Rod Stewart has beaten a host of stars to be named among the top 50 singers of all time.
The veteran rocker, famed for hits such as Maggie May, Sailing and You Wear It Well, placed higher than the likes of Lady Gaga and George Michael in a list published on Sunday by prestigious American music outlet Rolling Stone.
Ranked at number 49, the former Faces frontman was nine places above Gaga and 13 higher than Michael, with Amy Winehouse, Rihanna and Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant also behind him.
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Rolling Stone said of the 77-year-old: "Stewart can break your heart while singing as a good-time rounder, can make you wince or smirk with equal facility — when he’s on, he can make ordinary material sound as good as a new suit. And when the material’s great, he’s irresistible."
It's further recognition for a singer who was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and the British counterpart in 2006, and has sold more than 250 million albums worldwide during a recording career that has spanned almost 60 years.
The list was topped by Aretha Franklin, with Whitney Houston in second place and Stewart's musical hero Sam Cooke in third.
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Stewart paid tribute to the acclaimed soul singer on what would have been his 90th birthday in 2021, saying: "Happy birthday, my one and only influence.
"How many thousands of hours I spent trying to sound like you and never came close. Without Sam, there may not have been a Rod.
"Just think, if you were still alive we could have been mates."
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Stewart released his 31st studio album in November 2021, with The Tears of Hercules reaching number five in the UK album chart.
Speaking to Rolling Stone ahead of its release, he said: "I’ve never said this before about any previous efforts, but I believe this is by far my best album in many a year.
November 2022 saw Stewart play a sold out show at Glasgow's OVO Hydro, and he's currently preparing for a run of greatest hits performances in Australia accompanied by Cyndi Lauper.
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