I am a 69 year old man. Hearing Maggie May takes me back to my senior year of high school back in 1973. It was one of the songs that played on our jukebox in the cafeteria. Every time I hear the song, I am sitting back in the cafeteria again. Sweet memories. Love this song!!
Not even close. Bob Dylan who wrote "You just sorta wasted my precious time." later wrote: "Idiot wind Blowing every time you move your mouth Blowing down the back roads headin' south Idiot wind Blowing every time you move your teeth You're an idiot, babe It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe." etcetera.
I was 10 y/o when Maggie May came out. Every time I hear it, it takes me back to that time in my life! my older sisters would blast the radio up stairs while we were getting ready for school! We’d sing along and use our brushes as microphones!!! What a great memory ❤
Almost exactly the same! Our big old bathroom was right next to the bedroom, our mics were curling irons and I'm the only one who can sing for shit. Good times, so long ago. If Maggie May comes on, the volume goes up!!!
Rod Stewart lost his virginity with an older woman named Maggie May. This same theme occurs in "Lola" by the Kinks where Ray Davies falls for a transvestite. And the most famous example is the movie "The Graduate", where Dustin Hoffman loses his virginity with "Mrs Robinson", the mother of his girlfriend/fiance. Even Simon & Garfunkel made a song about it.
I was ten in 1962, by 1964, me and my sisters were singing into hair brushes to The Beatles. But I could already play harmonica, so I was playing along with "Love Me Do," and then all The Yardbird songs, and so on.
Professor (Adam) I'm 64, my wife is 60, and I would just like to tell you how much we enjoy your channel. Even if it's a song or band we may not like, or isn't our particular "cup of tea", it's always enlightening, entertaining, and educating, three things that make it successful. I have turned many people on to your channel, and they all come back saying "Wow! Thank you so much for introducing me to the professor of rock!" You've certainly found your niche my friend! One music loving little boy from a small town can, and is, changing the world! Bravo!
Holy cow, I could have written your comment. Those are my sentiments. I actually don't love most of the songs he talks about, but, but, BUTT They make me feel nostalgic, memories abound!!
Maggie May is fraught with a range of emotions, grief, anger, fear, disappointment, self doubt, sorrow and sadness so deep. 1971 was a tumultuous year. I graduated from 8th grade in June & my mom died in August. I had been in a foster home separated from my brothers and sisters since 1963. My dad had passed in 1969 and the devastation and desolation and depression permeated my bones. My heart was completely broken and at age 12, I learned what loss really meant. His loss colored my entire life. Songs in 1969 that I always remember are Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes, by Edison Lighthouse, Don't Cry Daddy, by Elvis Presley & a myriad of others. I would hide an old tube radio under my pillow and listen to WLS & WCFL & WVON. The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Dianna Ross & the Supremes, James Brown & Bobby Sherman! Lol! Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, CCR, The Guess Who, The Grass Roots, There was In My Midnight Confession, Neil Diamond's Hot August Night, Sweet Caroline, Cracklin' Rosie, Spirit in the Sky, Build Me Up, Buttercup! Patches, and of course...The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and so many others. FM radio wasn't a thing back then, at least not yet. It was about to be. Eight Tracks but I was a kid, I didn't have a car. A transistor radio was considered cool & we would all gather in a friends bedroom to listen to the latest 45 we had saved up our milk money to buy at the Jewel Foodstore at 86th & Pulaski on the Southwest Side of Chicago. A year later and boys entered our lives and stayed. We moved to the garage or backyard and the guys started following us instead of the other way around. The day after Christmas of 1969, I got the call that my dad had passed the night before. Whatever my life had been to that point, the hope of one day reuniting with my mom and dad and brothers and sisters, that dream shattered. I slowly realized that life was not ever going to work out the way I'd hoped. Not long after, my mom's death in 1971 was the final nail in the coffin of my very brief and painful childhood. Music was my only solace. It is odd that the Summer of 1970, I fell in love for the very first time. I'll never forget those blue eyes meeting mine over a basketball in the alley. We both grabbed it at the same time and it was electrifying. Both of us knew at the very same time. Tommy James & the Shondells..."I Think We're Alone Now" will forever be the song I fell in love to. It was Maggie Mae that was playing when I made the decision to leave my friends and life in Chicago behind me to try & get to know my family or what was left of it at an orphanage in the suburbs. It was another mistake in a life full of them. They did't know me, I didn't know them. I wanted to know them, but they couldn't have cared less. I kept trying, but honestly, you can fool yourself for a lifetime when you want something as badly as I wanted a family. The entire atmosphere that fall as I tried to settle in to a new life at the orphanage will forever play in my mind with Maggie Mae and Carol King's Tapestry playing as the backdrop. There was also James Taylor, Sweet Baby James, Carly Simon's You're So Vain, BJ Thomas, Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head. A little later and The Chi-Lites were added to the lineup...Oh Girl...There was Everybody Plays the Fool Sometimes.... and of course, Bread's Guitar Man (awesome), The Long & Winding Road, Jackson Brown, Doctor My Eyes, Linda Ronstadt and not too much later, The Eagles. There was a few strange ones, "McArthur Park." What was it about anyway? I Got a Brand New Pair of Roller Skates (You got a Brand New Key) Paradise, Put Up a Parking Lot, Dobie Gray, Drift Away, Lean on Me, Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, Those Were the Days, Leaving on a Jet Plane, John Denver or was it the Mamas and the Papas? The Loving Spoonful, The Hollys, The Turtles! Imagine Me & You (So Happy Together). Geez, you openef the floodgates Professor. Sorry for the rant. I absolutely loved Rod Stuart back in the day. Not just Maggie Mae though. Reason to Believe hit my heart really hard. It was difficult to find it on the radio though. When I was at the orphanage, I was amazed to discover (and delighted) that kids were allowed to have their own stereos! Not just the record players we gathered around in the garage, but PIONEER Speakers and Albums, not just 45s! It was a fantastic time to come of age lisltening to all of these bands, some which were already legends and on their way out, like The Beatles, and then their was The Who, and the Rock Opera Tommy and Quadraphenia. Cream and Deep Purple, Santana, Black Sabbath. Wow, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, The Bee Gees, Elton John, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix! Double tragedy there. I could go on and on. All of this great music got me through my childhood. While I cried to so many of these songs, I also go high to a lot of them. Now I look back and feel nostalgic. A burning wish to go back there, turn back time and just be a spectator to my own life as I was forced to live it for a time. Sorry for the rant. I'm sure there won''t be many who read this whole dessertation, but hey, anybody who did, thanks and I hope Maggie Mae brought you some of the comfort it eventually brought to me. I always knew the song was about sex, even as a naive 14 year old. I didn't know it was about THAT part of it though! I just thought that this older woman was getting it on with a young kid who didn't mind at all, but knew it was time to be moving on. Musical awakening was amazing, but sexual awakenings were still years away. There's a soundtrack for that too...
Cool story. I read the whole thing. I lived through the same year, listened to WLS and WCFL also, and I also remember where I was, what I was doing, and who I was with the first time I heard "Maggie May." Thanks for the memories.
I don’t know about anyone else but I loved your listing of songs! I could hear the songs in my head as I read the titles… My memories also are tied up with music but they blur now…so reading your list allowed a focus I hadn’t had in years! So thx for that ❤
I read it, too. And my heart hurt for that little girl. It's easy to not realize everybody's childhood wasn't like your own. But, we Really Did all share a common cultural thread of music (& TV at the time, too), So Very unlike today, when everything is So fragmented, and there are Sooooo many micro-sub-genres.[I just made that up, and I LIKE it - LoLL] ) Sending hugs & prayers for your life now & going forward. Meanwhile - we all have ...... "Three chords and the truth." 😁👍🎶👍
As i am now an older woman, I often think of that line from Maggie May "When the morning sun is in your face it really shows your age." Thanks Rod, haha. My dear friend played lead guitar with Rod for dozens of years. I was fortunate enough to go to every show that passed through Detroit. Rod still puts on a hell of a show even though his voice suffered from thyroid cancer. He recorded the great American classics during his recovery but seems to have almost reached the same level he would have been at if not for the surgery. Although I appreciate his talent and tenacity I still love him with Jeff Beck the most. Thanks P.O.R.
Don't mind those lines, love! We've earned every last one with our well-lived years! Like Jimmy Buffett said, "Wrinkles are just where smiles used to be!" ❤
In 1971, I was an 18 year old soldier, stationed in Virginia, when first heard Maggie May. I became a Rod Stewart fan, on the spot. 52 years later, nearly to the day, I listened, with misty eyes, as he sang Maggie May, in concert, in Reno, Nevada. ❤
Small world, same for me a bit older than you, stationed in Charlottesville after short stint at Ft. Lee. I was married and my wife a year older so we always got a kick out of the song. Saw Rod live in Atlanta in early 90’s. One of my all time favorites.
Adam, Thanks for helping keep alive the classic hits and stories. Casey Kasem would be happy to know you continue his tradition of telling the stories behind the hits.
American Top 40 was THE radio show to listen to on Sunday nights. Professor, your dad probably heard some of those back stories while listening to Casey.
Yeah, but not any more than the brilliant and unusually harmonic bass line by one of the best bassists ever, Ron Wood. The organ in this song is also musical perfection. Every instrument plays something unconventional or extraordinary through the whole song, except the mando, which just plays that bit at the end. It's the perfect punctuation mark for a perfectly arranged and recorded song, but Rod had assembled a crowded field of musical masters for that song. That plus the lyrics and Rod's sincere vocals are what made an otherwise bland and repetitive song into a legend that has at times moved me to tears. The melody and the chord pattern are really stock and unremarkable. All of the musicians made this song a masterpiece. The mandolin was just a voice in the crowd. I always heard the bass as a kid, not the mandolin in that part. They work together. They need each other.
@@beenaplumber8379 I feel it's a shame when someone contributes some creative work and gets no credit even though the contribution is significant to the success of the song, such as Levo Helm of the Band or in this case too. Life isn't always fair
I was in my High school gym class on the weight scale when it came on for the first time. Because of that song I have remembered my weight from that day and because of that I have tried to stay at that weight all my life. I was 155 at 17 and now at 67 I'm 160. Thanks Maggie.
AS a 10 year old in 1971, all this music just blows me away because I still love it and the memories attached to it are never-ending. What a time to grow up - especially as a music lover! And yes, I've made music an important part of raising our kids - my wife's father, in fact, was in the Wrecking Crew, so her life in LA vs me in PA, was very much surrounded by music and musicians!
Wow, that's incredible. The wrecking crew were the unsung heroes of rock and roll. Would you be able to say who your wife's relative is? They were all tops so it doesn't matter I'm just curious.
I think the first TWO lines is where the listener really gets pulled in: "Wake up, Maggie, I think I've got something to say to you. It's late September and I really should be back at school.." A vivid picture is painted from just those two lines. Nice job, I subscribed.
I love his music! Thanks so much for spotlighting him! No one talks about him any more. His music has a genuinely unique sound simply because his voice was so different than anyone else’s. Such a great talent!
In 2019 I attended a live Rod Stewart concert at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Made a special trip to see him because I love his music and had never seen him live. I enjoyed the trip, and I'm glad I went. I have to say, though, that I was disappointed by the performance. He's old now and didn't give the high energy performance as in his younger years, but the real disappointment came with the realization that he was badly lip syncing at least some of the songs. Since his face was displayed in real time on huge screens in the arena, it was painfully obvious. I laughed when I realized that at 58 (then) I was one of the youngest in the crowd. Still love his music though.
@@katrinacollins892 It’s a shame that his music isn’t really being passed on to the next generation. Even with the lip syncing it must have been fun to see him in person.
I was born in 1966 so the songs from the late 60s and early70s got imrpinted in my brain. i recognize most of them almost instantly when I hear them. My mom also loved Rod and would sing his songs whenever they come on the radio. I bought her the big box set of Rod singing classic songs for Christmas the year it came out. Listening to your program just now brought back somee GOOD memories which I need since she passed away on April 5th. Music has such power!
I was in high school when Maggie May was such a big hit. Our school bus driver would play rock on the radio. I think Maggie May was his favorite because every time that station played it the driver would turn the volume way up, with everyone on the bus singing loud with it. Thanks for jogging my memory.
What a great memory! Back when a school bus was safe and drivers weren’t all driving high or drunk. Lol! I felt safer back when students actually drove the buses. I didn’t do a lot of bus riding. We either lived close enough to walk or ride our bikes. As a military brat, when we lived in PA we got picked up on an army bus by a young GI or sometimes even in a green army limo which we hated because all the kids at school made fun of us. Jr high days. Sensitive age. But life was good. My dad had just returned from Vietnam in 8/70 before we moved to his next post in PA. Sometimes I would love to move back there but I know it wouldn’t be the same.
In 1971, I was 11. My dad passed in March of that year. I spent many hours listening to my AM only radio. Maggie was/is my favorite. I didn't know the meaning. It was Rod's voice that did it for me. My daughter calls him her "real" father. My husband really doesn't like Rod but he took me to a concert in 2007. Rod was AMAZING! Thanks Rod for keeping this lonely, sad youngster company through a very dark time!
Song is a light in a time when my parents divorced in early 1972. I was too young to understand but this song was a start in my musical interest as catharsis. I’m glad it’s meant something to you. I’m sorry but I can’t help but say that given the comment from your daughter, I feel bad for your husband. Different strokes for different folks for sure- but on one hand you speak of how selfless your husband is to take you to the concert and that’s commendable on your part and his part. I did cringe at the comment you attributed to your daughter and I just don’t think you can add any suffix as it were of just kidding to something like that. I hope you cherish him , because I have left situations where I’ve been willfully disrespected less than that .
I was also 11 in 1971. My father was killed when I was 18, it's not always true that time heals all wounds. I went to a Rod Stewart concert when I was 19 at Freedom Hall with my future husband. He passed away from cancer two weeks ago. We both still listened to Rod Stewart.
Fall 1970, my father nearly died at 49. I never knew just how close to dying he got until I was much older. His hemoglobin dropped through the floor and he was hospitalized for two months almost; I was barely ten and Mom decided to spare me the very adult worries she and my two older sisters were feeling. 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'(Simon and Garfunkel) was perfectly timed. Dad recovered and lived to 78.
Amazing how much energy Rod Stewart had during his concerts back in the day. He would literally sprint from one end of the stage to the other repeatedly for 2 hours... You can see that soccer training in him for sure!
I agree with the other commenters. ‘will add that Rod was an avid soccer/football player growing up. He had the lungs for it. I read that Ginger Baker’s drumming was likely aided by his being a serious bike rider as a lad. He focused on riding perhaps to help in dealing with his dad’s dying in WWII.
@@peetyw8851Did not know that about Ginger Baker. Only knew his drumming was out of this world! How he could split his brain to play 3 different rhythms on his drums at the same time was a miracle! Thank you. Be safe and well!
one of the greatest songs ever! “All ya did was wreck my bed,& in the morning kick me head. . .You stole my heart, but I love ya anyway” rock n roll gold! Bobbie Ritchie ROCKED this when he opened The LCA in Detroit in 2018, about the best live cover I saw!
Years ago, I came up with my own lyric. It combines "You stole my heart" and ".....pain I could do without." They are different lines in the song, but I think it's just too funny to be picky. The line is, "You blew a fart, that's a smell I could do without." 😎
Reason to Believe is a great song. Every Picture Tells A Story doesn't have a bad track, but Maggie May is clearly the best. I love playing this album in its entirety.
Yeah, I heard this song a ton when I was a lad of 9 or 10, and really liked the energy and the sounds of the instruments and Rod’s vocal. No backing vocals on this, now that I think about it. Still love “Maggie May” and the entire _Every Picture Tells a Story_ album.
I was in junior high when this song was a hit. In our music class, on Fridays, we could sing popular songs and the words were projected onto the movie screen to sing along. Every week, TC, the class clown, would ask if we could sing this song. And every week, our very strait laced Catholic music teacher would turn red and say, “ohhh, nooo!” We’d all sit there dying at her embarrassment. TC recently passed from cancer, but whenever I hear this song I say a little prayer for him. RIP, TC.
I'm 63 yrs old who loved Rod Stewart as a youngster and never lost my appreciation for his style, voice and his music. I have a beautiful black Labrador who is named.... you guessed it, Maggie Mae. I sing the song to her all the time. Thank you Sir Rod for so many memories over the years and thank you Professor for sharing this with us. 💜💜💜
I was in first grade when this was on the radio. My grandpa used to drive us to school. He hated anything to do with hippies and rock music, but he always sang along to Maggie May when we were in the car. He also made an exception for Neil Young's Heart of Gold.
Rod is a classic! I’ve seen him in concert, several times. He still puts on an amazing show! I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sing anything that I didn’t like. He has one of the most unique voices in music and I never get tired of hearing it.
Great episode. I am in my 70's and like your dad, passed on my love of music from the 60's and 70's to my kids. I recently saw a little pearl of wisdom on the internet the other day that sums up a lot of my life and those of my contemporaries..."My life has been a series of bad decisions with awesome music playing in the background."
In the years of the 1970s, including when this song was big, my mom, my younger sister and I (along with many other families) spent a lot of time camping, picnicking and swimming at a very large spring-fed swimming hole in central Florida. It had a great sound system consisting of big speakers wired directly to the jukebox and hung from every tree, almost. The music poured out of those speakers like a baptismal font, ringing out over acres of water and literally drenching our souls in great rock and roll music, old and new. Rod Stewart's "Maggie May" was a big favorite and all us kids (think hundreds) sang along with the risque' song, much to our parents' offended sensibilities. It was teenage nirvana! Thanks for all the memories of those years you bring to me. Maggie May is going right on my playlist of Hart's Springs Songs!
Oooh that's my current favorite Rod Stewart song! I always thought Sheryl Crow wrote it until last year when I heard Rod sing it on American Top 40. I went to listen to it over & over again. I love Rod's voice! ❤
What a great show! Thank you so much for what you give us. I'm 76 and and played this song through a large number of encounters with young ladies. The 70s were so great.
My mother loved Rod as well, especially his singing voice and the style of his songs, so she was also a fan of John Cougar Mellencamp and Bryan Adams as they reminded her of him.
My wife’s first husband programmed concert lighting and she rode the tour bus with him and the crew on Rod’s “Camouflage” tour (among many other top tours). She said Rod was the sweetest man she’d ever met. Although he once serenaded her with “You Are So Beautiful,” she says he was always a gentleman and never out of line.
