50 facts about singer Rod Stewart

Stewart is known for his distinctive raspy singing voice. Learn 50 facts about singer Rod Stewart.

1. His full name is Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE.

2. He is a British rock singer-songwriter.

3. Was born and raised in London.

4. He is of Scottish and English ancestry.

5. Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 100 million records worldwide.

6. He has had six consecutive number one albums in the UK, and his tally of 62 UK hit singles includes 31 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position.

7. He has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

8. In 2007, he received a CBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music.

9. Has a distinctive raspy singing voice.

10. Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group and then with Faces, though his music career had begun in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica.

11. In October 1963 he joined the Dimensions as a harmonica player and part-time vocalist, then in 1964 he joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars.

12. Later, in August 1964, he also signed a solo contract, releasing his first solo single, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", in October of the same year.

13. He maintained a solo career alongside a group career, releasing his debut solo album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (US: The Rod Stewart Album), in 1969.

14. His early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music and R&B.

15. His aggressive blues work with The Jeff Beck Group and the Faces influenced heavy metal genres.

16. From the late 1970s through the 1990s, Stewart's music often took on a new wave or soft rock/middle-of-the-road quality, and in the early 2000s he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook.

17. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists".

18. He is a Grammy and Brit Award recipient.

19. He was voted at No. 33 in Q Magazine's list of the top 100 Greatest Singers of all time.

20. Placed No. 59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time.

21. As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

22. Was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, as a member of the Faces.

23. Roderick David Stewart was born at 507 Archway Road, Highgate, North London on 10 January 1945.

24. He is the youngest of five children of Robert Stewart and Elsie Gilbart.

25. His father was Scottish and had been a master builder in Leith, Edinburgh.

26. His mother Elsie was English and had grown up in Upper Holloway in North London.

27. His parents married in 1928, and the couple had two sons and two daughters while living in Scotland, then they moved to Highgate.

28. Stewart came after an eight-year gap following his youngest sibling; he was born at home during World War II.

29. Stewart was spoiled as the youngest.

30. Has called his childhood "fantastically happy".

31. He had an undistinguished record at Highgate Primary School and failed the eleven plus exam.

32. His father retired from the building trade at age 65, buying a newsagent's shop on the Archway Road when Stewart was in his early teens; the family lived over the shop.

33. Stewart's main hobby was railway modelling.

34. His family was mostly focused on football; Stewart's father had played in a local amateur team and managed some teams as well, and one of Stewart's earliest memories were the pictures of Scottish players such as George Young and Gordon Smith that his brothers had on the wall.

35. Stewart was the most talented footballer in the family.

36. Was a strong supporter of Arsenal F.C.

37. Combining natural athleticism with near-reckless aggression, he became captain of the school football team and played for Middlesex Schoolboys as centre-half.

38. His family was also great fans of the singer Al Jolson and would sing and play his hits. Stewart collected his records and saw his films, read books about him, and was influenced by his performing style and attitude towards his audience.

39. His introduction to rock and roll was hearing Little Richard's 1956 hit "The Girl Can't Help It" and seeing Bill Haley & His Comets in concert.

40. His father bought him a guitar in January 1959.

41. The first song he learned was the folk tune "It Takes a Worried Man to Sing a Worried Song".

42. The first record he bought was Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody".

43. In 1960, he joined a skiffle group with schoolfriends called the Kool Kats, playing Lonnie Donegan and Chas McDevitt hits.

44. Stewart left school at age 15 and worked briefly as a silk screen printer.

45. Spurred on by his father, his ambition was to become a professional footballer.

46. In summer 1960, he went for trials at Brentford F.C., a Third Division club at the time.

47. Stewart worked in the family shop and as a newspaper delivery boy.

48. He then worked briefly as a labourer for Highgate Cemetery, which became another part of his biographical lore.

49. He worked in a North Finchley funeral parlour and as a fence erector and sign writer.

50. In 1961 he went to Denmark Street with The Raiders and got a singing audition with well-known record producer Joe Meek, but Meek stopped the session with a rude sound.