Rod Stewart

Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, born January 10, 1945, is a British rock singer-songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of English and Scottish ancestry. Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists".

Stewart was born in Highgate, North London; he left school at age 15 and worked briefly as a silk screen printer. Encouraged by his father, his ambition was to become a professional footballer. Guitarist Jeff Beck recruited Stewart for his new post-Yardbirds group in February 1967, and so Stewart joined the Jeff Beck Group as vocalist and occasional songwriter.This would become the big break of his early career. Stewart's 1971 solo album Every Picture Tells a Story made him a household name with the hits "Reason to Believe" and "Maggie May".

In July 2007, Stewart was given his CBE for "services to music" at Buckingham Palace. The CBE refers to "The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire" and it is given to members of the populous who have made a significant achievement for the United Kingdom.

In 2015, Stewart's autobiography (which was published in 2012) made the New York Times bestseller list; it was entitled simply: Rod, The Autobiography.

030