I think the "autobiographical" aspect has some poetic licence. It would have been impossible in those days for an Englishman to "make a living outa playing pool" 😊
My name is Margaret "Maggie" (not May), and I cannot tell you how many times parts of this song have been sung to me. As a young woman boys would say the only part of the song that really fit me was the mandolin solo. Because I love the mandolin and the way it's played in Maggie May, I always took that as the sweetest possible compliment. I have watched one of Rod's rare interviews where he was asked if the woman who inspired the song was the only older woman he was ever with. Rod just smiled and said he could not answer that question.
Every time I hear this song I flash back to the first time I heard it: I was 15, in the backseat of a car with my girlfriend Linda and her friend Judy, along with Judy's boyfriend Eugene who was up in the front seat, as we were being driven back by Judy's mom from a day trip we took up some mountain in Northwest Oregon during the summer of 1971. The warm afternoon sun was shining through the car window, and as we drove down the mountainside Maggie May came on the radio and Judy's mom turned it up. It's one of the fondest memories of my teenage years :-)
Loved the video abt Sir Rod and the back story about Maggie May. My favorite part, however, was your beautiful words about your parents. Warmed my ❤. 🥹
I was 14 when this song came out and instantly fell in love with it. Fast forward 20 years and I’m sitting in LaGuardia Airport waiting for my flight when I look up from a book and see this stunning woman walking briskly down the center aisle. As I look to her left, I see the unmistakable spiky tuffs of blonde hair and the unmistakable nose profile! Rod Stewart and Elana Hamilton are strutting quickly towards the Main terminal, no entourage, no body guards. My inner 14 year old wanted chase after them and meet my favorite artist, but the 34 year old brain said, don’t be an idiot. So I stayed in my seat and watched them disappear out of site.
Whenever I hear Maggie May it always takes me back to being a 6 year old starting first grade in Fall 1971. I was a shy & very anxious kid who hated having to go to school and I always associated Maggie May with that. Now at 59 I love the song but it still takes me back to being in first grade & when it was a huge hit.
Rod is my favorite. I saw him in concert years ago, so good! I'm 63, I introduced my son to his music years ago. Now he is a big fan! Good music just lives on.
I bought two tickets to the very first concert for me and my high school girlfriend in 1976. It was at the War Memorial in Rochester NY. Blue Oyster Cult opened up for Rod Stewart and Faces with the great Ron Wood playing lead guitar. The whole show was awesome, and I still can hear a lot of it in my timeless soul almost 48 years ago.
One of my all time favorite tunes. I have always envisioned Rod playing his guitar at the end of Maggie's bed while Maggie sleeps, with the morning sun streaming in the windows. Only in my version, Maggie doesn't wake up until the song is over, completely missing Rod finally standing up for himself. Then, once finally awake and probably hungover, she says something snide to him and he takes it silently like he always has, knowing he is forever in love with her even though she treats him badly.
Good assessment. I am 64 years old man and have always loved the old Rockin Rod Stewart, before the discoe years. I did like "Some guys have all the luck" of that disco era. Well that one came out in the latter 80s. Rod always sang soulful songs. That I could relate to. If I had to choose a theme song for my life it would be a Rod Stewart song "Seems like a long time" !!! I am now a subscriber. You tell it well Professor !!!
This song brings back so many "good" memories. When it first came out in the Summer of 1971 [late?], I was in the last throes of my stint in Vietnam. Being there, I know I didn't hear it very often --- not until I returned Stateside. When I returned in September, I remember hearing it more frequently which I liked. After "moving" to my permanent base in Las Vegas in October, 1971, I had fallen in love with this song. It became a "comfort song" on the radio when I bought my 1964 Buick [Skylark] and would drive it twice a month (weekends) to Los Angeles and back. I know KHJ 93.5 AM radio station in Los Angeles played it a lot --- which was still not enough for me to listen to.
Maggie May is my favorite all time song from one of my favorite artists! I was 14 years old when this fantastic song came out and still love it to this day. Have seen Rod perform in concert many times here in Milwaukee and have followed his career since his time with Faces. Professor you covered the story behind the song so very well. Your knowledge of the rock era and your delivery is beyond compare. Thank you for your efforts! Also, I appreciate your dedication to your parents.
My dad was the same way. He would go into details about a band or band members on how a song came to be or why the band split up. I loved it and I retained the information. My dad sadly passed away in 2010 of brain cancer he was only 49 years old. I love your videos cuz it brings my dad back to me for a few minutes and it's a special few minutes. ❤
Fell in love with the song from the first time I heard it on Armed Forces Radio as a GI in Germany 1971. I still have the 45 single in my collection. Rock on Rod.
Yes and it's truly sad that Ray Jackson the mandolin player was paid a whopping $30 for it after Rod Stewart made millions and millions of dollars in his lifetime and never compensated the man.
My friends and I singing it together, we knew every word. Did that with so many songs.. what a time to be young and into music, still know and love those Girls, we're all 64 this year 😂😂
Yup, me too. Were you disgusted with the way all the sixth grade girls (such as the ones in my Robins Elementary class) went so ga-ga over Donny Osmand? Ugh!
"Maggie May" and "Hotel California" - the two most overplayed songs on classic rock radio stations. LOL - but I still love 'em. I didn't really discover Rod Stewart until his 80's hits. It was then that I started noticing his older hits - this song included, and I found that I really liked them. So many great tunes!
Hotel California... I listen to it almost every day. It came out in 77 and we moved later that yr out of California so it's very sentimal to me. As for Rod Stewart my mom loved him "Tonight's the Night" was her favorite.
I was 23. She was 38. Met her at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club watching Kenny Burell. Got her number. I called her and we hooked up. Best night of my young life. We ravished each other all night long. The next morning I was ready to propose marriage. She rushed me out the door and said she had a situation with someone else. And so it goes. For all I know I could have a kid in London. I'm 60 now, so she would be 75. But I am still in love with her. Ah memories.
Amazing how many artists/ label execs misjudge a great song from a flop & vice versa. Thank God for the DJ who played Maggie May, & brought literally one of the best all time R&R SONGS IN HISTORY. Also love the mandolin. You can hear it in a bunch of different songs (Mandolin Wind, Mandolin Rain), it’s such a distinct sound, but it’s perfect in Maggie May. You’re So Vain is 100% about Warren Beatty.
"Prof. Of Rock", WOW, this is by far the most amazing turnabout story regarding a legitimate "Rock Star" that you have chronicled so far. Hard to believe that the stratospheric rise of such a truly talented star began at such a low nadir. Truly Amazing! Thanks.
I saw Rod and the Faces perform Maggie May at the 1972 Reading Festival when I was 10 years old. It was the first gig I ever went to. I’ll never forget his stage presence and the way he twirled the mic stand around. I remember he was wearing a gold cape or jacket that caught the lights so brightly.
Adam, I want to let you know how much I enjoy your videos. I'm 69 years old and the early 70's was "my era". So many great songs and I love your story telling and back stories. I especially love your personal stories about your father. I am the father in my scenerio. My son and I have a similar music relationship. He was raised on all that music. I used to quiz him when I played a song. I would ask him who the artist was and he would guess. Eventually he learned all about the great artists. Like you and your Dad had, my son and I have a special bond relating to all that great music. Thanks for the memories and keep up the great work. Best of luck
"Maggie May" was the song that was number 1 when I was born, to be replaced the following weekend by "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves". Rod Stewart songs were favorite sing-along songs for my fellow Student Senators and me when we would go to the pub after our meetings on Wednesday evenings in the early 1990s, including "Maggie May" and "You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)". Such good times...
I turned 14 in 1971. My older sister bought the Every Picture Tells a Story album. I played the heckout of it. Then when cassettes were the thing ,I bought the tape. And then a CD ... The best part of the album are the Mandolin solos. The drum solo in, I'm Loosing You. Is my favorite drum solo ever!
I’ll never forget the first time I heard this song. I was in the 10th grade and everyone was singing it! That was the autumn of 1971. Very nostalgic ☺️
I totally remember when this song came out... my parents had divorced and I was visiting my mother on Nantucket. She, or one of her friends, had a giant, green, antique car that they called "the frog." This song would blast on the radio as we rode around. I was probably about six at the time, but even then, the song made a huge impression on me and is one of my favs. It totally defines the 70s!
Im 58 and was like Adam's father just emerged with Rock music in the as a kid in the 70s .its just astonishing how Adam i is also so emerged in 70s rock considering he is quite a few years younger than all us kids that grew up in the 70s instead of the 80s .this channel is without a doubt taylor made for 70s young teens .Adam is just as much a 70s music junkie even though he was actually to young to remember most of it first hand .that speaks volumes to Adams father for inspiring his young son to be the nostalgic rock musical junkie he is now .just love this channel and is by far the best rock channel on RUclips
@@brookswade5774 I would dispute you on that, too. In ‘71 we were still mired in Viet Nam, civil rights were practically non existent, college kids were getting killed during protests, etc.
@@russelllangworthy8855 All of that is true as well. I’m referring mainly to things like constant mass shootings, woke idiots, pride acceptance, sickening entitlement, and police and politicians that are way out of control. Come to think of it, maybe it is just like then.
The haunting, nostalgic mandolin work on Maggie May is the same thing that drew me to Lady Eleanor when I first heard them on the radio. I never knew until now that both were played by the same man. But perhaps I should have known as the one instrument clearly spoke a distinct dialect. Thank you, Ray Jackson, for working your magic with both songs.
Maggie May was the very first song I heard from Rod the Mod and this was back when I was in elementary school. Been a big fan ever since. Such a marvelous song🤘😎🤙
@@earlgrey691 so old people who want to abuse their immune system so they don’t die from Covid are a- holes ? That’s a pretty narrow outlook, my friend.
This song has always had a special place in my heart, I've loved it since I first heard it decades ago. Coincidentally - at my birthday party a couple weeks ago, a friend caught a video clip of myself and my fellow musicians playing an acoustic rendition of - you guessed it - 'Maggie May.' Playing on the song were musical mates from my first band all the way to my current band, spanning over 50 years of my own musical career, all making beautiful music together. It was awesome. What a great song, great memories.
"Do ya Think I'm Sexy" was my introduction to Rod Stewart right around the time I was going through my version thereof. Maggie May was one that had to grow on me, and it certainly has.
My older sister was a huge Rod Stewart fan and loved this song! Kinda got me listening to his songs as a kid, RS has a ton of classic hits and what a great singer! Great video as always...
Adam thank you for sharing the story, I was 13 when Maggie May was released, and the song grabbed me straight away in an instant I knew the man singing was brilliant, I've been a fan ever since.
This is such a special song for my family. My mom was a few years older than my dad and he teasingly called her Maggie May. My daughters name is Maggie.
That is so sweet! My mom was a few years older than Dad, but what he teased her about was her first name. She _hated_ her first name, and refused to use it or tell anyone. Daddy was delighted that her first name rhymed with his last name, so he told her that he LOVED her name, and it took him years to find a good woman named "Myrtle" to marry. His last name's "Hertel", and yes, it rhymes with "Myrtle".😂
Every time I hear the beginning chords of Maggie May it brings me back to 1971 when I was 19 years old. I am 73 now and I still get the same urge to get up and bounced around. Thank you Rod for the memories!!❤❤
It was my fave track (well, there was Bridge Over Troubled Water and Elton's whole Honky Chateau album - hard to pick the absolute favourite) in my first year of university. That had a lot to do with why it was so memorable - those big moments of change in young lives reflected in the song. Rod's message of the need to grow up and move on really resonated with the challenge of moving from the family home and adapting to a completely new environment.
What a great tribute to his father. We can learn from it that we should ask questions of our parents and grandparents while they are able to provide answers to them.
Only 5 years old in 1971, but all through the 70's I remember Rod Stewart and very happily discovered Small Faces and the Faces in the 1990's. Oh, La,, La. Thank you for the great videos.
Some really great music from a very talented guy. There was a time when Rod was my favorite singer, good front man too. His voice had the perfect mix of musical, gruff and soft. His early stuff was mostly all good. He had the advantage of great bands and GREAT guitar players. Maggie really is a truly great song but he has many. When I was a teenager and heard Angel, You Wear it Well and the like it played all summer. Too bad there will never be artist like this again in my lifetime. Someday...when it's mostly forgotten, some bunch will rediscover and bring it all back in their way....Not the way that just rerecords it, but the way Blues turned into Rock and changed the World. Just had to add, the appreciation of Adams Parents is impressive. It takes a GREAT Parent to help make a GREAT KID.
I am 63 years old The first song I ever heard was Maggie May and I became an instant fan of rod Stewart and have listened to him throughout my life Maggie May and hot legs are the absolute best in my opinion Love your content
Adam, your RUclips posts really bring back that beautiful age of radio for me and my husband. I often tell my children that I got to grow up in the most beautiful age, when music was freely broadcast and they often created sweet dreams. I feel so very lucky to have lived those days and if I had one wish I would live them again. Thanks for providing that in part.
Poll: What is your pick for the greatest DEBUT Record of all time?
Rush
Van Halen: Van Halen
The Cars: The Cars
Duran Duran: Duran Duran
Iron Maiden: Iron Maiden
Jean-Michel Jarre: Oxygene
Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures
Personal favourite- Market Square Hero Marillion
Sultans Of Swing Dire Straits
The cars
@@mournblade1066 Great list!
I am a 69 year old man. Hearing Maggie May takes me back to my senior year of high school back in 1973. It was one of the songs that played on our jukebox in the cafeteria. Every time I hear the song, I am sitting back in the cafeteria again. Sweet memories. Love this song!!
2 years behind you, I have a cafeteria memory also…Last song by Edward Bear on the jukebox
exactly the same for me only I graduated in 1972
73 here!
‘73 Grad here too.👍
1971 traveling down the road with Maggie May!! Great song!!
The mandolin on "Maggie May" still gives me chills after all these years. I'm 61 now.
Luckily it doesn't leave us, at 65 I'm still getting those same chills. :-)
@@Portugalbound Good to know!
Mandolin on REM's unplugged "Love is All Around" is also gorgeous. Check it out.
Me too! And I’m 65 and a mandolin player.
Madeline wind
"The morning sun when it hits your face really shows your age." - The best insult of the rock era.
I'm Guilty and can relate (lol)
Rod also sang "With a face like that, you've got nothin' to laugh about" with Faces.
Not really, " ... but that don't worry me none, in my eyes your everything.
I laughed at all of your jokes, my love ya didn't need ta coax... "
Not even close. Bob Dylan who wrote "You just sorta wasted my precious time." later wrote:
"Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your mouth
Blowing down the back roads headin' south
Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your teeth
You're an idiot, babe
It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe."
etcetera.
@@jhandle4196@jhandle4196 I disagree, the BEST insults are short and concise. Two lines at most.
I was 10 y/o when Maggie May came out. Every time I hear it, it takes me back to that time in my life! my older sisters would blast the radio up stairs while we were getting ready for school! We’d sing along and use our brushes as microphones!!! What a great memory ❤
Lullabies
Almost exactly the same! Our big old bathroom was right next to the bedroom, our mics were curling irons and I'm the only one who can sing for shit. Good times, so long ago. If Maggie May comes on, the volume goes up!!!
Rod Stewart lost his virginity with an older woman named Maggie May. This same theme occurs in "Lola" by the Kinks where Ray Davies falls for a transvestite. And the most famous example is the movie "The Graduate", where Dustin Hoffman loses his virginity with "Mrs Robinson", the mother of his girlfriend/fiance. Even Simon & Garfunkel made a song about it.
I was ten in 1962, by 1964, me and my sisters were singing into hair brushes to The Beatles. But I could already play harmonica, so I was playing along with "Love Me Do," and then all The Yardbird songs, and so on.
Professor (Adam) I'm 64, my wife is 60, and I would just like to tell you how much we enjoy your channel. Even if it's a song or band we may not like, or isn't our particular "cup of tea", it's always enlightening, entertaining, and educating, three things that make it successful. I have turned many people on to your channel, and they all come back saying "Wow! Thank you so much for introducing me to the professor of rock!" You've certainly found your niche my friend! One music loving little boy from a small town can, and is, changing the world! Bravo!
Amen, amen! Love you, Professor!
Holy cow, I could have written your comment. Those are my sentiments. I actually don't love most of the songs he talks about, but, but, BUTT They make me feel nostalgic, memories abound!!
Thank you Adam. Really appreciate what you're doing.
Yep. I’m 60 and my husband is 61. I couldn’t have said this better.
