From humble beginnings English rocker Rod Stewart once again shows why he has lasted over 40 years in the world of rock'n'roll.

He was born Roderick David Stewart on January 10, 1945 in London less than an hour after a German bomb exploded not far from the hospital where he was born. The youngest of five children to a Scottish father and an English mother, young Rod was the only Stewart child not born in Scotland. Rod's childhood passions for football and model trains has never wavered. He still collects the trains and loves a good game of football with the lads.

As a child Rod idolized American singer Al Jolson. Later his heroes were Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Rod began his musical career while still in his teens. Before landing his first professional gig which paid him 35 pounds a week, Rod was a beatnik, an art student, a sing painter with his brother, and a street performer.

He released his first album in 1969, but it wasn't until his third album "Every Picture Tells A Story" that Rod became popular. "Reason to Believe" was released as the first single but radio DJs discovered the flip side to the single, a little song called Maggie May". As a result Rod Stewart achieved the feat of the single "Maggie May" held the number one spot on the US and UK single charts while "Every Picture Tells A Story" held the number one spot on the US and UK album charts. For six years Rod Stewart lived a double life - that of a solo career and as the lead singer in a group called Faces. It wasn't until an appearance on television that fans realized that both Rods were the same man. Faces and Rod profited from the popularity.

Since those early days Rod Stewart has been inducted into the UK Rock Hall of Fame and the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame, finally won himself a Grammy, and has sold over 130 million records.

Continuing the trend of leaving the writing of new stuff to the youngsters, long time rockers like Rod Stewart are putting their take on long standing rock songs. "Still the Same…Great Rock Classics of Our Time" is Rod's first truly rock album in eight years. Rod returned to rock after his four album anthology of standards from the forties - a project which Stewart said he had always wanted to do. "Still the Same…Great Rock Classics of Our Time" is a collection of rock classics from the sixties and seventies by rock starts like John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Tyler, Bad Finger, Elvin Bishop, and Tom Waites. The album, another Clive Davis production, is well suited to the unmistakably raspy tones of Rod Stewart. While some scoff at Davis' tactics and album productions, the record mogel has a proven track record for finding music perfectly fitting to an artists voice and "Still the Same…Great Rock Classics of Our Time" is no exception. With the new album "Still the Same…Great Rock Classics of Our Time" Rod Stewart has achieved his fourth number one album and now has some three dozen studio, live, and compilation album releases.