Rod Stewart now finds more fun in pop standards than in blondes. His 2002 collection of American pop standards, 'It Had To Be You … The Great American Songbook' received positive reactions from a range of listeners, enabling him to release its sequel 'The Great American Songbook Pt.2'. Stewart is one of the few among the rock veterans who are returning to their favorite pop standards in their youth, along with Boz Scaggs and Elvis Costello. The London-born, inimitably hoarse-voiced singer has remained a top singer and entertainer over the past forty years.

Rod Stewart was born Roderick David Stewart, 10 January 1945, Highgate, London, UK. Known to many of his fans, he was a professional soccer player before he began singing career. After the stints with several rock groups, his first major success came when he joined Jeff Beck Group in 1968. The group scored such hit albums as 'Truth' and 'Beck Ola', setting Stewart on his international tours. After the group broke up, Stewart joined the Faces with his bandmate and bassist/guitarist Ron Wood, and signed a solo deal with Mercury Records at the same time. Although his first two solo albums were a commercial disappointment, his third album 'Every Picture Tells A Story' became a big success, reaching No.1 in UK and spawning his classic 'Maggie May'. His solo success helped the Faces in many ways, but led to Stewart's departure from the group in 1975.

Mid-70s was his prime as solo artist and saw the series of hit albums including 'Smiler' (1974), 'Atlantic Crossing' (1975), 'A Night On The Town' (1976) and 'Foot Loose And Fancy Free' (1977). 'Atlantic Crossing' featured his anthemic ballad 'Sailing', and 'A Night On The Town' turned out to be his first million-selling album on the strength of No.1 single 'Tonight's The Night'. Most of his songs released during the '70s were acoustic and melodic, most notably 'The Killing Of George', 'The First Cut Is The Deepest' and 'I Don't Wanna Talk About It'. By the time he became a worldwide superstar, Stewart was known for his lavish lifestyle and relationships with actresses and models, as sung in his 1978 disco-tinged hit 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?', which was included on 'Blondes Have More Fun'.

Kicking off with another platinum album 'Tonight I'm Yours', Stewart adopted other artists' songs in an attempt to break new ground since early '80s. Among the covers were 'How Long' (Paul Carrick), 'Some Guys Have All The Luck' (Robert Palmer), 'All Right Now' (Free), 'Downtown Train' (Tom Waits) and the surprising reteaming with Jeff Beck on the guitarist's 'Flash' album, 'People Get Ready' (Curtis Mayfield). He also had such original hits throughout '80s as 'Baby Jane' (included on 'Body Wishes') and the ballad in the vein of 'Sailing', 'Every Beat Of My Heart'.

In '90s, Stewart joined the ranks of seasoned and adult-oriented singers. He reunited with Ron Wood to record a 1993 MTV Unplugged Special, which resulted in 'Unplugged And Seated'. On 98's 'When We Were The New Boys', Stewart covered songs by UK rock bands like Oasis and Primal Scream, and revisited the Faces ('Ooh La La'). That was the prelude to his most recent 'American Songbook' projects.

Having underwent a throat surgery, Stewart relieved fans with his 2001's R&B-oriented comeback 'Human'. In 2002, he moved to Clive Davis' J Records and released 'It Had To Be You … The Great American Songbook', which featured the singer reinterpreting the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Its sequel 'Part 2' will include such classics as 'Someone To Watch Over Me' and 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered'. He thinks that the time is mature enough to sing classic covers as his voice has more warmth now.

After spending years as rock star, Rod Stewart is now sailing home again.