❤️💜💚
Yes - we like to hear about songs and artists from our time - the golden age of rock 🎶 The Professor rocks 😃
Maggie May is fraught with a range of emotions, grief, anger, fear, disappointment, self doubt, sorrow and sadness so deep. 1971 was a tumultuous year. I graduated from 8th grade in June & my mom died in August. I had been in a foster home separated from my brothers and sisters since 1963. My dad had passed in 1969 and the devastation and desolation and depression permeated my bones. My heart was completely broken and at age 12, I learned what loss really meant. His loss colored my entire life. Songs in 1969 that I always remember are Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes, by Edison Lighthouse, Don't Cry Daddy, by Elvis Presley & a myriad of others. I would hide an old tube radio under my pillow and listen to WLS & WCFL & WVON. The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Dianna Ross & the Supremes, James Brown & Bobby Sherman! Lol! Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, CCR, The Guess Who, The Grass Roots, There was In My Midnight Confession, Neil Diamond's Hot August Night, Sweet Caroline, Cracklin' Rosie, Spirit in the Sky, Build Me Up, Buttercup! Patches, and of course...The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and so many others. FM radio wasn't a thing back then, at least not yet. It was about to be. Eight Tracks but I was a kid, I didn't have a car. A transistor radio was considered cool & we would all gather in a friends bedroom to listen to the latest 45 we had saved up our milk money to buy at the Jewel Foodstore at 86th & Pulaski on the Southwest Side of Chicago. A year later and boys entered our lives and stayed. We moved to the garage or backyard and the guys started following us instead of the other way around. The day after Christmas of 1969, I got the call that my dad had passed the night before. Whatever my life had been to that point, the hope of one day reuniting with my mom and dad and brothers and sisters, that dream shattered. I slowly realized that life was not ever going to work out the way I'd hoped. Not long after, my mom's death in 1971 was the final nail in the coffin of my very brief and painful childhood. Music was my only solace. It is odd that the Summer of 1970, I fell in love for the very first time. I'll never forget those blue eyes meeting mine over a basketball in the alley. We both grabbed it at the same time and it was electrifying. Both of us knew at the very same time. Tommy James & the Shondells..."I Think We're Alone Now" will forever be the song I fell in love to. It was Maggie Mae that was playing when I made the decision to leave my friends and life in Chicago behind me to try & get to know my family or what was left of it at an orphanage in the suburbs. It was another mistake in a life full of them. They did't know me, I didn't know them. I wanted to know them, but they couldn't have cared less. I kept trying, but honestly, you can fool yourself for a lifetime when you want something as badly as I wanted a family. The entire atmosphere that fall as I tried to settle in to a new life at the orphanage will forever play in my mind with Maggie Mae and Carol King's Tapestry playing as the backdrop. There was also James Taylor, Sweet Baby James, Carly Simon's You're So Vain, BJ Thomas, Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head. A little later and The Chi-Lites were added to the lineup...Oh Girl...There was Everybody Plays the Fool Sometimes.... and of course, Bread's Guitar Man (awesome), The Long & Winding Road, Jackson Brown, Doctor My Eyes, Linda Ronstadt and not too much later, The Eagles. There was a few strange ones, "McArthur Park." What was it about anyway? I Got a Brand New Pair of Roller Skates (You got a Brand New Key) Paradise, Put Up a Parking Lot, Dobie Gray, Drift Away, Lean on Me, Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, Those Were the Days, Leaving on a Jet Plane, John Denver or was it the Mamas and the Papas? The Loving Spoonful, The Hollys, The Turtles! Imagine Me & You (So Happy Together). Geez, you openef the floodgates Professor. Sorry for the rant. I absolutely loved Rod Stuart back in the day. Not just Maggie Mae though. Reason to Believe hit my heart really hard. It was difficult to find it on the radio though. When I was at the orphanage, I was amazed to discover (and delighted) that kids were allowed to have their own stereos! Not just the record players we gathered around in the garage, but PIONEER Speakers and Albums, not just 45s! It was a fantastic time to come of age lisltening to all of these bands, some which were already legends and on their way out, like The Beatles, and then their was The Who, and the Rock Opera Tommy and Quadraphenia. Cream and Deep Purple, Santana, Black Sabbath. Wow, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, The Bee Gees, Elton John, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix! Double tragedy there. I could go on and on. All of this great music got me through my childhood. While I cried to so many of these songs, I also go high to a lot of them. Now I look back and feel nostalgic. A burning wish to go back there, turn back time and just be a spectator to my own life as I was forced to live it for a time. Sorry for the rant. I'm sure there won''t be many who read this whole dessertation, but hey, anybody who did, thanks and I hope Maggie Mae brought you some of the comfort it eventually brought to me. I always knew the song was about sex, even as a naive 14 year old. I didn't know it was about THAT part of it though! I just thought that this older woman was getting it on with a young kid who didn't mind at all, but knew it was time to be moving on. Musical awakening was amazing, but sexual awakenings were still years away. There's a soundtrack for that too...
Cool story. I read the whole thing. I lived through the same year, listened to WLS and WCFL also, and I also remember where I was, what I was doing, and who I was with the first time I heard "Maggie May." Thanks for the memories.
Wow you poured your heart out on that. So sorry for all the trials you faced so early on.
I don’t know about anyone else but I loved your listing of songs! I could hear the songs in my head as I read the titles…
My memories also are tied up with music but they blur now…so reading your list allowed a focus I hadn’t had in years!
So thx for that ❤
I read it, too. And my heart hurt for that little girl. It's easy to not realize everybody's childhood wasn't like your own. But, we Really Did all share a common cultural thread of music (& TV at the time, too), So Very unlike today, when everything is So fragmented, and there are Sooooo many micro-sub-genres.[I just made that up, and I LIKE it - LoLL] )
Sending hugs & prayers for your life now & going forward.
Meanwhile - we all have ...... "Three chords and the truth." 😁👍🎶👍
Dude, if we wanted War and Peace, we would read Dostoyevsky!
Your life is not interesting.
Sheesh!
As i am now an older woman, I often think of that line from Maggie May "When the morning sun is in your face it really shows your age." Thanks Rod, haha. My dear friend played lead guitar with Rod for dozens of years. I was fortunate enough to go to every show that passed through Detroit. Rod still puts on a hell of a show even though his voice suffered from thyroid cancer. He recorded the great American classics during his recovery but seems to have almost reached the same level he would have been at if not for the surgery. Although I appreciate his talent and tenacity I still love him with Jeff Beck the most. Thanks P.O.R.
Don't mind those lines, love! We've earned every last one with our well-lived years! Like Jimmy Buffett said, "Wrinkles are just where smiles used to be!" ❤
I'm so excited. I've just read a groupie comment for the first time...
And I, as a hopeless romantic, hear the following line; “But that don’t bother me none, in my eyes you’re everything”.
Maggie was probably in her late 20’s or 30’s
That’s one of the great and insightful lines of history!
No one sounds like Rod. The most distinctive and unique sounding singing voice I've ever heard.
Except brother louis by stories!
Peter Criss singing Beth sounds pretty dang close… 🤷♀️
Stevie Nicks sometimes… Kim Carnes sometimes…
Steve Marriott
Bonnie Tyler.
Saw him in Vegas in 1988.
Makeup for a canceled show
He did 3 hours
Played everything he ever recorded .
Very engaged with the audience.
Fabulous
Was that at MGM? I was at that concert with my boyfriend, who I married the next year, in 1989
In 1971, I was an 18 year old soldier, stationed in Virginia, when first heard Maggie May. I became a Rod Stewart fan, on the spot. 52 years later, nearly to the day, I listened, with misty eyes, as he sang Maggie May, in concert, in Reno, Nevada. ❤
First time I heard Maggie May I was hooked, too. I was 13, my brother bought the 45, and I stole it. Still love Rod!
Thank you for your service.
No music can touch the music we had from the 60’s and 70’s.
Small world, same for me a bit older than you, stationed in Charlottesville after short stint at Ft. Lee. I was married and my wife a year older so we always got a kick out of the song. Saw Rod live in Atlanta in early 90’s. One of my all time favorites.
CONGRATULATIONS FOR GETTING TO GO!
I was 18 too.
Adam, Thanks for helping keep alive the classic hits and stories. Casey Kasem would be happy to know you continue his tradition of telling the stories behind the hits.
American Top 40 was THE radio show to listen to on Sunday nights. Professor, your dad probably heard some of those back stories while listening to Casey.
Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.
He almost sounds like Casey Kasem.
@@TommyRibs...... oh how I loved to hear Casey end his show every week. He was awesome!!! ❤
@@susane9514Even in Australia we go to listen to the show on radio, except we heard it one week later.
The mandolin work on Maggie May really did raise that song into the emotional stratosphere. It drew a melancholy from the tune that everyone felt.
Lindisfarne harmonica + mandolin player, rod forgot to mention... that made that song!
Yeah, but not any more than the brilliant and unusually harmonic bass line by one of the best bassists ever, Ron Wood. The organ in this song is also musical perfection. Every instrument plays something unconventional or extraordinary through the whole song, except the mando, which just plays that bit at the end. It's the perfect punctuation mark for a perfectly arranged and recorded song, but Rod had assembled a crowded field of musical masters for that song. That plus the lyrics and Rod's sincere vocals are what made an otherwise bland and repetitive song into a legend that has at times moved me to tears. The melody and the chord pattern are really stock and unremarkable. All of the musicians made this song a masterpiece. The mandolin was just a voice in the crowd. I always heard the bass as a kid, not the mandolin in that part. They work together. They need each other.
@@beenaplumber8379 I feel it's a shame when someone contributes some creative work and gets no credit even though the contribution is significant to the success of the song, such as Levo Helm of the Band or in this case too. Life isn't always fair
Prof, no one takes me back to my youth like you. Really enjoy the stories of songs and artists from the late 60's and 70's. Thanks for your hard work.
💯 % agree. Thanks Adam!
...ding-ding-DING!
Well said Marcus!
Music just does that in general, Adam just helps us remember our great pass.
@@RBS_ For whom the bell tolls? Adam
When I first heard Maggie may, I was hooked by the mandolin part. Probably one of the reasons I learned mandolin.
Yes yes yes ! Me, also!
It's beautiful
I was in my High school gym class on the weight scale when it came on for the first time. Because of that song I have remembered my weight from that day and because of that I have tried to stay at that weight all my life. I was 155 at 17 and now at 67 I'm 160. Thanks Maggie.
Being a father myself, I really enjoy it when you speak so highly and fondly of your father. May he rest in peace. Keep up the great work that you do.
Not a father but a son, I love your comment- and I'm always amazed at how The Professor knows all the back stories.
AS a 10 year old in 1971, all this music just blows me away because I still love it and the memories attached to it are never-ending.
What a time to grow up - especially as a music lover!
And yes, I've made music an important part of raising our kids - my wife's father, in fact, was in the Wrecking Crew, so her life in LA vs me in PA, was very much surrounded by music and musicians!
Wow, that's incredible. The wrecking crew were the unsung heroes of rock and roll. Would you be able to say who your wife's relative is? They were all tops so it doesn't matter I'm just curious.
Me too, what a fab time to hear music, decades behind us and all the newest
I think the first TWO lines is where the listener really gets pulled in: "Wake up, Maggie, I think I've got something to say to you. It's late September and I really should be back at school.." A vivid picture is painted from just those two lines. Nice job, I subscribed.
