Rod Stewart

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  • Year:
    1994
  • Inducted by:
    Jeff Beck (The Yardbirds)
  • Category:
    Performers
rod_stewart.svg

Introduction

There is no mistaking the warm, grizzly rasp of Rod Stewart’s voice.

Irresistibly charming and undeniably talented, Rod Stewart has dabbled in hard rock, lightweight pop, schmaltzy ballads and definitive covers. Whatever material he chooses to perform, he delivers it with one of the finest voices of his generation.

Hall of Fame Essay

1994

Michael Hill

In this season of the unplugged, it seems only natural for Rod Stewart, like Eric Clapton and Neil Young, to reintroduce his early work to the MTV genera­tion in a setting more intimate than the arenas to which he’s become  accustomed.  

After all, classic songs like “Every Picture Tells a Story,” “Mandolin Wind” and “Cut Across Shorty” were never  com­pletely plugged in anyway. They rocked with the spirit, if not the sound, of the blues: simply, bawdily, honestly.

Delta earthiness was provided by omnipresent slide guitar, and a more homespun Celtic melancholy was evoked by the strings that often echoed the folk-ish melodies.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program 1994
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you can have the schmaltzy speech if you like, or the truth about Rod.
Jeff Beck

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Gallery

Photography: Bob Gruen