''Blondes Have More Fun'' is

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

's ninth album, released in November 1978. As was the popular musical trend at the time, it is Stewart's foray into

disco music Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano ...

. 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 Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

had also dabbled with disco music by this time.Stewart, Rod. ''Rod: The Autobiography'' (2012)
225–226
/ref> The second single was "

Ain't Love a Bitch "Ain't Love a Bitch" is a song written by Gary Grainger and Rod Stewart. Stewart released it on his 1978 in music, 1978 album ''Blondes Have More Fun'', and it was one of four songs on the album co-written by Stewart and Gary Grainger, Grainger. ...

", which became a No.11 hit in the UK and No.22 in the US.Official UK Charts – Rod Stewart
/ref> 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.Rod Stewart fanclub – ''Blondes Have More Fun''
/ref> 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 Gary Grainger (born 20 October 1950) is an English rock, blues, jazz and pop songwriter and guitarist, most known for his work with Rod Stewart. Career 1970–1999 Gary Grainger's professional career took off with the formation of Strider. Afte ...

Billy Peek Billy Peek (born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1940) is an American rock and roll and blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer, producer. Billy Peek has recorded, toured and played as lead guitarist for rock icon Rod Stewart for five years. Billy P ...

– guitar *

Jim Cregan James Cregan (born 9 March 1946) is an English rock guitarist and bassist, best known for his associations with Family, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Rod Stewart. Cregan is a former husband of the singer Linda Lewis and worked with her as a ...

– guitar, backing vocals * Phil Chen – bass guitar, backing vocals *

Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( , born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is also Vinny Appice's ...

– drums, backing vocals Invited guests *

Fred Tackett Fred Tackett (born August 30, 1945) is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat. In addition to his work with Little ...

- acoustic guitars *

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...

– piano *Duane Hitchings – keyboards, synthesizer *Roger Bethelmy – drums * Paulinho Da Costa,

Tommy Vig Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

– percussion *Gary Herbig – flute *

Phil Kenzie Phil Kenzie is a British multi-saxophone player and rock and roll musician. He has been voted by fans as "one of the greatest rock 'n' roll sax players of all time."

, Tom Scott – tenor saxophone *Steve Madaio – trumpet *

Mike Finnigan Michael Kelly Finnigan (April 26, 1945 – August 11, 2021) was an American keyboard player and vocalist, his speciality being the B3 Hammond organ. Working primarily as a freelance studio musician and touring player, he played with a wide va ...

– background vocals * Max Carl Gronenthal – background vocals * Linda Lewis – vocals *Catherine Allison – piano, background vocals *

Del Newman Derrick Martin "Del" Newman (5 October 1930 – 10 August 2020) was a British conductor, orchestral arranger and music producer. His orchestral arrangements appeared on songs by many rock and pop artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Ca ...

– string arrangements Production *Tom Dowd – producer, mixing *

Andy Johns Jeremy Andrew "Andy" Johns (20 May 1950 – 7 April 2013) was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972), Television's '' Marquee Moon'' ...

– engineer, mixing *George Tutko, David Gerts – assistant engineers *Mixed at Smoke Tree and Cherokee Studios.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 1978 albums Riva Records albums Rod Stewart albums Albums produced by Tom Dowd Warner Records albums Disco albums by British artists