I love his music! Thanks so much for spotlighting him! No one talks about him any more. His music has a genuinely unique sound simply because his voice was so different than anyone else’s. Such a great talent!
One of the songs I wish would make a comeback is "Passion." You never hear it on the radio.
In 2019 I attended a live Rod Stewart concert at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Made a special trip to see him because I love his music and had never seen him live. I enjoyed the trip, and I'm glad I went. I have to say, though, that I was disappointed by the performance. He's old now and didn't give the high energy performance as in his younger years, but the real disappointment came with the realization that he was badly lip syncing at least some of the songs. Since his face was displayed in real time on huge screens in the arena, it was painfully obvious. I laughed when I realized that at 58 (then) I was one of the youngest in the crowd. Still love his music though.
@@katrinacollins892 It’s a shame that his music isn’t really being passed on to the next generation. Even with the lip syncing it must have been fun to see him in person.
@@BillGraper that’s a great one!
Thanks for watching!
I’m 70, loved rod then and love him now. I miss those days so much. I want a do over.
I want to go back to high school.
I was born in 1966 so the songs from the late 60s and early70s got imrpinted in my brain. i recognize most of them almost instantly when I hear them. My mom also loved Rod and would sing his songs whenever they come on the radio. I bought her the big box set of Rod singing classic songs for Christmas the year it came out. Listening to your program just now brought back somee GOOD memories which I need since she passed away on April 5th. Music has such power!
Maggie Mae playing full blast while dancing on the porch with my 3 kids on a rainy afternoon! Best memory ever
I was in high school when Maggie May was such a big hit. Our school bus driver would play rock on the radio. I think Maggie May was his favorite because every time that station played it the driver would turn the volume way up, with everyone on the bus singing loud with it. Thanks for jogging my memory.
What a great memory! Back when a school bus was safe and drivers weren’t all driving high or drunk. Lol! I felt safer back when students actually drove the buses. I didn’t do a lot of bus riding. We either lived close enough to walk or ride our bikes. As a military brat, when we lived in PA we got picked up on an army bus by a young GI or sometimes even in a green army limo which we hated because all the kids at school made fun of us. Jr high days. Sensitive age. But life was good. My dad had just returned from Vietnam in 8/70 before we moved to his next post in PA. Sometimes I would love to move back there but I know it wouldn’t be the same.
In 1971, I was 11. My dad passed in March of that year. I spent many hours listening to my AM only radio. Maggie was/is my favorite. I didn't know the meaning. It was Rod's voice that did it for me. My daughter calls him her "real" father.
My husband really doesn't like Rod but he took me to a concert in 2007. Rod was AMAZING!
Thanks Rod for keeping this lonely, sad youngster company through a very dark time!
❤❤
Song is a light in a time when my parents divorced in early 1972. I was too young to understand but this song was a start in my musical interest as catharsis. I’m glad it’s meant something to you.
I’m sorry but I can’t help but say that given the comment from your daughter, I feel bad for your husband. Different strokes for different folks for sure- but on one hand you speak of how selfless your husband is to take you to the concert and that’s commendable on your part and his part. I did cringe at the comment you attributed to your daughter and I just don’t think you can add any suffix as it were of just kidding to something like that. I hope you cherish him , because I have left situations where I’ve been willfully disrespected less than that .
I was also 11 in 1971. My father was killed when I was 18, it's not always true that time heals all wounds. I went to a Rod Stewart concert when I was 19 at Freedom Hall with my future husband. He passed away from cancer two weeks ago. We both still listened to Rod Stewart.
Fall 1970, my father nearly died at 49. I never knew just how close to dying he got until I was much older. His hemoglobin dropped through the floor and he was hospitalized for two months almost; I was barely ten and Mom decided to spare me the very adult worries she and my two older sisters were feeling. 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'(Simon and Garfunkel) was perfectly timed. Dad recovered and lived to 78.
Amazing how much energy Rod Stewart had during his concerts back in the day. He would literally sprint from one end of the stage to the other repeatedly for 2 hours... You can see that soccer training in him for sure!
He really was a whiz.
Pure cocane will have that effect on ya folks.
Always wondered if, or how many times a bandmate or roadie got hit when he whipped that mic stand around!!!! lol
I agree with the other commenters. ‘will add that Rod was an avid soccer/football player growing up. He had the lungs for it.
I read that Ginger Baker’s drumming was likely aided by his being a serious bike rider as a lad. He focused on riding perhaps to help in dealing with his dad’s dying in WWII.
@@peetyw8851Did not know that about Ginger Baker. Only knew his drumming was out of this world! How he could split his brain to play 3 different rhythms on his drums at the same time was a miracle! Thank you. Be safe and well!
Maggie May feels so timeless. Another Great job Professor!
She's not really timeless. The morning sun, when it's in her face, really shows her age. 😉
one of the greatest songs ever! “All ya did was wreck my bed,& in the morning kick me head. . .You stole my heart, but I love ya anyway” rock n roll gold! Bobbie Ritchie ROCKED this when he opened The LCA in Detroit in 2018, about the best live cover I saw!
Years ago, I came up with my own lyric. It combines "You stole my heart" and ".....pain I could do without." They are different lines in the song, but I think it's just too funny to be picky. The line is, "You blew a fart, that's a smell I could do without." 😎
Especially with that delightful classical intro on the album version.
Only to be outdone by Rod and The Faces' "Stay With Me" a couple of years later. That song, of course, was a lot more tongue-in-cheek, but hilarious.
Professor you might wanna do a show about Top B sides, that were the hits the A side wasn't
@@luissallard9761 "B A Hit" wouldn't be a bad title for it.
Is it just me or were the 70's an awesome time for music? So much good stuff.
Reason to Believe is a great song. Every Picture Tells A Story doesn't have a bad track, but Maggie May is clearly the best. I love playing this album in its entirety.
Very cool!
Tim Hardin needs a dedicated video.Highly regarded music genius and revered by many of us Brits...'Red-Balloon' is beautiful, Shiloh Town' also.
What’s amazing about that album is it is mostly acoustic but it rocks as hard as anything
Don't forget mandolin wind
Me too. Such a storied album.
I remember when this song came out in 1971. It was instantly likable and refreshingly original! Such a feel good song, it takes me back!
Yeah, I heard this song a ton when I was a lad of 9 or 10, and really liked the energy and the sounds of the instruments and Rod’s vocal. No backing vocals on this, now that I think about it. Still love “Maggie May” and the entire _Every Picture Tells a Story_ album.
I was in junior high when this song was a hit. In our music class, on Fridays, we could sing popular songs and the words were projected onto the movie screen to sing along. Every week, TC, the class clown, would ask if we could sing this song. And every week, our very strait laced Catholic music teacher would turn red and say, “ohhh, nooo!” We’d all sit there dying at her embarrassment. TC recently passed from cancer, but whenever I hear this song I say a little prayer for him. RIP, TC.
Thanks for sharing!
Frea
T memory to cherish
What a wonderful way to remember a friend. ❤
What an awesome memory. I'm the same vintage, so I can relate.
R.I.P. TC.
I'm 63 yrs old who loved Rod Stewart as a youngster and never lost my appreciation for his style, voice and his music. I have a beautiful black Labrador who is named.... you guessed it, Maggie Mae. I sing the song to her all the time. Thank you Sir Rod for so many memories over the years and thank you Professor for sharing this with us. 💜💜💜
I have a black cat and her name is Maggie Mae.
I was in first grade when this was on the radio. My grandpa used to drive us to school. He hated anything to do with hippies and rock music, but he always sang along to Maggie May when we were in the car. He also made an exception for Neil Young's Heart of Gold.
My late dad liked Heart of Gold, too. 😇
Rod is a classic! I’ve seen him in concert, several times. He still puts on an amazing show! I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sing anything that I didn’t like. He has one of the most unique voices in music and I never get tired of hearing it.
Great episode. I am in my 70's and like your dad, passed on my love of music from the 60's and 70's to my kids. I recently saw a little pearl of wisdom on the internet the other day that sums up a lot of my life and those of my contemporaries..."My life has been a series of bad decisions with awesome music playing in the background."
Ditto!!!!!!
In the years of the 1970s, including when this song was big, my mom, my younger sister and I (along with many other families) spent a lot of time camping, picnicking and swimming at a very large spring-fed swimming hole in central Florida.
It had a great sound system consisting of big speakers wired directly to the jukebox and hung from every tree, almost. The music poured out of those speakers like a baptismal font, ringing out over acres of water and literally drenching our souls in great rock and roll music, old and new. Rod Stewart's "Maggie May" was a big favorite and all us kids (think hundreds) sang along with the risque' song, much to our parents' offended sensibilities. It was teenage nirvana!
Thanks for all the memories of those years you bring to me. Maggie May is going right on my playlist of Hart's Springs Songs!
Wow, I think I was at that same exact place the next summer when "Joy to the World" was the big summer hit.
Nobody here mentioning "the first cut is the deepest" among their favorite Rod Stewart songs. 😢
Oooh that's my current favorite Rod Stewart song! I always thought Sheryl Crow wrote it until last year when I heard Rod sing it on American Top 40. I went to listen to it over & over again. I love Rod's voice! ❤
It gets my vote💔
@@LaManteca76 Has been recorded by many artists, but try the Cat Stevens version.....he wrote it 🙂
@@bobrichards4811 Awesome! I'll go check it out, thanx. 😄
I like Rod’s version.
