WHOM YOU KNOW CELEBRATES THE 600TH POST IN READ THIS WITH: Rod: The Autobiography by Rod Stewart Our Coverage Sponsored by Hallak Cleaners the Couture Cleaner
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"It was all about who you knew."
-Rod Stewart, page 47
Well, clearly great minds think alike. And it couldn't have been all hoarse and insistent shouting emanating from Mr. Stewart despite what The New York Times said in his New York debut. Long before our time for us to comment...but as we see it now, Rod Stewart's music represents excellence everywhere where people have ears that work.
"No one ever forgets their first view of Manhattan, rising into the sky ahead of them, nor their first drive up its concrete canyons. Woody and I were in ecstasy-possibly even silenced momentarily, gawping at the scale of it all," says Rod as he made his pilgrimage to the Apollo Theater in Harlem followed by a four-night stint at the Fillmore East, on Second Avenue in the East Village.
Some guys have all the luck, and it takes someone special to be a milestone post. Rod Stewart's autobiography is BY FAR the best book we've read in quite some time. His lilting cadence, pure wit, fascinating life story-he says for the most part it's been a long, luxury aircraft ride with the occasional goose collision- and brutal honesty (we are assuming! We don't personally know Rod) shed light on all the songs you've been listening to for decades. Reading it is a pleasure. It's unwrapping a present of a story that you can't wait to hear.
Perhaps what we adored most about this work is that since it is an autobiography, which is so much more priceless than a secondhand news biography, it seemed as if the reader was sitting in Rod's favorite pub with him.
It has the ambiance of a great tale listened to sipping our Macallan in a one-on-one conversation, though we have never met. (If this happens we're wearing Tartan.)
His word choice is strikingly brilliant throughout and unlike a novel, this autobiography is so information-packed you won't read it quickly, just like you would not drink an entire bottle of whisky in a sitting (unless Celtic had a big win).
From the start until we got to a point we could remember events in your life, we read with fascination as we didn't know what you did before we became interested...and we appreciated the clarity the book gave since we started listening to you. Since January 10, 1945 Rod has not always pursued excellence but it certainly turned out well for him! When his mom was pregnant with him, the Germans were bombing London...to give you a point of reference.
Perhaps the digressions are the most interesting-we love the trains story and also his love for cars and yes, you should be on Top Gear (we do that too). The pictures are priceless-we love your dad's beach look- and just as phenomenal as the story itself. Of course, they go together well. The discography is in the back and that's a helpful source in organizing both your thoughts and your music to follow along to while you read along.
Almost no one featured on Whom You Know, especially outside the world of hockey has been someone Peachy Deegan has loved since childhood. When there was no internet or You Tube, she'd watch MTV as long as she could get away with it waiting for all the Out of Order videos to come on. She thought someday under a yellow moon she'd take a Downtown Train, the best piece of publicity the MTA has ever received, but she did not want to be a Brooklyn girl on it-she already decided to be an Uptown Girl from Billy Joel so maybe she can drive by in a black Corvette when you're standing outside the Met one day. More from a New York perspective-it looks like we see the World Trade Center in your Sailing video-we just saw it for the first time it came out before Peachy was born (no World Financial Center then!).
We feature almost no new music in New York Notes because it is not easy to find someone that deserves it as much as you and if we don't feature the best we won't feature. Your influence stretches as far as the Salon Peachy column because now we too are obsessed with our hair (and by the way go see our friend Rodney if you need someone in Manhattan! Plus you will be pleased to know Rodney is a footballer and works with people quite famous). So how do you think we liked your book?
You tell us the good and the bad and we admire and appreciate your honesty: we listened long enough to you and found a way to believe that it's all true. It certainly could not have been easy to tell the truth in certain circumstances and we're glad you own up to it because no one writing their autobiography is going to enjoy reliving mistakes. We like you all the better for your truth.
From the stories of Archway Road to that turning point of playing the harmonica at Twickenham Station encountering Long John, Rod's stories teach everyone that hasn't learned it yet that overnight success does not happen overnight. Rod has worked extremely hard to get where he is today.
Can you believe as a child he was petrified of singing in Mr. Wainwright's music room? At age 18 when he dated Sue Boffey, Sue's friend Chrissie dated some guy named Mick Jagger (get excited for a biography review on him-not an autobiography, however). We loved the stories of friendship with Ronnie Wood, whom you've seen featured here with HBO's Crossfire Hurricane. Ronnie's mom didn't believe the two of them were going to be much of a threat to The Beatles when they started, and there's another story for you when you've got this great book cracked open.
