Blondes Have More Fun is British musician Rod Stewart's ninth studio album, released in November 1978. As was the popular musical trend at the time, it is Stewart's foray into disco music. The album was commercially successful, reaching number 3 in the UK and number 1 in the US, but was critically divisive. The lead single "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" became one of Stewart's biggest hits, peaking at No.1 in both the UK and US.
Overview After carving a highly successful career throughout the 1970s as a rock singer, Stewart elected to follow the disco trend that was at its peak in 1978 for some tracks of this album. The first single was "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" which became a number one hit in the UK, US, Australia and a number of other countries. Many critics panned the direction of song towards disco, but it nevertheless became one of his biggest hits. Stewart has since defended the song commenting that Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones had also dabbled with disco music by this time.Stewart, Rod. Rod: The Autobiography (2012): 225–226 The second single was "Ain't Love a Bitch", which became a No.11 hit in the UK and No.22 in the US.Official UK Charts – Rod Stewart The third and final single "Blondes (Have More Fun)" peaked at 63 in the UK, his lowest-charting single there at this time, but performed better in Ireland at No.23.
The album itself peaked at No.3 in the UK, being certified platinum by Christmas and was a No.1 hit in the US, where it went triple platinum. It also charted within the top ten in a host of other countries.
Track listing Side one
Side two
Stewart has acknowledged that the song inadvertently incorporates the melody from the song "Taj Mahal" by Jorge Ben Jor, although Ben Jor was not given a writing credit.
Personnel Rod Stewart Band Rod Stewart – vocals Gary Grainger, Billy Peek – guitar Jim Cregan – guitar, backing vocals Phil Chen – bass guitar, backing vocals Carmine Appice – drums, backing vocals
Invited guests Fred Tackett – acoustic guitars Nicky Hopkins – piano Duane Hitchings – keyboards, synthesizer Roger Bethelmy – drums Paulinho Da Costa, Tommy Vig – percussion Gary Herbig – flute Phil Kenzie, Tom Scott – tenor saxophone Steve Madaio – trumpet Mike Finnigan – background vocals Max Carl Gronenthal – background vocals Linda Lewis – vocals Catherine Allison – piano, background vocals Del Newman – string arrangements
Production Tom Dowd – producer, mixing Andy Johns – engineer, mixing George Tutko, David Gerts – assistant engineers Mixed at Smoke Tree and Cherokee Studios.
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1978–79) Peakposition Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 1
Year-end charts Chart (1979) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 48 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 8 US Billboard 200 10
Certifications and sales
References