Rod Stewart
United Kingdom, 1962–now
English singer who came up through the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces before a long solo career, moving from folk and soul material such as 'Maggie May' to disco and standards.
MusicRoots documents 7 artists who influenced Rod Stewart and 1 artist Rod Stewart influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Rod Stewart?
- Al Jolson — Stewart's family were devoted Al Jolson fans; he collected the records and saw the films, taking from Jolson the showmanship and the way of working an audience that defined his stage persona.
- Bob Dylan — Dylan's debut album was a formative record for the teenage Stewart, who busked around London singing Dylan songs before he ever sang soul.
- Woody Guthrie — Guthrie's songs were part of the American folk repertoire Stewart busked with in the early 1960s, and the plainspoken storytelling stayed in his own writing.
- Ramblin' Jack Elliott — Elliott was one of the folk troubadours whose songs the young Stewart busked in London — the route by which Guthrie's American folk reached him first-hand.
- Sam Cooke — Discovering Sam Cooke turned Stewart toward R&B and soul — Cooke's phrasing is the model for his raspy soul singing.
- Otis Redding — Seeing Otis Redding perform helped convert Stewart to soul.
- Elvis Presley — Elvis was among the American rock'n'rollers who profoundly influenced Stewart.
Which artists did Rod Stewart influence?
- Stereophonics — Kelly Jones's soulful, raspy 'whiskey' voice is closely modelled on the gritty singing of Rod Stewart.