Chapters 19 - 20 Summary

Chapter Nineteen opens on dismal note. Rod Stewart, an icon of the 1970s and 80s, had failed to produce anything of merit in nearly twenty years. His latest album in 2001, Human, was complete flop. Granted the album consisted largely of cover songs (Stewart made identical mistakes early in his career). After "Forever Young" released in 1988, he rarely wrote and produced his own songs. "I was beginning to think of myself as entirely a voice for hire: tell me what to sing and I'll sing it" (p. 349). Stewart turned to music producer Richard Perry for help. They produced tracks like "You Go to My Heart," "Stormy Weather," and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face." With the assistance of his trusted manager, Arnold Stiefel, the three men set out to find a record deal for Stewart. He was promptly rejected twice, until the...