Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart started singing in London in the early 1960s with a voice that sounded like it had been through a gravel road. He joined The Faces in 1968, a band known for loose, bluesy shows, but his solo work began taking shape around the same time. His 1971 album 'Every Picture Tells a Story' and its single 'Maggie May' became hits on both sides of the Atlantic, turning him into a familiar voice on radio stations.

Over the decades, Stewart recorded songs like 'Forever Young' and 'You're In My Heart,' which became staples in his live sets. He worked with musicians like Jeff Beck and Tina Turner, though his own rasp remained the constant through various phases. The songs people remember tend to be the straightforward ones, 'Sailing,' 'I Don't Want to Talk About It', that sound like they've always been around.

He kept putting out records, from 'A Night on the Town' in 1976 to later tracks like 'Faith Of The Heart,' which ended up as a television theme. Stewart's voice, that worn-in rasp, became one of those sounds you recognize immediately, whether it's on an old Faces recording or something he did years later.