a known quantity, and this new ensemble, like other heavy blues-y rock groups like Cream, were guitar-centric, loud, and innovative. But for whatever reason, they didn’t quite connect. It was a conundrum, and they almost called it quits. Legendary promoter/manager Peter Grant knew there was an audience for this music, though, so he sent them on a quick summer trip to America, where they opened for the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore East in New York City. The psychedelic freaks in the audience ate it up, as did the press. After a few gigs in Boston, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, they were the hottest thing on the scene, man, especially with their handsome, powerful singer strutting around out front. Indeed, Stewart was such a draw that Beck soon dismissed him, but by then, the genie had left the bottle.
Double-fisting hits
Stewart’s split with Jeff Beck (with whom he would collaborate again later on) was perfectly timed. The band Small Faces needed a new singer, so he stepped in (with Ron Wood coming along, too.) They became Faces, and their sound was similar to the Jeff Beck Group’s, but a little more tuneful, with some country-fried twang mixed in with the aggressive rock.
But by this point, Stewart had been bouncing around from band to band, and kicked off a solo career, too. Which would succeed? Both would succeed!
Faces recorded some eternal classic rock hits like “Stay With Me” and “Ooh La La,” while Stewart recorded his landmark albums Gasoline Alley and Every Picture Tells a Story. That second one, released in 1971, contained the mega-hits “Maggie May” and “Mandolin Wind,” but Faces didn’t actually wrap things up until 1975. Luckily, Stewart had a big enough persona to fill both sets of shoes.
Successful, sure, but THAT successful?
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Rod Stewart and Clive Davis hold one of Stewart’s many, many, MANY platinum records
Of course, Stewart is a success. He’s a household name. “Forever Young,” “Tonight’s the Night,” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” are so many more are known by everyone. “Love Touch” was on the radio for what felt like three years straight. But here are some stats:
He’s sold 120 million records worldwide. He’s had 52 songs on Billboard‘s Hot 100, 12 in the top 10, four at No. 1. His career took off nearly 60 years ago and he’s performing right now in Las Vegas, with a booked schedule all summer. He recently sold his publishing rights for $100 million. And, more importantly, if you see someone with blond spiky hair, you can say, “Hey, you are rockin’ a Rod Stewart” and a) everyone will know what you mean, and b) it will be a compliment.
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An early advocate for the LGBT community
Importantly, Stewart used his voice in brave ways. In 1976, he recorded “The Killing of Georgie, Part I and II,” which can claim to be the first mainstream sympathetic portrayal of a gay man in pop-rock music. The tragic story was based on a man Stewart knew who was killed. He has said he didn’t intend to break any barriers in making the song, that he was just trying to tell a story. Moreover, he felt comfortable with the subject matter because he “was surrounded by gay men at the time,” as he told The Guardian in 2016, citing his manager, his “PR guy,” and friend Long John Baldry.
The BBC initially refused to play the track, according to Stewart, but it did eventually become a hit. Stewart is still thanked by gay fans by creating such a rare, highly visible (albeit sad) representation.
O concerto gratuito mais frequentado da história
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Christ the Redeemer, in Rio. For one night, second fiddle to Rod Stewart.
Though the specific details will never be precisely known, it is commonly believed that Stewart holds the record for highest concert attendance in history.
Guinness World Records states that 3.5 million (yes, million) attended a free concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on New Year’s Eve in 1994. More people attended that concert than live in all of Uruguay.
That’s a lot of people who think this guy is sexy!
(If curious, Jean-Michel Jarre’s free “Oxygen” concert in Moscow in 1997 came close to beating the record, but Guinness said he didn’t quite get there.)
The many loves of Rod Stewart
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Rod Stewart with his second wife, Rachel Hunter, in 1994
As mentioned earlier, Stewart has eight children. He has also been married three times.
His first wife, Alana Stewart, had previously been married to actor George Hamilton. Today she is known for affiliating with extreme right-wing causes, and is dating an executive editor of Newsmax.
His second wife was the New Zealand model Rachel Hunter. She was born two months after Stewart exited the Jeff Beck Group.
His third and current wife is the British model Penny Lancaster-Stewart. She was negative two when Stewart exited the Jeff Beck Group.
Before and in between these marriages, he dated the Swedish actress Britt Ekland and model Kelly Emberg.
Dissed by the Grammys?
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Rod Stewart at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards
Stewart’s impact and popularity is, by now, substantially clear. So isn’t it a little odd that he’s only won one Grammy?
Oh, he has 15 nominations — but all those hits like “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” and “Downtown Train” and “Young Turks” always got beat. It wasn’t until 2005, when Stewart pivoted to recording songs from the Great American Songbook, that he won in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category for Stardust … The Great American Songbook Vol III.
Maybe this is why the rival American Music Awards was eager to bust out the Lifetime Achievement Award.
CHOOOO-CHOOOOOO!!!!!!
CBS
Rod Stewart with his amazing model train set
It’s clear that Stewart loves to perform, and loves the company of women, but what he really loves are model trains.
In late 2019, Stewart revealed that for 23 years he had been building a massive (absolutely massive) model train set. Based on art deco visions of New York and Chicago, Stewart built the thing himself, by hand, in the attic of his Los Angeles home. (He has recently moved it to the U.K.)
He did everything on his own except for the electrical work, which means a lot of woodworking, painting, clipping, gluing, and dealing with tiny tools. For years, while on tour, he would book hotel suites with a second room. Some may have snickered, thinking this was for some typical rock & roll excess from the guy who recorded “Hot Legs.” In actuality, he would schlep his kit and ventilation system so he could continue creating his fantasy city in between gigs.
And you thought Rod Stewart was cool before.
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