Maggie May
"Maggie May" | ||||
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![]() German picture sleeve | ||||
Single by Rod Stewart | ||||
from the album Every Picture Tells a Story | ||||
A-side | "Reason to Believe" | |||
Released | July 1971 | |||
Recorded | 1970 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:50 (Album version W/ Henry Intro) 3:43 (Single version) | |||
Label | Mercury | |||
Songwriter(s) | Rod Stewart, Martin Quittenton | |||
Producer(s) | Rod Stewart | |||
Rod Stewart singles chronology | ||||
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"Maggie May" is a song co-written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, and performed by Rod Stewart on his album Every Picture Tells a Story, released in 1971.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 130 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[3]
In 2017, the 1971 release of "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart on Mercury Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[4]
Background
[edit]"Maggie May" expresses the ambivalence and contradictory emotions of a boy involved in a relationship with an older woman and was written from Stewart's own experience. 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."[5][6] The woman's name was not "Maggie May"; Stewart has stated that the name was taken from "an old Liverpudlian song about a prostitute."[6]
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.[7][6]
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.[8] The mandolin player on the actual recording was Ray Jackson of Lindisfarne.
The album version of "Maggie May" incorporates a 30-second solo guitar intro, "Henry", composed by Martin Quittenton.[6]
The original recording has appeared on almost all of Rod Stewart's compilations, and even appeared on the Ronnie Wood retrospective Ronnie Wood Anthology: The Essential Crossexion. A version by the Faces recorded for BBC Radio appeared on the four-disc box set Five Guys Walk into a Bar.... A live version recorded in 1993 by Stewart joined by Wood for a session of MTV Unplugged is included on the album Unplugged...and Seated.
Chart performance
[edit]In October 1971, the song went to number one on the UK Singles Chart (for five weeks),[9] and simultaneously topped the charts in Australia (four weeks), Canada (one week), and the United States (five weeks). It was the No. 2 record for 1971 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK singles charts.
The song re-entered the UK chart in December 1976, but only reached number 31.
At first, I didn't think much of "Maggie May." I guess that's because the record company didn't believe in the song. I didn't have much confidence then. I figured it was best to listen to the guys who knew better. What I learned is sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.
— Rod Stewart, 2015[6]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
All-time charts[edit]
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Certifications
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
New Zealand (RMNZ)[23] | Gold | 10,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[25] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Personnel
[edit]- Rod Stewart – lead vocals
- Ronnie Wood – electric guitar, twelve-string guitar, bass guitar
- Martin Quittenton – acoustic guitar
- Micky Waller – drums, cymbals
- Ian McLagan – Hammond organ
- Ray Jackson – mandolin (listed on the album as "The mandolin was played by the mandolin player in Lindisfarne. The name slips my mind.")[26]
- Pete Sears – celesta
Blur cover
[edit]The English alternative rock band Blur released a cover of Maggie May in 1993 for a CD given away with UK rock magazine Q.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Reed, Ryan (18 September 2019). "Rod Stewart Preps New Orchestral LP 'You're in My Heart'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Best of Love: 16 Great Soft Rock Hits". AllMusic.
- ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 101-200". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#m
- ^ "Maggie May by Rod Stewart Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Myers, Marc (23 October 2015). "Maggie May – A Song of Loss". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. p. D6. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015.
- ^ Rod – The Autobiography ISBN 9781780890524
- ^ "John Peel". The Independent. 27 October 2004.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 265–66. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Go-Set Magazine Charts". www.poparchives.com.au. Barry McKay. January 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Image: RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Rod Stewart" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "Rod Stewart – Maggie May" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2002]
- ^ "Top 100 1971-10-23". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". www.collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1971". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1971". MegaCharts. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Top Pop 100 Singles" Billboard 25 December 1971: TA-36
- ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1971". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Rod's Got The Face In New Zealand" (PDF). Cash Box. 30 March 1974. p. 53. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "British single certifications – Rod Stewart – Maggie May". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ "American single certifications – Rod Stewart – Maggie May". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ "Rod faces Maggie May action". BBC. 3 March 2003. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
External links
[edit]- Maggie May at Discogs (list of releases)
- Rod Stewart - Maggie May on YouTube
- 1971 singles
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Cashbox number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Australia
- Rod Stewart songs
- Song recordings produced by Rod Stewart
- Songs written by Martin Quittenton
- Songs written by Rod Stewart
- The Pogues songs
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- 1971 songs
- Mercury Records singles
- British folk rock songs