Rod Stewart was a sex symbol of the Seventies, at least in the field of music. Even though he had some success before hitting it big here in the United States, his first song here was “Maggie May” which not only went to number one, but is a song about a relationship between an older woman and a young college student. She has a hold over him and he laments how he should be leaving. This was 1971 and such songs were just not played on American radio. But, “Maggie May” was and it solidified Rod Stewart’s reputation and sent him on the road to super stardom.

Sir Roderick David Stewart was born in 1945 in London, England. His father was Scottish and his mother, English. He was the youngest of five children. His family were very fond of football and Rod was slated to grow up to be a professional footballer. (Called soccer, here in America). They also loved music, his dad being a big fan of Al Jolson. Music was always playing in the Stewart house. In 1960, Rod tried out for a third division football team but was never called in to play. He had to make a living someway, so turned to the only other interest he had, music.

The jazz scene came to town in the late Fifties and early Sixties. Rod spent his evenings sneaking into clubs where he heard the likes of Chris Barber (remember “Petite Fleur”) and Acker Bilk (or “Stranger on the Shore”.) It was outside one of these clubs in 1961 (Rod was sixteen) that he lost his virginity to a much older and larger woman. I mention this only because he says this was the inspiration for the song “Maggie May”

Rod adopted the Mod lifestyle and look about 1963 and that became his trademark look from then on. Some began calling him “Rod the Mod.” He eventually started singing with various groups, the two most famous were the Jeff Beck Group and Faces. He recorded his first solo album in 1969, An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down and by 1971, he was up to his third album which was Every Picture Tells a Story. The songs “Reason to Believe” and “Maggie May” were on this third album.

The first single released from the album was “Reason to Believe” which was a remake of a 1966 Tim Hardin song. “Reason to Believe” topped out at number 62 on the Billboard charts. Then radio stations started playing the B-side of the record. This was an unknown song written by Rod and his friend Martin Quittenton. The song, about Rod’s first encounter with a woman, an older woman at that, was, of course, “Maggie May.” As the country became aware of this B-side, they switched to playing “Maggie May” and “Reason to Believe” was left in the dust. “Maggie May” quickly rose to number one on both the United States and the English charts. It stayed at the top of the U.S. charts for five weeks and became one of the biggest hits of 1971. I can remember being a little shocked at the lyrics of the song. It was the kind of song that you listened to under the covers where your parents couldn’t hear you.

An interesting story about the making of “Maggie May” was that the drummer Micky Waller was always coming to recording sessions forgetting his equipment. He showed up on the day they were to record “Maggie May” without any cymbals for his drum set. So, they recorded the song anyway and the cymbal was added in later. Rod was very resourceful that way.

When a single longer than about three minutes is recorded, they usually make a shorter version so it can be played on AM-radio. They never did this with “Maggie May.” The song is 5:15 minutes in length and that’s the way it was played on the radio. When I worked as a disc jockey at a radio station, we would love these kind of songs because it gave us a chance to go to the bathroom. Most songs didn’t give you enough time.

This song put Rod into a very elite club, those performers who have a number one single on the charts at the exact same time as their album is number one. It has happened a few times, but not many. “Maggie May” and Every Picture Tells a Story were both number one at the same time. What is even more remarkable is that it happened on both sides of the Atlantic, here and in England. I’m not sure that has ever been done before or since (Maybe by Michael Jackson.) “Maggie May” has been listed in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Rod has three songs on that list.

“Maggie May” entered the American charts on August 28, 1971 and stayed at the top for five weeks, making it one of the biggest hits of the year and cementing Red Stewart as a super star.