Maggie May
{{short description|1971 single by Rod Stewart}}
{{about|the Rod Stewart song|the musically unrelated folk song also known as "Maggie Mae"|Maggie May (folk song)|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Maggie May
| cover = Maggiereason.jpg
| alt =
| caption = German picture sleeve
| type = single
| artist = Rod Stewart
| album = Every Picture Tells a Story
| A-side = Reason to Believe
| released = July 1971
| recorded = 1970
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Folk rock{{cite magazine|last=Reed|first=Ryan|date=18 September 2019|title=Rod Stewart Preps New Orchestral LP 'You're in My Heart'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rod-stewart-orchestral-album-youre-in-my-heart-886997/|access-date=18 February 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone}}|soft rock{{cite web | url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/best-of-love-16-great-soft-rock-hits-mw0000034197 | title= Best of Love: 16 Great Soft Rock Hits | work=AllMusic | first=Stephen Thomas | last=Erlewine}}}}
| length = 5:50 (Album version W/ Henry Intro)
5:14 (Single version)
| label = Mercury
| writer = Rod Stewart, Martin Quittenton
| producer = Rod Stewart
| prev_title = It's All Over Now
| prev_year = 1970
| title = Reason to Believe
| title2 = Maggie May
| next_title = (I Know) I'm Losing You
| next_year = 1971
}}
"Maggie May" is a song cowritten by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, performed by Stewart for his album Every Picture Tells a Story, released in 1971. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it number 130 in The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.{{cite magazine|title=500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 101-200|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2|access-date=23 September 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620035744/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2|archive-date=20 June 2008}} In 2017, the Mercury Records single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.{{Cite web |title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#m |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=www.grammy.com}}
Background
"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."{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1304|title=Maggie May by Rod Stewart Songfacts|publisher=Songfacts.com|access-date=27 March 2014}}{{cite news |last= Myers |first= Marc |date= 23 October 2015 |title= Maggie May – A Song of Loss |newspaper= The Wall Street Journal |publisher= Dow Jones & Company |page= D6 |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/rod-stewart-on-the-making-of-maggie-may-1445353272 |url-status= live |url-access= subscription |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151021125216/https://www.wsj.com/articles/rod-stewart-on-the-making-of-maggie-may-1445353272 |archive-date= 2015-10-21 }} The woman's name was not "Maggie May"; Stewart has stated that the name was taken from "an old Liverpudlian song about a prostitute".
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.Rod – The Autobiography {{ISBN|9781780890524}}
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.{{cite web |date= 27 October 2004 |title= John Peel |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-peel-30592.html |website= The Independent }} 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.
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
In October 1971, the song went to number one on the UK Singles Chart (for five weeks),{{cite book |first=David |last=Roberts |year=2006 |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |edition=19th |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |location=London |isbn=1-904994-10-5 |pages=265–66}} 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.
{{Quote|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}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable" |
| align="left" | Chart (1976)
! align="left" | Peak |
|---|
| align="left"|Ireland
| style="text-align:center;"|13 |
| align="left"|UK
| style="text-align:center;"|31 |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
=All-time charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (1958–2018)
! Position |
|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary|title=Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart|magazine=Billboard|access-date=10 December 2018}}
| style="text-align:center;"|182 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Rod Stewart|title=Maggie May|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1971|certyear=1974|certref={{cite magazine|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Cash-Box/70s/1974/CB-1974-03-30.pdf|title=Rod's Got The Face In New Zealand|magazine=Cash Box|page=53|date=30 March 1974|access-date=11 November 2019}}}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Rod Stewart|title=Maggie May|award=Platinum|relyear=2007|certyear=2021|id=4119-1824-1|access-date=21 May 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Rod Stewart|title=Maggie May|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1971|certyear=2021|access-date=8 May 2021}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|noshipments=true}}
Personnel
- 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."){{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2816253.stm|title=Rod faces Maggie May action|publisher=BBC|date=3 March 2003|access-date=5 December 2019}}
- Pete Sears – celesta
Blur cover
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
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{discogs master|master=110773}}
- {{YouTube|pj2EQRLm7Vc|Rod Stewart - Maggie May}}
{{Rod Stewart songs}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Song recordings produced by Rod Stewart
Category:Songs written by Martin Quittenton
Category:Songs written by Rod Stewart
Category:UK singles chart number-one singles
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles