Released in 1971 on Rod Stewart’s album Every Picture Tells a Story, it’s one of the singer’s most popular songs. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 130 on the list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” But who IS the woman Rod Stewart had something to say to in “late September?”
“Maggie, I wished I’d never seen your face,” sings Stewart in his iconic autobiographical hit about the conflicted emotions between a young man and his older lover. But who is thia mysterious woman? In 2007, Stewart mentioned in an interview for Q magazine: “Maggie May was more or less a true story, about the first woman I had sex with, at the 1961 Beaulieu Jazz Festival.”
However, the woman’s actual name was not Maggie May. That was taken from a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a sailor coming home from a sea voyage. (That name, and a similar personality, is also referenced in a 38-second ad-lib that The Beatles sang on Let It Be. They’d performed it years earlier as The Quarrymen). The true identity of the woman Rod Stewart lost his virginity to when he was sixteen remains unknown.
Nonetheless, this personal experience led to Stewart’s first substantial hit as a solo performer and truly launched his career. Despite having done fairly well with two previous album releases, Rod Stewart – approaching twenty-seven – had yet to become the true rock star he’d dreamt of being, like his heroes, The Rolling Stones.
When he recorded and released Every Picture Tells a Story, the British rocker didn’t expect “Maggie May,” to become a hit. His collaborators criticized its lack of melody. In fact, the track was the B side of the single, “Reason to Believe.” According to Stewart, it was a DJ in Cleveland who flipped it and first aired the song.
Even today, this look back on a past romantic relationship remains relatable. No wonder the British singer included “Maggie May” in his MTV Unplugged episode where he reunited with his Faces bandmate Ron Wood, leading to one of Stewart’s best-selling albums ever.
In 2015 Stewart reflected on his breakout hit: “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.”
-Gabriel Karkovsky
Photo: Rod Stewart, 1971 (Public domain)
Ask Rod who played the iconic mandolin riff on the song. He probably still doesn’t remember.
I believe you’re right; the credit says “The mandolin was played by the mandolin player in Lindisfarne. The name slips my mind.” He was later id’d as Ray Jackson.
Exactly. One of the most iconic riffs in rock history. Mandolin Wind was also a great song.
I LOVE “Mandolin Wind.” That instrument needs to show up more often. I only bought Elton’s “Honky Chateau” for “Mona Lisas…” and that beautiful mandolin underpinning.
I LOVED THAT SONG. I HAD FORGOTTEN THAT RON WOOD WAS IN FACES.