Maggie May (1971) 4/23/20

By 1967, Rod Stewart had been kicking around the British music scene for almost a decade when he joined the Jeff Beck Group as a vocalist and started to perfect his unique vocal style.

In 1969, he signed a record contract as a solo artist, and almost immediately joined The Faces as their lead singer.

For a few years, he continued this “dual career”...until his third album was released and big things started to happen..

In 1971, “Every Picture Tells a Story” went to #1 on the US and UK Album Charts...but the first single from the album, “Reason to Believe,” stalled well below the Top 20.

Luckily, radio stations around the world decided to flip it over and play the B-Side: today's “Great Song of the '70s.”

“Maggie May” was a true story about one of Rod's relationships—but he changed the name to match the title of an old folk song about a prostitute. He recorded it in two takes, and that was all it needed.

It was a Top 10 hit in 9 countries...including #1 in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia

Rolling Stone Magazine has it ranked at #131 on its list of the “Top 500 Songs of All Time.”

“Maggie May:” the song that put Rod Stewart of the map of “Great Songs of the '70s!”