Lessons are learned in reading this book like being true to yourself. Be the best you with all the gravel and gusto you've got, plus the big nose. Dressing up for dinner is fun! (Rod you'd love sit-down at Miss Porter's. Tuesdays and Thursdays last time we checked.) Get yourself a job, a sport and a hobby. And commercial success is not always selling out-it can be great like the
More reasons to read this:
*You'll learn the fake sick trick and how to get smashed on a single twelve-ounce can of beer; these are unrelated
*You'll find out who Phyllis Stewart really is
*Rod is hilarious from the brown stain on the boat to hotel antics
*Fashion do's and don'ts over the years
*His Gatsbyesque parties with Alana that had a guest list of Barbra Streisand, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson...it does go on and on
*Rod's addiction is disclosed which he shares with His Lordship Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber (previously famous on Whom You Know for being dad to equally amazing author Imogen)
What else might you not know? We applaud Rod's loyalty to Celtic football (soccer for Americans!), his commitment to financial responsibility and discipline in setting goals like saving for that first sportscar, and his dedication to British therapy which consists of strong cups of tea, a couple of ginger nuts and a stiff upper lip. He might have been born with the voice, but also Rod knew what to do with it which made all the difference.
Of course everyone thinks you're sexy and we also get that in the song that that was not your point: it is the characters talking to each other. No one could do the American Songbook better; it's not bad for a bloke with a frog in his throat. We hope we've kept you amused, oh Roddie we couldn't have tried any more: we experienced literary infatuation at every page and we're not too proud to shout it - we'll tell the world about it, cause Rod: The Autobiography by Rod Stewart has earned our highest recommendation and we could not recommend it more strongly.
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‘Forget skeletons in the closet; this one’s going to be socks and knickers under the bed.’
– Rod Stewart
Music legend, Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Rod Stewart will be releasing his highly sought-after autobiography in October 2012 with Random House.
(October 5, 2011, New York, NY) The Random House Group (UK) and Random House Inc. (US) today jointly announced the global acquisition of the memoir of music legend Rod Stewart for publication in 2012. The deal was struck by Gail Rebuck, Chairman and Chief Executive of T he Random House Group, and Susan Sandon, Managing Director of Cornerstone Publishing in the UK, and Tina Constable, Senior Vice President and Publisher, Crown Archetype in the US, with Arnold Stiefel of Stiefel Entertainment.
With his soulful and singular voice, narrative songwriting and passionate live performances, Rod Stewart has paved one of the most iconic and successful musical careers of all time. After more than five decades at its pinnacle, he is finally ready to take a candid and romping look back at his life both on and off the stage. From his humble British roots – to his hell-raising years touring with the trailblazing bands ‘The Jeff Beck Group’ and ‘The Faces’, not forgetting his great loves (including three marriages and eight children) and decades touring the world as a solo performer, Stewart’s as yet-untitled book promises readers a riveting ride through one of Rock’s most remarkable lives.
Arnold Stiefel, Rod Stewart’s long-time manager says, ‘For more than 20 years publishers have pursued me to convince Rod to write his autobiography; however he didn’t feel the moment was right and as I learned long ago, he is the master of timing and that time is now. At long last Rod is ready to put pen to paper and Random House , legendary, fabled and never less than relevant, is the ideal publisher.’
Commenting on the book, Rod Stewart says, ‘I thought long and hard before committing to write my book. It is a funny old thing telling my life story but I truly intend to hold nothing back. I’ve had quite a life, known some extraordinary people and had some amazing experiences. I’ve waited all this time, until my 50th year in the business and realise I can no longer put it off. Forget skeletons in the closet; this one’s going to be socks and knickers under the bed.’
Susan Sandon says, ‘Rod Stewart is one of a small number of musicians who truly deserve the title of rock ’n’ roll legend – a truly ionic figure whose life story will fascinate readers and music fans around the world.’
Tina Constable says, ‘From his early days with The Jeff Beck Group and The Faces to the present day, Rod Stewart has won the deep affection of generations of fans around the world. They will be thrilled that he is finally ready to recount his remarkable and uniquely colourful life and career in his own words and inimitable style.’
Rod Stewart is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Grammy Living Legend and in 2007 was bestowed the prestigious CBE (Commander of The British Empire). In 2011, he kicked off a two-year residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas joining a shortlist of elite musical superstars with the international drawing power to headline the Colosseum. He has garnered an estimated 250 million in album and single sales with hit songs including: ‘Maggie May’, ‘Tonight’s the Night’, ‘Hot Legs’, ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?’, ‘Young Turks’, ‘Rhythm of My Heart’, ‘Stay With Me’, ‘Mandolin Wind’, ‘You Wear It Well’, and many more.
The book will be published simultaneously in October 2012 by Century in the UK and Crown Archetype in the US in hardcover, ebook and audio formats. Random House UK will represent foreign right sales. Jack Fogg, Editorial Director at Century, will edit and publish the book in the UK, and the US editor will be Suzanne O’Neill, Senior Editor.
Jack Fogg says. ‘I’ve always loved Rod’s work. From the age of five, listening to him in the car, through my teens, trying (and failing) to emulate his coolness, and on to the present day, where my appreciation for him grows ever stronger. Simply put, he is a legend, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be publishing his memoir.’
Century is an imprint of The Random House Group in the UK; Crown Archetype is an imprint of The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc in the US. Random House is owned by Bertelsmann AG, the international media company.
