Rod Stewart recently paid a visit to The Kelly Clarkson Show to promote his upcoming album, Swing Fever, and while chatting, host Kelly Clarkson asked the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee a timely question.
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With Valentine’s Day set to take place this Wednesday (February 14), Clarkson complimented the romantic rocker by telling him she thought he had “one of the sexiest voices on planet Earth,” then asked which of his own songs should go on a Valentine’s playlist.
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Stewart picked “Tonight’s the Night,” as well as his covers of Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You,” Cat Stevens’ “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” and late Crazy Horse singer/guitarist Danny Whitten’s “I Don’t Want to Talk About It.”
Rod Stewart and Kelly Clarkson Both Love Sam Cooke
Clarkson and Stewart then bonded over their mutual love of late soul legend Sam Cooke’s music. Stewart said that among his favorite Cooke songs were “Cupid,” “Twistin’ the Night Away,” and “A Change Is Gonna Come,” then agreed with Clarkson that “Lost and Lookin’” was another great Cooke tune.
“He was a big influence on my career when I was growing up,” the 79-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer noted. “That’s the only guy I wanted to sound like, was Sam Cooke. … So, if there wasn’t Sam Cooke, there may not have been a Rod. It’s not easy being me, you know?”
About the Swing Fever Album
Later in the show, Stewart was joined by his Swing Fever collaborator Jools Holland, who was the founding keyboardist of Squeeze and hosts his own popular music-performance show in the U.K. Swing Fever, which will be released on February 23, features renditions of some of Stewart’s and Holland’s favorite swing-era tunes.
Rod Stewart on Whether He’s Left Rock Behind
Also during the show, Stewart set the record straight on reports that he was planning to give up playing rock music moving forward.
“I haven’t left rock behind,” Stewart told Clarkson. “I want to get on with [this] jazz album that I’ve made, the swing album. And, of course, I did The Great American Songbook [album series], so I want to be able to go and sing those songs.”
Stewart’s 2024 Concert Plans
Rod Stewart has an extremely busy concert schedule lined up for 2024. His itinerary includes four concerts Florida in February, a March tour of Asia, and a European trek running from May to early July.
The singer also will play the final dates of his long-running Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in late July and early August, followed by a trio of U.S. headlining shows in August. Then, on September 13, Stewart will play his first-ever co-headlining concert with Billy Joel at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland. Check out his full tour schedule at RodStewart.com.
Tickets for Stewart’s concerts are available now via various outlets, including StubHub.
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