Rod: The Autobiography

Rod Stewart is the luckiest man in the world. And he knew it. His words. He still wakes up every day and thanks his lucky stars for the life he has led. He is also a very entertaining writer. A very glib, easy-going writing style -- it slides by without unnecessary words or serpentine meaning. And he knows how to use a summation sentence to start each paragraph, so you never have to re-read anything or ask yourself `What is this numnut trying to say?` He's self deprecating, and zero ego driven self-absorption is evident. There's much in it about his love life, which I appreciated. 3 wives plus 2 long term sig-others later, you do start to wonder if he will ever realize that his penchant for tall gorgeous blonde models in their early 20's may have had something to do with things eventually not working out. Really though, if you are also of the male persuasion, who likes tall gorgeous blonde models in their early 20's? (You can't see it, but my hand raised...).I could have done without the details of his soccer(football) experiences, it being one of his passions and all. But he had the forethought to contain it in a few dedicated chapters titled `Digression` so it was easy to skip through it without missing anything else. But mostly Rod's autobi is about the music, and this is critically important to me. I was never a Rod superfan, but as a rocker I always liked what he put out along the way -- always a mixture of a lot of styles that only the rock idiom can do. It was about musical blends. I loved the details of how songs got written, who was playing what, and why the arrangements came together as they did. Too many Rock Stars tell you all the details about what happened to them, but not what it all meant. Only the evolutionary details of the music, and the times in which it was created, can explain what it all meant, and Rod digs deeply into his professional life in this regard. Very cool.Of course, you also learn all the incredible long shots and lucking strokes that had to come together make a Rod Stewart. And there were plenty of them, most not the slightest bit obvious to Rod as they happened: `If you expect to get anywhere in the music business, son, you're going to have to get that raspy buzz out of your voice!` And on from there. By the end of this delicious autobi you agree with him -- he is without a doubt, the luckiest man in the world. At least the luckiest Rock Star. In addition to all that, he delivered something in his Rock Star autobi that few others have: Interesting writing!

Way back in the 1970's, I saw Rod Stewart acting like a petulant prima donna on a British TV program, and for a long time thereafter had him pegged as an immature twit, albeit one with a great voice. As someone who went to university in London in the mid-70's and saw just about every rock band that was worth seeing - plus a fair number who weren't - I was never a great Rod Stewart fan. I liked some of his songs - I would have absolutely killed to see the Faces play "Stay With Me" in concert - and appreciated his unique voice, but I never jumped wholeheartedly onto the Stewart bandwagon.All of which somehow makes this autobiography all the more of a delightful surprise. It's lightly written, funny and informative. It's also charmingly self-deprecating; here is the voice of a former Bad Boy of Rock and Roll, all grown up and now looking back with the balance and wisdom of his later years.The book is full of good behind-the-scenes stories that tell of bands, songs and relationships. We learn of Stewart's humble origins, his unsteady progress as a singer and harmonica player (he notes wryly that he was playing the latter badly for a year before someone pointed out that you could actually play the instrument by sucking as well as blowing into it), and the ups and downs of various bands and albums before fame and commercial success finally sunk their hooks into him for good. This happened in part because of his classic song Maggie May, which Stewart almost discarded from the Every Picture Tells A Story album because he didn't think much of it:"When the Beatles finished `Please Please Me', George Martin allegedly clicked on the talkback and said, `Congratulations, boys, you've just recorded your first number one.' What would I have said had I spoken to the studio after finishing Maggie May? Probably, `Well, that's sort of OK, I suppose. Drink, anyone?'"Originally released as the B side of a single, Maggie May was played widely by radio DJs in the States, and then in Britain, and this finally catapulted both the song and the album to number 1 at the same time in both countries (a feat which, Stewart notes, not even Elvis or the Beatles had managed).Stewart avoids the temptation to use his autobiography to settle scores, and usually describes conflicts tactfully, despite telling us that, "as everyone in the business of rock'n'roll knows, the rule is as follows: in bands, there's always one c**t who no one gets on with." (Amazon won't allow the c word to be printed, even though it's a quote from the book). That he was a horrible and terminally unfaithful partner to his various wives and girlfriends he openly admits. The caricatured life of a star - literally sex, drugs and rock and roll - was too good to pass up, and Stewart indulged unceasingly and head first. At one point he confesses to spending a week in a prime hotel suite in the south of France, literally flying in one girl after another (his manager would drop off one girl at the airport and then head over to Arrivals to pick up the next to arrive).And on the positive side, we get some great stories about his closest friends in the business; the tales of his long relationship with Elton John, including their constant practical jokes and one-upmanship, are particularly amusing. Not to mention the so-called Sex Police: members of the band who tried their best to stop any other band member from having sex with whatever groupie he'd brought back to the hotel after a concert. In one case, this involved removing every last piece of furniture from a musician's hotel suite and replacing it with live chickens. The afflicted band member duly returned and, acting as if nothing was amiss, proceeded to enjoy his girl anyway... as Stewart notes, the important thing was not to give your friends the satisfaction of seeing you inconvenienced or annoyed.Along the way, we get amusing digressions on various topics ranging from his love of cars to Rod Stewart impersonators to the staggering amount of work involved in creating his hairdo... all of this related in a tone that makes it clear he never takes himself too seriously.Viewed superficially, Stewart could be written off - as some have done - as a pretty boy with a good voice. But that does him a disservice: it's very clear from this book that a genuine love of great music was there from the beginning, and he has both appreciated and embraced genres that ranged widely from folk to blues to hard-core rock. Indeed, reading this book made me go back and listen to a "Best of" album (I highly recommend The Definitive Rod Stewart, a two-CD set that includes most of his best songs); in doing so, I recognized many of these influences, sometimes woven together to give a richer whole. Above it all, of course, is that famous raspy voice which, at its best, reflects Stewart's emotional investment in the lyrics (listen to his heartfelt rendering of Tom Waits' wonderful song Tom Traubert's Blues).But overall, you don't have to love the guy to enjoy this book; it's a very entertaining romp through his career, and along the way it provides a highly readable history of the musical era in which he became famous.And Rod Stewart - at least in his maturity - turns out to be a nice guy after all.

