Rod Stewart, CBE, is a singer and songwriter born and raised in London, England and currently residing in Epping. He has Scottish and English parentage.

With a distinctive, raspy voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early '70s with The Jeff BeckGroup and then The Faces before beginning a solo career in 1969, with his debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down. His work with The Jeff BeckGroup and The Faces proved to be influential on the formation of the heavy metal and punk rock genres, respectively. Both bands were also pioneers of blues-rock.

With his career in its fifth decade, Stewart has achieved numerous solo hit singles worldwide, most notably in the UK, where he has garnered six consecutive number one albums and his tally of 62 hit singles include 24 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position. His most-known solo hit singles are "Maggie May," "You Wear It Well," "Hot Legs," "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?," "Forever Young" and "Rhythm of My Heart" It has been estimated that Stewart's album and single sales total more than 250 million, earning him a place on the list of best-selling music artists.

In 1999, Stewart was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, for which he underwent surgery in July 2000. Besides being a major health scare, the resulting surgery also threatened his famous voice, and he had to re-learn how to sing. Since then he has been active in raising funds for The City of Hope Foundation charity to find cures for all forms of cancer, especially those affecting children.