Warner Bros. 3261
Producer: Tom Dowd
Track listing: Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? / Dirty Weekend / Ain’t Love a Bitch / The Best Days of My Life / Is That the Thanks I Get? /Attractive Female Wanted / Blondes (Have More Fun) / Last Summer / Standin’ in the Shadows of Love / Scarred and Scared
February 10, 1979
3 weeks
By 1978, more than seven years after his first Number One album, Every Picture Tells a Story, things had changed dramatically for Rod Stewart. In late ’75, the Faces officially split and Stewart left Mercury Records for Warner Bros. He relocated to Los Angeles, partly to escape the U.K. taxman but also to spend time with his latest flame, actress Britt Ekland. Stewart had gone from his humble London beginnings to the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills, and it soon became reflected in his music. On Blondes Have More Fun the earthy sounds of acoustic guitars and mandolins featured on his first Number One single, “Maggie May,” gave way to the hedonistic disco beat of “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?,” which would become his best-selling single ever.
While many rock critics looked on in horror as Stewart transformed himself from credible rocker to pop-trendhopper, the public ate it up. Yet Stewart’s evolution didn’t happen overnight. Following the split of the Faces, Stewart hooked up with veteran American producer Tom Dowd for his 1975 Warner Bros. debut album, Atlantic Crossing. The album was moderately successful, paving the way for his full-fledged comeback on 1976’s A Night on the Town and 1977’s Foot Loose & Fancy Free, which included such hits as “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” and “You’re in My Heart,” respectively.
With the release of Blondes Have More Fun, Stewart was primed for his biggest success. He recorded the album with Dowd once again handling the production chores, and with a veteran band, including ex-Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice. It was with Appice that Stewart co-wrote “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?,” which became the fastest-selling single in the history of Warner Bros. Records — loved by his legions of fans, loathed by most rock critics, and misunderstood by nearly everyone.
“I suppose you could say I was jumping on a bandwagon, really,” Stewart says of his disco hit. “But I think it still has some nice lyrics to it. It’s not banal. Everybody thought I was singing about myself. Of course I’m not, I’m singing in the third person.” While there may have been some confusion about who was asking the musical question “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?,” there was no question of what Stewart’s favorite topic was. “Sex,” he says. “I’m a very horny lad.” That was not only reflected in his previous hits “Tonight’s the Night” and “Hot Legs,” but on several tracks on Blondes Have More Fun, including “Dirty Weekend,” in which the song’s protagonist runs away with his best friend’s girl for a few days of fun.
Yet it was “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” that drove Blondes Have More Fun to the top. The album and single hit Number One on their respective charts the same week, marking the second time that Stewart had topped both charts simultaneously.
Although Blondes went on to become Stewart’s best-selling album, he considers Foot Loose & Fancy Free, which peaked at number two, much better. As for the single, “I’m only just about being forgiven,” he quips. “It was a bit of tripe, really, when you look at — but in saying that, it’s still our most popular song when we do it live.”
THE TOP FIVE
February 10, 1979
1. Blondes Have More Fun, Rod Stewart
2. 52nd Street, Billy Joel
3. Briefcase Full of Blues, Blues Brothers
4. You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, Neil Diamond
5. Barbra Streisand’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 Barbra Streisand