Rod Stewart: Raspy and romantic

Singer Rod Stewart in the '80s.

Source: https://twinpeters0.tripod.com/RSFC_Timeline/1986.html

(May be subject to copyright)

For all the songs Rod Stewart has recorded, and all the hits he has had, my outstanding memory of his music in the ‘80s is an image of Robert Redford eating ice cream with no pants on and dancing.

The song is “Love Touch” from 1986, one of the songs on the soundtrack for the movie “Legal Eagles”.

Back then, I had been into music for less than two years, and Rod Stewart still seemed to be a singer from the 1970s.

Yesterday I heard he was selling his entire music collection, and it reminded me just how much Rod Stewart had recorded in the ‘70s, ‘80s, and beyond.

The years before
Long before I really got into music, I knew about Rod Stewart. He just always seemed to be there with his raspy voice and long blonde hair with a curl.

Through the ‘70s, he had a ton of songs. From 1971 I remember hearing “Maggie May”, which went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart; “Reason to Believe”; “(I Know) I’m Losing You”, which peaked at number 24; and “You Wear it Well”, which peaked at number 13.

There was “This Old Heart of Mine” in 1975 that peaked at number 83; and “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna be All Right) in 1976 which was Stewart’s second number one song on the Billboard Hot 100.

From 1977 there was “The First Cut is the Deepest”, which went to number 21; and “You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)”, which peaked at number four.

From the next year, 1978, there was “Hot Legs”, which peaked at number 28; and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”, which was Stewart’s third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100.

There was so much more, but these were the songs I remember.

Rod Stewart may not have continued that level of success into the 1980s, but he still churned out a lot of great songs.

The dawn of the decade
Stewart picked up right where he left off in 1980 with “Passion”, which went all the way to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

The next year, 1981, he hit number five on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Young Turks”. In 1983, “Baby Jane” peaked at number 14.

In 1984, he released “Infatuation”, which went all the way to number six on the Billboard hot 100, and “Some Guys Have All the Luck”, which peaked at number 10. Then, in 1985 he released “People Get Ready”, which went all the way to number 48.

Summer of 1986
In June of 1986, I was listening to the radio and heard a new song from Rod Stewart on the radio. In my mind, he seemed to be a singer from the ‘70s. I had only been really deep into music just under two years, so I didn’t have an extensive background in his music. I actually thought this was kind of a comeback song.

The song was called “Love Touch”, and it was from the movie “Legal Eagles”, which remains one of my favourites. Robert Redford plays an assistant district attorney who falls in with a dynamic defence lawyer played by Debra Winger. She is defending an artist accused of murder, played by Daryl Hannah.

When I went to see “Legal Eagles” in the theatre, I kept waiting to hear “Love Touch”. It played at the end of the movie over a montage of scenes including Redford eating ice cream with no pants on. Interestingly, “Love Touch” was not on the “Legal Eagles” soundtrack, but was on his next album called “Every Beat of My Heart”. It was another one of those songs from soundtracks to be released then appear on the next album for their artist. “Say You, Say Me” by Lionel Richie from the movie “White Nights”, and “Modern Woman” by Billy Joel from the movie “Ruthless People” are two other examples to go with “Love Touch”.

“Love Touch” was a great song, going all the way to number six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Rest of the decade
He closed out the decade with more memorable songs.

In 1988, he released “Lost in You”, which went all the way to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Forever Young”, which also peaked at number 12.

Stewart closed out the decade with “This Old Heart of Mine”, which peaked at number 10; and “Downtown Train”, which peaked at number three.

The years after
Rod Stewart kept on producing good songs. In 1991 he had “The Rhythm of my Heart”, which went to number five; “The Motown Song”, which peaked at number 10; and “Broken Arrow”, which went to number 20.

That year he also recorded a duet with Canadian band Glass Tiger called “My Town”, which peaked at number eight in Canada but did not chart in the States.

In 1993, he released “Have I Told You Lately,” which peaked at number five; “Reason to Believe”, which peaked at number 19; and his fourth number one hit “All for Love", which he recorded with Canadian Bryan Adams and Sting.

In 1995, “Leave Virginia Alone” went to number 52; and in 1998, “Ooh La La” went to number 39.

Rod Stewart just keeps on recording and performing to this day.

Parting thoughts
He was such a part of the backdrop of the 1970s. What I did not realize until I looked at his discography was how many of his songs came out in the 1980s. Some came out just before “Love Touch” which was my first exposure to a new Rod Stewart song on the radio.

It just shows how much a part of the soundtrack of growing up Rod Stewart was.

And, there is just something about a Rod Stewart song. That raspy voice can produce some amazingly romantic songs. I recall seeing the video for “Tonight’s the Night” on an obscure video show one late Saturday night on CBC. It had Swedish actress Britt Ekland in it, who was Stewart’s girlfriend at the time.

You could just see the love and tenderness in his eyes, and hear it in his voice.

He truly was raspy and romantic.