I picked up this book in anticipation of a Rod concert, trying to refresh my memory. Instead, I became completely engrossed in a well written (or maybe ghosted) story of Rods life. What made it great, was that it was very much in his voice. It was truly enjoyable and a remarkable accounting of not only his life, but good all the legendary artists he has met and befriended along the way. He is also painfully honest about his flaws, his relationship failures, his fears as a parent and the gratitude he feels over his extraordinary life. A great retelling of a remarkable talent. Oh, and the concert was fantastic.

This book was just too much fun. The writing is excellent. Rod has a self deprecating sense of humor that provides many a chuckle. He also demonstrates a considerable amount of self awareness - particularly about his inability to maintain a long term relationship. Nor is he self aggrandizing - owning up to his part in all the relationships (personal and professional) that went sour.All in all what makes this book so enjoyable are the ideas that come through clearly - Rod’s total commitment to family, the fact he does not take himself seriously and his love of music. The insights and musical history were a nice bonus.

Wow! Rod defiantly has a way of keeping the reader entertained and smiling! His style is honest and occasionally cheeky. Very British!He's clearly already has quite a life and appears very grateful throughout. Rod manages to speak about his previous partners and musicians without being negative and nasty but, as far as I can tell, with simple brutal honesty.His life involves women, model railways, football, women, renaissance art, music and women! A fascinating book with lots of humour. I laughed out loud many times. And hey, there are parts that even educated me about life itself! Rod the guru? Who knew?This book even has a separate chapter dedicated to Rod's haircut! I particularly liked the occasional fun dig at rival Mick Jagger and the chapter about Rod's art collection (it teaches you maths!).This is everything I enjoy in a Autobiography! Long live Rod the Mod!

Having been brought up in London myself, in that same era, and being the same age, I so identified with so much of his life. Plus I was married to a pro musician who was 17years older than me. Here is a man with so much love in him, the Universe helped him to find himself and to finally believe he is a great songwriter, a professional performer, and loving husband and a wonderful father!I haven't even mentioned football or trains, which obviously play a good part toward his relaxation Buy this book, sit or lay back, and enjoy it! I thoroughly did. You will laugh, and you will cry and you will not want it to finish!!

What a surprise - this is a really excellent autobiography which I really enjoyed. I read Keith Richard's "Life" a few years ago and Rod's book is just as good which is very high praise. I always feel that the mark of a good biography or autobiography is whether you feel you really know the subject personally by the end of the book - and here you really do, it's as if you've been allowed into Rod's private world and been made his confidante. And Rod has the gift of writing as if he is writing purely for you, the reader - not his masses of fans etc - just you. That is a special gift. And it's quite a tale - what a fantastic life Rod has had - the music, the women, the cars, the football, the drink. In my next life I think I'll come back as Rod Stewart. I think that's as good as life seems to get - do you agree Rod?

Can’t say I’m a huge Rod Stewart fan, but I grew up with his music as part of the soundtrack to my teenage and later years and some 50 years on, many of his songs are classics. He has a distinct vocal delivery and he’s always seemed personable and very much an individual.I found the early part of the book the most interesting. I had no idea he’d spent so long trying to make it to the big time and his involvement with Long John Baldry was interesting. There’s a lot of background about how some tracks and albums came about, enough gossip to make the reader smile and he comes across as honest and often quite self deprecating. All in all Avery well written account; I’d like to think he wrote it himself rather than it being the work of a ghost writer. His ‘voice’ certainly comes through. Really enjoyed it.

I'm not a die hard fan of Rod's but was recommended this by a friend. It is a brilliant book - I found myself listening to the songs he mentioned while I read the chapters and its made me very jealous that I wasn't a child of the 60/70s! He has had an amazing life (and still going!)Rod's infatuation with women, cars and his beloved model railroads sound slightly arrogant but somehow it doesn't actually come across that way with him. He is still a very grounded chap with a wicked sense of humour. He's very honest and speaks really candidly about getting dumped by Rachel Hunter and his complete adoration for Penny. His bromance with Ronnie "Woody" Wood is heartwarming and hilarious at the same time.Even if you're not a fan - give it a go... its a great story.