What a great show! Thank you so much for what you give us. I'm 76 and and played this song through a large number of encounters with young ladies. The 70s were so great.
I never knew that this song was autobiographical. Rod was my dearly departed mother's favourite singer.
My dearly departed Aunt would have gladly been his Maggie May. She would turn into a school girl when he appeared on the tele.
It’s such a fascinating story.
My mother loved Rod as well, especially his singing voice and the style of his songs, so she was also a fan of John Cougar Mellencamp and Bryan Adams as they reminded her of him.
My wife’s first husband programmed concert lighting and she rode the tour bus with him and the crew on Rod’s “Camouflage” tour (among many other top tours). She said Rod was the sweetest man she’d ever met. Although he once serenaded her with “You Are So Beautiful,” she says he was always a gentleman and never out of line.
I think the "autobiographical" aspect has some poetic licence. It would have been impossible in those days for an Englishman to "make a living outa playing pool" 😊
My name is Margaret "Maggie" (not May), and I cannot tell you how many times parts of this song have been sung to me. As a young woman boys would say the only part of the song that really fit me was the mandolin solo. Because I love the mandolin and the way it's played in Maggie May, I always took that as the sweetest possible compliment. I have watched one of Rod's rare interviews where he was asked if the woman who inspired the song was the only older woman he was ever with. Rod just smiled and said he could not answer that question.
Don't forget Steve Winwood used the mandolin for 'Back in the Highlife'
Terrible song
I like it!!
I love that song!!!!😮
Greatest song of all time
@@MrKurtykurt lol
Every time I hear this song I flash back to the first time I heard it:
I was 15, in the backseat of a car with my girlfriend Linda and her friend Judy, along with Judy's boyfriend Eugene who was up in the front seat, as we were being driven back by Judy's mom from a day trip we took up some mountain in Northwest Oregon during the summer of 1971. The warm afternoon sun was shining through the car window, and as we drove down the mountainside Maggie May came on the radio and Judy's mom turned it up. It's one of the fondest memories of my teenage years :-)
@@anthonylewis1475 you had me going there !! I thought it was going to be a ‘paradise by the dash board light scenario’ until you mentioned you’re mum
Loved the video abt Sir Rod and the back story about Maggie May. My favorite part, however, was your beautiful words about your parents. Warmed my ❤. 🥹
I was 14 when this song came out and instantly fell in love with it. Fast forward 20 years and I’m sitting in LaGuardia Airport waiting for my flight when I look up from a book and see this stunning woman walking briskly down the center aisle. As I look to her left, I see the unmistakable spiky tuffs of blonde hair and the unmistakable nose profile! Rod Stewart and Elana Hamilton are strutting quickly towards the Main terminal, no entourage, no body guards. My inner 14 year old wanted chase after them and meet my favorite artist, but the 34 year old brain said, don’t be an idiot. So I stayed in my seat and watched them disappear out of site.
Rod is a survivor and a gentleman. The definition of a loveable rake.
One of THE most definitive songs of the 1970's. Instantly brings you back
Whenever I hear Maggie May it always takes me back to being a 6 year old starting first grade in Fall 1971. I was a shy & very anxious kid who hated having to go to school and I always associated Maggie May with that. Now at 59 I love the song but it still takes me back to being in first grade & when it was a huge hit.
Same Here, eating peaches from neighbors yard in south Texas. Best time for me
I remember we wore bell bottoms, and my older sister played the best music. We were so cool and we still are.
I’m 70 and the first song from rod stewart that I heard and loved was Maggie may
Rod is my favorite. I saw him in concert years ago, so good! I'm 63, I introduced my son to his music years ago. Now he is a big fan! Good music just lives on.
I bought two tickets to the very first concert for me and my high school girlfriend in 1976. It was at the War Memorial in Rochester NY. Blue Oyster Cult opened up for Rod Stewart and Faces with the great Ron Wood playing lead guitar. The whole show was awesome, and I still can hear a lot of it in my timeless soul almost 48 years ago.
You might be off by a year or two, Ron Wood joined the Rolling Stones in early 1975 and the Faces officially broke up in late 1975.
@@cliffjbowman Well Ron was with them on that concert but you may be right it may have been the summer of 1975 - I was off by one year
NICE!!!!
One of my all time favorite tunes. I have always envisioned Rod playing his guitar at the end of Maggie's bed while Maggie sleeps, with the morning sun streaming in the windows. Only in my version, Maggie doesn't wake up until the song is over, completely missing Rod finally standing up for himself. Then, once finally awake and probably hungover, she says something snide to him and he takes it silently like he always has, knowing he is forever in love with her even though she treats him badly.
That's such an awesome interpretation of the song. Makes me feel more for the poor love sick guy. 😀
Sounds about right...
Good assessment. I am 64 years old man and have always loved the old Rockin Rod Stewart, before the discoe years. I did like "Some guys have all the luck" of that disco era. Well that one came out in the latter 80s. Rod always sang soulful songs. That I could relate to. If I had to choose a theme song for my life it would be a Rod Stewart song "Seems like a long time" !!! I am now a subscriber. You tell it well Professor !!!
What an incredible and unique voice. What a library of great songs he has. Rockin' Rod.
Thanks!
This song brings back so many "good" memories. When it first came out in the Summer of 1971 [late?], I was in the last throes of my stint in Vietnam. Being there, I know I didn't hear it very often --- not until I returned Stateside. When I returned in September, I remember hearing it more frequently which I liked. After "moving" to my permanent base in Las Vegas in October, 1971, I had fallen in love with this song. It became a "comfort song" on the radio when I bought my 1964 Buick [Skylark] and would drive it twice a month (weekends) to Los Angeles and back. I know KHJ 93.5 AM radio station in Los Angeles played it a lot --- which was still not enough for me to listen to.
I'm glad you came home from Vietnam. Thank you for your service.
@@AndNowIWrite
Maggie May is my favorite all time song from one of my favorite artists! I was 14 years old when this fantastic song came out and still love it to this day. Have seen Rod perform in concert many times here in Milwaukee and have followed his career since his time with Faces. Professor you covered the story behind the song so very well. Your knowledge of the rock era and your delivery is beyond compare. Thank you for your efforts! Also, I appreciate your dedication to your parents.
My dad was the same way. He would go into details about a band or band members on how a song came to be or why the band split up. I loved it and I retained the information. My dad sadly passed away in 2010 of brain cancer he was only 49 years old. I love your videos cuz it brings my dad back to me for a few minutes and it's a special few minutes. ❤
Fell in love with the song from the first time I heard it on Armed Forces Radio as a GI in Germany 1971. I still have the 45 single in my collection. Rock on Rod.
Adam, I'm 63yrs old and have to say your channel is the best one around. Hands down.
That mandolin makes this song.
Yes and it's truly sad that Ray Jackson the mandolin player was paid a whopping $30 for it after Rod Stewart made millions and millions of dollars in his lifetime and never compensated the man.
My friends and I singing it together, we knew every word. Did that with so many songs.. what a time to be young and into music, still know and love those Girls, we're all 64 this year 😂😂
Yup, me too. Were you disgusted with the way all the sixth grade girls (such as the ones in my Robins Elementary class) went so ga-ga over Donny Osmand? Ugh!
"Maggie May" and "Hotel California" - the two most overplayed songs on classic rock radio stations. LOL - but I still love 'em. I didn't really discover Rod Stewart until his 80's hits. It was then that I started noticing his older hits - this song included, and I found that I really liked them. So many great tunes!
yeah I had to quit listening to classic rock radio because they had such tight, overplayed songlists. Still love those 2 songs though.
@@Boblobblaw88 - for sure!
Hotel California... I listen to it almost every day. It came out in 77 and we moved later that yr out of California so it's very sentimal to me.
As for Rod Stewart my mom loved him "Tonight's the Night" was her favorite.
I was 23. She was 38. Met her at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club watching Kenny Burell. Got her number. I called her and we hooked up. Best night of my young life. We ravished each other all night long. The next morning I was ready to propose marriage. She rushed me out the door and said she had a situation with someone else. And so it goes. For all I know I could have a kid in London. I'm 60 now, so she would be 75. But I am still in love with her. Ah memories.
Super story !
Write the song.
@@MsMamatube Rod already covered that ground. Just relating my Maggie May moment. Would, perhaps be an entire chapter in my memoir.
@@1Drafter1 Exactly my thought.
Been there...
Amazing how many artists/ label execs misjudge a great song from a flop & vice versa.
Thank God for the DJ who played Maggie May, & brought literally one of the best all time R&R SONGS IN HISTORY.
Also love the mandolin. You can hear it in a bunch of different songs (Mandolin Wind, Mandolin Rain), it’s such a distinct sound, but it’s perfect in Maggie May.
You’re So Vain is 100% about Warren Beatty.
It's the loss of independent radio stations and DJs that has made today's music so bland and cookie-cutter drivel.
"Prof. Of Rock", WOW, this is by far the most amazing turnabout story regarding a legitimate "Rock Star" that you have chronicled so far. Hard to believe that the stratospheric rise of such a truly talented star began at such a low nadir. Truly Amazing! Thanks.
"Every Picture Tells a Story" album is one of my favorite albums of all time! Mandolin Winds is incredible!
yeh i bought the cd a thrift put in car one you have to listen all the way through
Great song..
"coldest winter in almost fourteen years" is ridiculous but I guess he thought it sounds better than "almost forty years".
I love Handbags and Glad Rags; always makes me cry. Also love Country Comfort. Elton John also did a good version.
Agreed
I saw Rod and the Faces perform Maggie May at the 1972 Reading Festival when I was 10 years old. It was the first gig I ever went to. I’ll never forget his stage presence and the way he twirled the mic stand around. I remember he was wearing a gold cape or jacket that caught the lights so brightly.
Adam, I want to let you know how much I enjoy your videos. I'm 69 years old and the early 70's was "my era". So many great songs and I love your story telling and back stories. I especially love your personal stories about your father. I am the father in my scenerio. My son and I have a similar music relationship. He was raised on all that music. I used to quiz him when I played a song. I would ask him who the artist was and he would guess. Eventually he learned all about the great artists. Like you and your Dad had, my son and I have a special bond relating to all that great music. Thanks for the memories and keep up the great work. Best of luck
"Maggie May" was the song that was number 1 when I was born, to be replaced the following weekend by "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves". Rod Stewart songs were favorite sing-along songs for my fellow Student Senators and me when we would go to the pub after our meetings on Wednesday evenings in the early 1990s, including "Maggie May" and "You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)". Such good times...
I turned 14 in 1971. My older sister bought the Every Picture Tells a Story album. I played the heckout of it. Then when cassettes were the thing ,I bought the tape. And then a CD ...
The best part of the album are the Mandolin solos. The drum solo in, I'm Loosing You. Is my favorite drum solo ever!
Yes! That mandolin!
I’ll never forget the first time I heard this song. I was in the 10th grade and everyone was singing it! That was the autumn of 1971. Very nostalgic ☺️
This was touching and beautiful my friend. Teared up. Maggie May has teared me up in the past as well. Great memories….
I totally remember when this song came out... my parents had divorced and I was visiting my mother on Nantucket. She, or one of her friends, had a giant, green, antique car that they called "the frog." This song would blast on the radio as we rode around. I was probably about six at the time, but even then, the song made a huge impression on me and is one of my favs. It totally defines the 70s!
Im 58 and was like Adam's father just emerged with Rock music in the as a kid in the 70s .its just astonishing how Adam i is also so emerged in 70s rock considering he is quite a few years younger than all us kids that grew up in the 70s instead of the 80s .this channel is without a doubt taylor made for 70s young teens .Adam is just as much a 70s music junkie even though he was actually to young to remember most of it first hand .that speaks volumes to Adams father for inspiring his young son to be the nostalgic rock musical junkie he is now .just love this channel and is by far the best rock channel on RUclips
Maggie May dominated the air waves in 71. You couldn’t go an hour without hearing it on one station or another. Simpler times.
Times weren’t simpler. You were just a kid with no responsibilities.
@@russelllangworthy8855 Sure, that is true. The world is definitely more upside down today though.
@@brookswade5774 I would dispute you on that, too. In ‘71 we were still mired in Viet Nam, civil rights were practically non existent, college kids were getting killed during protests, etc.
@@russelllangworthy8855 All of that is true as well. I’m referring mainly to things like constant mass shootings, woke idiots, pride acceptance, sickening entitlement, and police and politicians that are way out of control. Come to think of it, maybe it is just like then.
@@brookswade5774 Lol. The more things change, the more they stay the same. 👍
Rod's material has always been outstanding. I like his Small Faces / Faces material as well.
Rod never sang or played in The Small Faces. You're thinking of Steve Marriott.
@@hgodvilla00 Like I said previously, it's the same group. They renamed themselves the Faces after Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie.
The haunting, nostalgic mandolin work on Maggie May is the same thing that drew me to Lady Eleanor when I first heard them on the radio. I never knew until now that both were played by the same man. But perhaps I should have known as the one instrument clearly spoke a distinct dialect.
Thank you, Ray Jackson, for working your magic with both songs.
Maggie May was the very first song I heard from Rod the Mod and this was back when I was in elementary school. Been a big fan ever since. Such a marvelous song🤘😎🤙
My girlfriend and I went by ourselves to see Rod the bod in San Diego... about 1979. Floor seats..he was amazing
Rod 😮 Maggie May was such a Staple in the early 70's 😮
IT's one of those songs that takes you back!
An a-hole now (get the shot) but a consumate rocker of his 70's prime.
Wow
@@earlgrey691 so old people who want to abuse their immune system so they don’t die from Covid are a- holes ? That’s a pretty narrow outlook, my friend.
This song has always had a special place in my heart, I've loved it since I first heard it decades ago.
Coincidentally - at my birthday party a couple weeks ago, a friend caught a video clip of myself and my fellow musicians playing an acoustic rendition of - you guessed it - 'Maggie May.' Playing on the song were musical mates from my first band all the way to my current band, spanning over 50 years of my own musical career, all making beautiful music together. It was awesome.
What a great song, great memories.
"Do ya Think I'm Sexy" was my introduction to Rod Stewart right around the time I was going through my version thereof. Maggie May was one that had to grow on me, and it certainly has.
My older sister was a huge Rod Stewart fan and loved this song! Kinda got me listening to his songs as a kid, RS has a ton of classic hits and what a great singer! Great video as always...
Stay With Me, Hand Bags & Glad Rags, & Maggie, a holy trinity of rock n roll saloon songs! Rod fing rules!! Been waitin for this one Prof!!!
Stay with Me rocks!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 🤘In the morning, don’t say ya love me, cause I’ll only. . . 🤘🤘🤘
@@DC8091 kick you out of the door!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 🤘🤘🤘 😇
yeh dc i found the vinly a few years back but havent listeneed to in a long time
Adam thank you for sharing the story, I was 13 when Maggie May was released, and the song grabbed me straight away in an instant I knew the man singing was brilliant, I've been a fan ever since.
This is such a special song for my family. My mom was a few years older than my dad and he teasingly called her Maggie May. My daughters name is Maggie.
That is so sweet!
My mom was a few years older than Dad, but what he teased her about was her first name. She _hated_ her first name, and refused to use it or tell anyone.
Daddy was delighted that her first name rhymed with his last name, so he told her that he LOVED her name, and it took him years to find a good woman named "Myrtle" to marry. His last name's "Hertel", and yes, it rhymes with "Myrtle".😂
It’s a common name!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 most Maggie I know are named Margaret
Every time I hear the beginning chords of Maggie May it brings me back to 1971 when I was 19 years old. I am 73 now and I still get the same urge to get up and bounced around. Thank you Rod for the memories!!❤❤
One of the first songs I remember hearing when I got my first transistor radio!!
It was my fave track (well, there was Bridge Over Troubled Water and Elton's whole Honky Chateau album - hard to pick the absolute favourite) in my first year of university. That had a lot to do with why it was so memorable - those big moments of change in young lives reflected in the song. Rod's message of the need to grow up and move on really resonated with the challenge of moving from the family home and adapting to a completely new environment.
What a great tribute to his father. We can learn from it that we should ask questions of our parents and grandparents while they are able to provide answers to them.
Graduated in 1971 from high school. Loved singing this song . Bought many of his albums.
Only 5 years old in 1971, but all through the 70's I remember Rod Stewart and very happily discovered Small Faces and the Faces in the 1990's. Oh, La,, La. Thank you for the great videos.
I'm 64. grew up on this music. MM is one of my favourites. My mum loved Baby Jane......
LOVE your channel......thanks for the wonderful memories......
I was a sophomore in HS . You heard Rod Stewart heard his music everywhere. He had a strong run in the early 70s ..and beyond.
One of my favorite rock songs ever! Love Rod Stewart’s voice! Thank you for covering this song very interesting.
Some really great music from a very talented guy. There was a time when Rod was my favorite singer, good front man too. His voice had the perfect mix of musical, gruff and soft. His early stuff was mostly all good. He had the advantage of great bands and GREAT guitar players. Maggie really is a truly great song but he has many. When I was a teenager and heard Angel, You Wear it Well and the like it played all summer. Too bad there will never be artist like this again in my lifetime. Someday...when it's mostly forgotten, some bunch will rediscover and bring it all back in their way....Not the way that just rerecords it, but the way Blues turned into Rock and changed the World. Just had to add, the appreciation of Adams Parents is impressive. It takes a GREAT Parent to help make a GREAT KID.
Indeed. Such a distinctive voice.
I was fortunate to listen to WMMS from Cleveland as a kid in the 70's that station and the music they played were awesome man
The Thundering Buzzard❤
I am 63 years old The first song I ever heard was Maggie May and I became an instant fan of rod Stewart and have listened to him throughout my life Maggie May and hot legs are the absolute best in my opinion Love your content
I should have said the first song I ever heard by rod Stewart was Maggie Mae
Summer of 71 soundtrack was this song among many other great ones. Summer of my 1st love.What a year in music!
I graduated high school in 71. Rock music has never been as great as it was back then!
Adam, your RUclips posts really bring back that beautiful age of radio for me and my husband. I often tell my children that I got to grow up in the most beautiful age, when music was freely broadcast and they often created sweet dreams. I feel so very lucky to have lived those days and if I had one wish I would live them again. Thanks for providing that in part.