Rod: The Autobiography

Review:Rod/The Autobiography by Rod Stewart. This is an entertaining life style that Rod Stewart has but it doesn’t give a good impression about his character, traits or behavior. His daily living and adventures were for himself. I felt he was a type of selfish person because everything about him or around him was… ME, ME, ME. Besides his love for music, playing soccer/UK style football was his other passion. He was more into himself and it felt like he was always bragging egotistically about everything he did. He hardly mentioned anything about family members, except their names. I’m really surprised he remembered his wife’s and his children’s names. He created a whole chapter just about his hair and how it seemed to be his show more greatest possession that he cherished with passion. It feels like Rod Stewart is taking the reader on a tour when he talks about all his relationships, with women he lived with, his three marriages and eight children, and all the women he cheated with. I will say Rod doesn’t hold back and shows the reader the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m surprised he had time for a music career. Even then he stepped on a few toes but he never let it bother him. Rod edited his first single in 1964 under his own name. It was a version of Muddy Waters…”Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”. That year he went on to join “Steampacket”, and then in 1965 he moved on to Jeff beck’s group. He was also part of a group “Shotgun Express with Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood which later formed into Fleetwood Mac. Around 1969 is when his career really got started with the group “Faces” until 1976 when he concentrated on his much more success in his solo career. Much later in the 90’s, he stopped writing songs, saying he was finished as a lyricist but then reneged on that and released a new personal album of original songs called, “Time”. After reading the book my thoughts about Rod Steward will never be the same….The book was interesting and entertaining but for me in bad taste…. The five songs that best describes Rod’s Autobiography Book are: 1. “Maggie May” 1971---The song established a tale of a young man mesmerized by an older woman, which he states in the book he was only seventeen when he lost his virginity to an older women. 2. “Tonight’s The Night 1976---That was the night he states his intentions abundantly clear to a young virgin what he wanted and even the background music to this song extends a version of erotic whispers and moans from a Swedish Actress, Brett Ekland, his girlfriend at the time. 3. “Your’re In My Heart” 1977---Rod is praising himself for being a dedicated partner who remains true despite the attempts of others steering him wrong. 4. “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” 1978---The song fits Rod Steward as being just a simple guy meeting a girl in a bar and about heading home for some late night entertainment. 5. “Young Turks” 1981---The lyrics are another example of Stewards great storytelling through his songs. This one is about a teenage couple’s love, dreams of freedom and the reality of teen pregnancy which could refer to a very young Rod and girlfriend giving their baby up for adoption which he did get to meet later in his life. " show less

Sometimes I read a musician's autobiography, and I like him/her more afterward. Other times, as with this one, I'm left wishing I hadn't read the book at all.

This felt more like bragging rights than telling the story of his life. I learned Rod Stewart is an unapologetic womanizer who loves football (soccer to those of us in the U.S.), trains, and flashy cars. And that's about all I learned.

Stewart comes from a modest family that appeared to be lower middle class. Yet, when his career takes off, he makes no mention of his family's reaction. Did he help them out financially? Were they happy for him? Were they envious? None of this is ever talked about. Aside from mentioning his brothers and father in the context of football, we learn show more nothing about their relationship.

There is an entire chapter on his hair. Granted, it's a short chapter and perhaps meant to be comical, but I did not need that much information on his grooming habits. There is also an enormous amount of football talk. I got the point that he loves the sport without the endless pages on the topic.

He takes us through all his relationships, with the women he lived with, married, and cheated with. He makes a point of letting us know they were all young and supermodels. Some had children already, so he briefly played stepfather. He also had a bunch of kids of his own along the way. (I lost count of how many.) Yet, aside from him pointing out what a big part he played in each of their births, it's like they didn't exist afterward. Was it hard for him to leave them when he toured? Did he take them? Did he ever see them after divorcing their mothers? After reading 400 pages, I don't know the answer to any of these questions.

I would hope there is more to Rod Stewart's life than the self-important fluff he writes about here. Though it says a lot about the man that this is what he chose to share. show less

The story of a Jack-the-Lad with a remarkable voice leaves a trail of broken romances behind him. Has that aching feeling particularly as he grows older that something is missing. He thinks he finds it only to be hurt himself. Finally when he has given up all hope of finding 'true love' he finds a lovely lady named Penny. His life is complete. He can not believe how lucky he has been. Except, of course this is not a chick-lit novel, but the real-life tale of the life and loves of Rod Stewart. Rod's collaborator has served him well. He comes across as a funny, likeable man who is looking back at his life with honesty and humour. He's made mistakes and often treated the ladies in his life badly. He knows it. I'm a huge fan of Rod's music. show more This made me like him as human being as well. show less

This book was amusing and easy to read. I saw Rod Stewart on Graham Norton promoting his book and it sounded interesting. He is quite a comedian and seems to be a lot of fun. I had no idea model trains were a passion of his, but I knew soccer was. He's definitely not someone I would have wanted to date seriously - he is obviously somewhat of a womanizer, maybe having TOO much fun? Lots of good pictures in the book. Books like these are always great for name-dropping. It is so funny that twice in this book - and only pages apart - he makes the statement that contrary to what you have heard, Gordon Ramsay never played professional football.

This book will annoy some people and amuse others. Rod Stewart unashambly brags about the women, cars, drugs and general laddishness of his life, but it appears to said with a certain air of 'wow, that was lucky' amusement throughout. He was certainly a serial womaniser, although he apparently still gets on well with his ex girlfriends and wives, fathers children prolifically, but seems to be quite a family man, admits to not really being much of a songwriter - he has sung more covers than his own songs. However, it is quite a fun read in an old fashioned sort of rock star read, and you end up quite likeing the old sod really!

It was ok. He seems nice enough.