(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Mon 20 October 2025 11:00, UK
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Rod Stewart is the backbone of what classic rock singers were supposed to sound like.
There had already been several frontmen that redefined what the genre could be, like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and even Steve Winwood, but considering how much of an influence his time in the Jeff Beck Group was on Led Zeppelin, he might be ground zero for what the hard rock vocalist was always meant to be. But for all of his hard work, Stewart didn’t get here without having his own support system behind him.
In fact, there’s a good chance that rock and roll would have turned out very differently were it not for Long John Baldry. While his name might not be the most recognisable these days, the fact that he managed to give both Stewart and Elton John their first major shows firmly gives him a place in pop music history. And when Stewart first started performing, it’s not like the hard rockers weren’t paying attention.
Ozzy Osbourne personally loved Stewart’s voice whenever he came on the radio, and when listening to The Faces, it’s hard to argue with that vocal tone. Whether you’re listening to his glossy stuff in the 1980s or some of the more boozy rockers in his prime, that distinct rasp in his voice is what gave him an advantage over everyone else. Any hard rocker would try their best to sound like a blues singer, but Stewart practically had that vocal distortion already built into his voice.
But for all of the animosity that came with working with The Faces, Stewart was always going to have a confidante in Ronnie Wood. Compared to a band like The Rolling Stones, Stewart and Wood are about as inseparable from each other as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were in the 1960s, and while their decision to bring an end to The Faces would have cast a dark shadow on any musical brothers.
Then again, that’s not exactly what happened. Wood had been eyed up by The Stones for years before they finally asked him to take over for Mick Taylor, and since Stewart was already well into his solo career, everything seemed to work out for the best for both of them. Even if Stewart often joked that Jagger stole the guitarist from him, none of that love for his old bandmate went away after all those years.
According to Stewart, he would do nearly anything he could for Wood at the drop of a hat, saying, “Woody was ready to leave anyway. He was always going to join The Stones. We are very close. We’ve got the same haircuts, the same nose, same sexual habits. We’ve been trying to get together. I love him dearly, and I will support him for the rest of my life.”
But judging by the kind of band The Faces were, there was always a different musical temperature at work with Wood and Stewart. Even when Stewart performed his own version of Unplugged, bringing Wood in never felt like having a special guest. They were two halves of the same whole a lot of the time, and even if Wood’s gig can be a lot bigger nowadays playing off of Keith Richards, it’s not like he would ever turn down a chance to come out onstage and play ‘Maggie May’ with his old mate.
That kind of relationship might seem pretty rare in the music business, but the fact that they were able to stick together for that long is really a testament to the roots they formed when in The Faces. Both of them were kids, but whereas most childhood friends have the potential to split apart after a while, Stewart and Wood never forgot the joy of being ever-present in each other’s lives.
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