The Jeff Beck Group toured both countries several times in 1968 and 1969, gaining a dedicated following. After rejecting an offer to join the American rock group Cactus, Stewart and Jeff Beck Group bassist Ron Wood joined the Small Faces. With Wood switching over to guitar, the group shortened its name to the Faces and recorded its debut album, First Step. During this time, Stewart had also signed a solo contract, releasing his first album, An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down (retitled The Rod Stewart Album for its American release). Stewart released his second solo album, Gasoline Alley, in the fall of 1970, supporting it with an American tour. The following year proved to be pivotal in Stewart’s career. At the beginning of 1971, his third solo album, Every Picture Tells a Story, made Rod Stewart a household name, reaching number one in both America and Britain. Stewart released his fourth solo album, Never a Dull Moment, which nearly replicated the success of Every Picture Tells a Story, peaking at number two in the U.S. and number one in the U.K. In the spring of 1973, the Faces released their final album, Ooh La La. Stewart released Smiler in the fall of 1975. Smiler followed the same formula as his previous four albums — and it also became a hit. Atlantic Crossing, released in the summer of 1975, made the singer’s relocation explicit. Recorded in Los Angeles with a group of studio musicians, 1976’s A Night on the Town continued Stewart’s move to slicker pop territory and proved quite successful, becoming his first platinum album; it featured the hit single ‘Tonight’s the Night,’ which was number one in the U.S. for eight weeks. Foot Loose & Fancy Free, released the following year, followed the same artist,ic pattern as A Night on the Town while surpassing its commercial performance, selling over three million copies. Stewart incorporated some disco to his musical formula for 1978’s Blondes Have More Fun. Supported by the number one single ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?,’ the record became Stewart’s first number one album since Every Picture Tells a Story, selling over four million records. His next four albums only scored three Top Ten hits between 1982 and 1988. Stewart rebounded with 1988’s Out of Order. His version of Tom Waits’ ‘Downtown Train,’ taken from the 1989 four-disc box set Storyteller, became his biggest hit since ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?’ Vagabond Heart (1991) continued his comeback streak. Stewart reunited with Ron Wood to record an MTV Unplugged concert in 1993; the accompanying album, Unplugged…and Seated, launched the Top Ten hit single ‘Have I Told You Lately.’ On his 1995 album A Spanner in the Works, the singer explored a more polished version of this sound, scoring another hit with Tom Petty’s ‘Leave Virginia Alone.’ The following year, he released If We Fall in Love Tonight. When We Were the New Boys, a return to his roots in trad rock, followed in 1998.l. It Had to Be You, the first in his series crooning the Great American Songbook, became an adult contemporary favorite and lodged near the top of the album charts after its release in 2002. As Time Goes By followed it into the charts in 2003 and missed the top spot by only one notch. In late 2004, his third volume in the series (Stardust) hit number one. Thanks for the Memory became the fourth entry in the series in 2005. By the year’s end, all four volumes were collected in The Great American Songbook Box Set. In 2006, he continued his series of cover albums, but this time he focused on the rock & roll era. Still the Same: Great Rock Classics of Our Time. Stewart next tackled soul and Motown classics with 2009’s Soulbook but returned to standards for 2010’s fifth installment of his Great American Songbook series, Fly Me to the Moon.
