"Blondes (Have More Fun)" is a song written by

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

and

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 a ...

that was originally released as the title track of Stewart's 1978 album ''

Blondes Have More Fun ''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 num ...

''. In some countries it was released as the third single off the album, following "

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?", also written "Da' Ya' Think I'm Sexy", is a song by British singer Rod Stewart from his ninth studio album, ''Blondes Have More Fun'' (1978). It was written by Stewart, Carmine Appice, and Duane Hitchings, though it inc ...

" and " Ain't Love a Bitch". It only reached the Top 70 in the UK, topping out at #63 but reached #23 in Ireland. The song was covered by

Vince Neil Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist of heavy metal music, heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 formation until his departure in 1992. Neil reunited with the ...

on the Japanese version of his album ''

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''.

Music and lyrics

Stewart biographer Sean Egan described the music as a "slinky 1950s

shuffle Shuffling is a technique used to randomize a deck of playing cards, introducing an element of chance into card games. Various shuffling methods exist, each with its own characteristics and potential for manipulation. One of the simplest shuff ...

". ''

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'' described the song as a "barrelhouse rocker." The ''

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'' described the song as "a rollicking

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

-style rocker, complete with

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

piano." Henry McNulty of the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'' described it as a "straightforward rocker" on which Stewart seems to be having fun and particularly praised the way the "rich, warm horns" set off the screeching

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

and tinkling piano. Egan considered the lyrics to be among Stewart's most autobiographical, describing his preference for statuesque, blonde women and his interest is strictly on engaging in sexual intercourse. Egan notes signs of hubris in the song, where Stewart refers to himself "in the third person and via a pet name" in the line "God knows, Rodder just needs to ball."

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the song as being a "winning track" in the same mold as "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Ain't Love a Bitch". ''

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'' writer

David Fricke David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...

suggested that the "stocky, swaggering sound" that Stewart's band achieves on the song "proves Stewart has not forgotten how to rock." McNulty considered it to be "the most worthwhile song" on the album. ''

The Albany Herald ''The Albany Herald'' is the daily newspaper for metro Albany in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is distributed in metro Albany and in southwest Georgia. The newspaper was founded in 1891. Offices for the paper were previously housed in the hist ...

'' wrote that the "hardrocking" song is one of the highlights among the songs of "up and down love affairs" on the ''Blondes Have More Fun'' album. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' critic

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

described it as one of the three "tolerable" songs on the album. The ''

Ottawa Journal The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980. It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...

'' similarly called it the best song on the album. Author Sharon Davis described the song as Stewart's last hit before 1983's " Baby Jane." Critic Dave Tianen rated the song as Stewart's 4th worst (two notches better than 2nd place "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy,") saying that it "would almost be beneath

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

." But critic Mark Brown considered it to be "wonderful." ''Classic Rock History'' critic Tony Scavieli ranked it as Stewart's 8th greatest song of the 1970s, stating that it "certified that Rod Stewart’s foray into disco n "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy"was just a small moment in time and that the album was not all disco." Jason Anderson of ''Uncut'' called it a "decent blues boogie", praising the "greasy guitar licks, barrelhouse piano and

Phil Kenzie Phil Kenzie is an English 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." Born in Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdo ...

's raunchy sax."

Live version

"Blondes (Have More Fun)" was included on Rod Stewart's live video ''Live at the L.A. Forum''. A live version was also included on the 2014 album '' Live 1976-1998: Tonight's the Night''. Graham Hicks of the ''

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'' felt the live version was preferable to the studio version, calling the live version a "rhythm and blues number" and stating that this proved that the "production" was responsible for the blandness of the studio version.

Music video

The music video for the song was on MTV's first day.

References

{{Authority control 1978 songs 1979 singles Rod Stewart songs Songs written by Rod Stewart Song recordings produced by Tom Dowd Songs written by Jim Cregan Warner Records singles