Maggie May (Rod Stewart with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) cover

"Maggie May" is a song co-written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, performed by Stewart for his album Every Picture Tells a Story, released in 1971. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it number 130 in The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2017, the Mercury Records single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The song is regarded as Stewart's signature song. Written from Stewart's personal experience, "Maggie May" expresses the ambivalence and contradictory emotions of a boy involved in a relationship with an older woman. In the January 2007 issue of Q magazine, Stewart recalled: "Maggie May was a true story, about the first woman I had sex with, at the 1961 Beaulieu Jazz Festival." The woman's name was not "Maggie May"; Stewart has stated that the name was taken from "an old Liverpudlian song about a prostitute". The song was recorded in just two takes in one session. Drummer Micky Waller often arrived at recording sessions with the expectation that a drum kit would be provided and, for "Maggie May", it was – except that no cymbals could be found. The cymbal crashes had to be overdubbed separately some days later. The song was released as the B-side of the single "Reason to Believe", but soon radio stations began playing the B-side and "Maggie May" became the more popular side. The song was Stewart's first substantial hit as a solo performer and launched his solo career. It remains one of his best-known songs. A 1971 performance of the song on Top of the Pops saw the Faces joined onstage by DJ John Peel, who pretended to play the mandolin. The mandolin player on the actual recording was Ray Jackson of Lindisfarne. Jackson wrote and developed the mandolin piece at the start and middle of the song, but got no recognition, nor royalties from Stewart other than £15.00 for the recording session, and a mention on Stewart's ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’ album, which famously reads: “The mandolin was played by the mandolin player in Lindisfarne. The name slips my mind.” The English alternative rock band Blur released a cover of "Maggie May" in 1993, for a CD given away with UK rock magazine Q. #rodstewart #maggiemay #coversong